It can be argued that electric vehicles are an improvement when replacing ICE vehicles.

But that misses a much bigger point — which is that the very best car is *not* an electric car. The very best car is no car at all!

Building electric cars requires massive use of fossil fuels, including petrochemicals for the manufacture of plastics. In addition, mining of lithium for batteries as well as trawling for other minerals in the deep ocean is environmentally disastrous, killing biodiversity while polluting our water, soil, and air.

LITHIUM EXTRACTION — https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/02/01/south-america-s-lithium-fields-reveal-the-dark-side-of-our-electric-future

DEEP-SEA MINING — https://climatejustice.social/@breadandcircuses/109814016209990908

The kind of “Green Growth” championed by capitalists and politicians, which features more electric cars, a bit of solar, and a few wind farms — along with continued use of fossil fuels — is not a good answer. It does not solve any of our problems, and in fact only makes them worse.

Say NO to more cars, of any kind. Push instead for active transportation and for improved public transit.

Continued economic growth is unsustainable. Period. The only logical choice for us and for the biosphere is de-growth.

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #Degrowth #WarOnCars #BanCars

South America's 'lithium fields' reveal the dark side of electric cars

Demand for lithium-ion batteries is unprecedented - but is mining the chemical harmful to the environment?

euronews

I like this quote:

“The problem is that electric cars are popular with politicians precisely because they provide an excuse to avoid doing harder things, like rebuilding our cities, or changing the habits of lifetimes. Persuading people to switch from their old gasoline car to a shiny Tesla is much easier than persuading them that they can live without a car. Hence governments are pushing electric cars, often with incentives that make no sense.” - Daniel Knowles, author of Carmageddon

@breadandcircuses

You can't live without a car in this modern world. It's just realistically not feasible.

The other part is right on. The last thing in the world our government wants to do is put money back into the people that they are supposed to govern.

Jamie

@jamieannmason @breadandcircuses I have made it work by living in a city with functional transit, being young and healthy enough to walk all day if I need to, and having no children or pets.

I still have motorcycles that I ride a couple times a month.

@skotchygut @breadandcircuses

I think that's a solid answer, and thank you for sharing. I live in the country! So public transportation and convenience are really not options. It's 20 minutes to town for me, so I need a car.

Don't even give me started on internet access..🤬😅

Jamie

@jamieannmason @breadandcircuses it’s absolutely a privilege of mine to be able to live like this. If any other those things were to change I would not be able to keep it up.