New Electric Vehicles – Think Carefully
Whether you choose to buy a new electric vehicle (EV) or a traditional petrol/diesel/gas (ICE) one is currently in your hands. Some governments are proposing to take this choice away from you and making EV purchasing your only option. The question remains on what is proposed to be done with the existing 1.475 billion petrol, diesel and gas powered vehicles on the planet.
EV Zealots vs Anti-EV Zealots
When you look at the information available online in relation to EV’s you will get zealots promoting EV’s and other zealots showing you why you shouldn’t get one. Both sides have some very good arguments, however, this mire of information may well leave you wondering where the truth lies.
I felt that some fundamentals are missing in most of the videos and articles published, so read on and let me put some things in perspective.
This really is a good example of an issue which has so many more states other than just YES and NO, as the “fact checkers” would have you believe.
So Many More Options…
Choosing your method of transportation has never been a “one size fits all” answer. Today you can travel to most places using these popular options:
- walk
- run
- horse
- bicycle
- scooter
- motorcycle
- train
- bus
- taxi
- aircraft
- ride-share
- car (second hand)
- car (new)
Of these options, you will see that the zealots jump immediately to the self-owned new car options and then argue about the relative impact to our environment, as if they are the only transport means available.
Review Your Own Requirements
If you really believe that you want to make positive impact on the environment when travelling, ask yourself the following questions:
- Is a motor vehicle the only way to get to work?
- Do I need my motor vehicle for travel every day or just for weekends?
- What are the time constraints around my travel from place to place? Are they rigid?
New EV’s are only slightly better than new ICE’s when considering the total impact to the environment and basically neither will ever be “NET ZERO”. Manufacturing, distributing and ultimately operating such vehicles use non-renewable resources, at some stage in their life cycle.
When you consider the big picture and feel like making a personal contribution to cut resource usage, you really need to seriously consider all of the human-powered modes of transport and if that doesn’t work, consider the community transport options such as buses, taxis or ride-share and if that is not practical, to consider purchasing a second-hand vehicle.
If you do this, then a new vehicle of any type should be a last-resort decision, rather than your primary purchasing decision.
The Option That Fits Most People!
In order to expand your options, you could then consider a combination of the options above. For example, taking a train to work and using a vehicle only for weekend travel.
If you do this, you are simply doing what millions of ordinary, socially responsible people are doing to get around, worldwide. These citizens don’t rely on the type of car they drive, or much carbon dioxide their new car emits to support their ego.
Electric Vehicles – Many Unanswered Questions
Since EV’s are such a hot topic today, I feel that you need to ask yourself some hard questions when you see people pushing new technology such as this in your face.
- How is my new car purchase going to help the enhancement of my local public transport system?
- What happens to my new vehicle if I don’t use it for 5 days a week (ie. when I use public transport to get to work)?
- Who is going to supply me with the electricity and at what cost to the environment? This applies to both home charging and charging stations. (Hint, nearly all of the electricity that supplies all electric vehicles, either at home or in the street, is supplied by coal/gas power stations in your country. It is not “clean energy” or free.)
- How do I pay for charging the vehicle when I am not at home, with cash?
- What should I do when my mobile phone carrier is not working and I need a refill?
- Do I need to own an expensive smartphone in order to operate, or fill up my vehicle? If so, then can I deal with a phone failure, flat phone battery, etc.?
- How am I going to travel when my car’s company has a security breach?
- What am I going to do if I’m in Australia and my car battery runs out, just out of reach of any source of electricity?
- Australia has some extreme climates. Can my new car cope with heat and cold and maintain a satisfactory range? Remember that the power source in an EV relies on a chemical reaction which is influenced by temperature in adverse ways (both extreme heat and cold).
- What am I going to do if my car manufacturer chooses to stop my car remotely, as I have breached some arbitrary terms and condition clause in the “licence agreement” I agreed to, as part of the equipment purchase?
- What am I going to do if my government chooses to mandate restricted use of my vehicle and enforce this via the online vehicle management systems built into all of these new cars?
The questions above have different answers depending on the country you live, your government’s attitude to privacy and control and your country’s power distribution network.
Your Choice – Your Future
EV’s have been around for a long time, but the recent rush to get EV’s into Australia, USA, UK and Europe on such a large scale, leaves a lot of unanswered questions. So before you hand over the money, take the time to ask your own questions.
You are being sold “convenience” every day, by our large corporations and if your decision making process is based on this criteria, you can rest assured that you a going down the wrong path for our planet’s future! Ultimately, the only person responsible for your environmental impact is you.