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Do EV's actually do anything beneficial for the planet? (lemmy.today)
submitted 2 years ago* by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
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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?

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[โ€“] 19 points 2 years ago (9 children)

The best solution is 0 cars anywhere.
A more realistic solution, is to replace planet-murdering cars with planet-kicking cars.

The math that I have seen on when an EV becomes better for the planet compared to an ICE is kinda all over the place, mostly due to how the power is generated.

Where I live, with a high amount of coal, buying a used ICE vehicle makes more sense than buying a new EV. If we drove more than just our weekly grocery trip, it might make more sense.

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  • [โ€“] 4 points 2 years ago (6 children)

    Its all about efficiencies even on a coal fired grid an EV produces less emissions a prius.

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  • [โ€“] 3 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    As long as you would drive enough so that difference can offset the fabrication of the EV. Most people will hit this number in less than five years.
    https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/when-do-electric-vehicles-become-cleaner-than-gasoline-cars-2021-06-29/

    We drive about 350km a year on a high-coal grid, so we won't drive enough for a new EV to be better for the environment than getting a used car that was headed for disposal.

    I know people who drive more per day than my household drives per year, so I know that we are going to be a fairly rare case.

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  • [โ€“] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    Sounds like you need a used EV.

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  • [โ€“] 1 point 2 years ago

    If there was a decent used EV, it should be used by someone who has a greater need/want than I have.

    My coffee consumption has a larger carbon footprint than my household's driving, so I could try to find other ways to reduce before I throw away a working vehicle.

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  • [โ€“] -1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Regulated Emissions and Energy Use in Technologies (GREET) model

    Wasn't that the fun model where they ignored the emissions of producing the vehicle?

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 2 years ago

    The best solution is a reasonable number of cars and still having commercial vehicles like we have today... ideally those vehicles will be electric and most people will walk/bike/public transit to work.

    Framing it as all or nothing is pretty unhelpful.

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