EVs are NOT the answer to save this planet!

[ainarssems]

Well EV's are not the answer to save the planet. The whole increased growth strategy is doomed as population increases and everybody wants more. There are finite resources on earth, only way to survival is to get off this rock in long term but in short to mid-term we need to try and limit the damage while we develop technology to spread in space.

I take the whole CO2 and climate change thing with a pinch of salt. The climate has been changing and it will be changing on it's own all the time. Humans do have an input in it but a I am not sure how much. For all I know there could be another Ice age and everybody will be grateful we warmed up planet a bit so it's a bit less severe. With all the supercomputers and everything they cannot produce a reliable weather forecast couple of weeks in future so why would I believe they can get reliable forecast on global warming.

But forget CO2, there are other more certain things with burning fossil fuels like soot, particulate matter, NxOy, SxOy and other pollution. Even if you keep burning fossil fuels to generate electricity to charge your EV there is a difference in burning it in city centre with lot of population where all inhabitants inhale or moving it to power plant in middle of nowhere where it will get dispersed and diluted before reaching anybody. Yest, it's still pollution and it may affect wildlife but at least it's a stop gap measure . And yes, mining materials for EVs also cause pollution and damage and it is just a next step, it's not necessarily a solution.

You could say I am biased because I have bought Tesla myself but to be honest environmental concerns was a minor part of my decision. My next target car was C6 A6 diesel quattro estate for about £3-4k and when I started the search I would have never thought I will ever be buying a car for £30k+. But after 10+ months searching an widening my horizons I could not find a car that I would be happy with for the price I was prepared to pay. I went as high as £12k for A6 Allroad Biturbo. But then I started to put the whole ownership numbers together and realised that over 10 previous years I have spent about £30k in diesel for my £2200 A6 C5 diesel. And while I looked at different EVs including brand new ones the only choice for me at the end was Model S old enough to qualify for free supercharging. Back then electricity was still cheap and while I expected prices to go up I did not expect them to go up so quickly.

I mostly used free superchargers, free charging at Tesco or Rushden lakes and in 1st year of ownership doing £18k miles I saved about £4.8k in diesel costs and only paid about £60 when giving a little top up charge at home.

So while my decision to get Tesla was purely economical it does make me feel better about myself and hopefully for my kids when I drive in town or city centre by knowing that while I might have not have reduced total emissions or environmental damage , I still have improved it a tiny bit for some people.