EVs are cleaner than gas cars, but a growing share of Americans don't believe it
EVs are cleaner than gas cars, but a growing share of Americans don't believe it
Electric vehicles are caught up in the culture wars. Data from Ipsos shows the percentage of Americans who believe EVs are better for the environment than gas cars has dropped 5 points since 2022.
Everyone knows that electric vehicles are supposed to be better for the planet than gas cars. That's the driving reason behind a global effort to transition toward batteries.
But what about the harms caused by mining for battery minerals? And coal-fired power plants for the electricity to charge the cars? And battery waste? Is it really true that EVs are better?
The answer is yes. But Americans are growing less convinced.
The net benefits of EVs have been frequently fact-checked, including by NPR. "No technology is perfect, but the electric vehicles are going to offer a significant benefit as compared to the internal combustion engine vehicles," Jessika Trancik, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told NPR this spring.
It's important to ask these questions about EVs' hidden costs, Trancik says. But they have been answered "exhaustively" --- her word --- and a widerange of organizations have confirmed that EVs still beat gas.
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I've been wondering... Those batteries are really heavy and I've already had to explain to multiple customers that their ~1000kg heavier and ~100kw stronger engine (to get similar acceleration in a comparable model to the gas vehicle) is going to eat up tires twice as fast. If you were burning through a set of tires a year you better budget for two sets and the extra time to come in and have them changed every 6 months. And all those extra tires have to come from something. And shipped from somewhere. And then the roads need repaving more often because of both the extra weight and higher power output. 1000's of km of road that will have repaving works going on twice as often. On top of reduced traffic throughput while roadworks are ongoing, is any of that taken into account when comparing environmental impact? How will the increase in airborne particles and toxic runoff from the roads affect the environment?
The vehicles weight a little more, but the move to solid state batteries will decrease weight by 30-50%. So that issue is already being addressed. Batteries will get better as we start to use them as competitive markets drive fixing such. We aren't improving gas powered vehicles much anymore, they still kill people with their exhaust daily. Anyone going against the movement is for killing people and the environment. Dead stop.
"they still kill people with their exhaust daily"
Exactly my point. The pollution from road and tires kills more people than exhausts on a modern vehicle. And now that we are moving to heavier vehicles that need to compensate with higher power we will have even more pollution and carcinogens killing us. I'm a car mechanic and take the bus+subway to work but on the rare occasion I bring my car to get some work done I get lectured by customers, about how I should buy an ev for 5x the cost of my current car while they trot around in their 4 ton beasts every day. I've used my current set of tires for 6 years. Many of my EV customers need new tires every 6-12 months. People need to change their habits before buying en EV unless all they want to do is virtue signal.
A Chevy Bolt weighs the same as a Toyota Camry. Why why would it need new tires every 6-12 months?
Also... Still before they eventually move to lower weight batteries over time as I originally stated.
The cost is also no where near 5x as much, I believe they are both ~30. Costs also come down with mass production of parts
The bolt is a subcompact, the Camry is a midsize.
The Camry is three feet longer, has two more doors and weighs 200lbs less.
A better comparison would be to the Yaris, Toyotas subcompact gas hatchback which weighs between 900 and 1400lbs less depending on options.
People can be against EVs and still be for the environment. EVs still need massive amounts of parking and lanes, our zoning laws often mean we keep destroying natural land to pave these spaces. The EV will also prolong the suburban experiment which is massively worse for the environment compared to desner housing options. Some people view EVs as delaying some of the more pressing issuses related to tranportation and city development in our urban areas.
Personally I think EVs are better than ICE but i dont think just swapping them out is doing enough for the environment or to reduce our overall energy demands.