Do EV's actually do anything beneficial for the planet? - eviltoast

I’ve seen a lot of posts here on Lemmy, specifically in the “fuck cars” communities as to how Electric Vehicles do pretty much nothing for the Climate, but I continue to see Climate activists everywhere try pushing so, so hard for Electric Vehicles.

Are they actually beneficial to the planet other than limiting exhaust, or is that it? or maybe exhaust is a way bigger problem?

  • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
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    11 months ago

    I’m sorry, did you just handwave away indirect emissions? You do understand that the vast majority of our energy production still dumps large amounts of CO2 in the air?

    What we need instead of EVs is well designed walkable cities with mixed use buildings where one no longer NEEDS a car.

    If all you need for 95% of your travel is your legs or a bike, most people will actually just opt out of owning an expensive vehicle that they no longer need.

    What we need is good a public transportation system in the form of busses for middle range and trains for long range transportation.

    EVs is little more than a patch to keep the status quo on horribly designed cities.

    In the Netherlands I could go everywhere (and did go everywhere) walking, or by bike. I sometimes used a train for longer distances but in the end I didn’t need a car for anything.

    • Tripp1976@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      You do realize how long and how much money it would take to actually redesign and construct our cities to be bike/walkable? We should definitely start but it will not be done in time. We NEED EVs in the mean time. Even then it only works for cities and the majority of America is spread too far for it to work. I’m not riding my bike 20 miles to and from work when it’s -20 outside.

      • Ookami38@sh.itjust.works
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        11 months ago

        EVs are less than a drop in the bucket. Yes, please, for the love of God develop them and adopt them as much as possible, but the reality is that the carbon emissions problem is one where our impact as private citizens is as close to nil as it can be.

        • abbenm@lemmy.ml
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          11 months ago

          is one where our impact as private citizens is as close to nil as it can be

          Individual choices aggregate into large scale consequences, and individual choices do matter at scale.

    • Mongostein@lemmy.ca
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      11 months ago

      No, they didn’t and you pretty much just said the exact same thing they did with more words.