Bread and CircusesMay 2, 2023

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
Show threadBread and CircusesMay 3, 2023

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

Show threadchris
@breadandcircuses
So true. For me, a blind person, this is a human rights issue as well
as a climate issue. Yes, electric vehicles are awesome. I love riding
in them. When I take Lyft and the driver has an electric, I nerd
out and ask them a bunch of semi-technical questions.
It's very superior to internal combustion.
But it would be so much better to live in a world built for people,
not for cars. A world where I didn't feel like I was literally taking
my life into my hands every time I walked down a busy street.

Here in the US, we have this mindset that every problem can be solved
by consumption. Just buy some shit and the world will be better.
We saw it after September 11, when Bush got on TV and told people to
go shopping. Detroit, orSilicon Valley, or whoever -- has a solution
for whatever your problem is, and all you have to do is buy it.

By the same token, the opposite -- and to some, equally alluring -- trap is a sort of hair-shirt
anti-materialism / anti-consumption that says individuals can change
the world through enough self-flagellation. That's another post entirely,
though.

My point is these are collective problems and we have to solve them
collectively.
Jul 11, 2023 at 4:43amWeb
Show threadLord HJul 11, 2023
@chris @breadandcircuses Much the same here in UK. Blind (like my daughter) and other disabilities are marginalised because there is no profit to be made. Stay safe Chris.