The Electric Car Myth
How does this sound: a car that runs entirely on electricity which is just as cheap and also just as good as any other. A car that will take you hundreds of miles with a single charge; a car that works great, looks sexy, and doesn’t contribute in any way to the already frighteningly progressive grip of Global Warming. Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? Well, here’s the thing: that’s because, to a certain degree it is.
I don’t want to be too negative, but there are some simple facts that everyone should be aware of: I’m not saying that electric cars aren’t the future and that we should continue to destroy the atmosphere—what I am saying is that you have to be very careful about what you believe. Believe everything the manufacturers have to say and you are living a fantasy.
Firstly, we have to talk about how cars are produced. Now, electric as electric cars may be, that doesn’t mean that the method of producing them is any less industrially damaging to the atmosphere than current car production methods. By the time any car—unless it’s made out of drift-wood and natural glue, or scraps found in the bin—gets onto the road it has already done more than its fair share against humanity; regardless of how good it is from that point on, the electric car has still been a bit of a bad boy (or girl).
The manufacturers won’t tell you any of this, of course, because that would really make you think, and we can’t have too many people doing that: that would be dangerous. What’s the answer? That’s the really bad bit I was hoping I could leave out. There isn’t one. The best thing we can do is use electric cars as much as possible, as soon as we can. At least then we’re only being half as naughty. If you are all actually interested in other ways to save energy, check out this really great Enigin Geek blog that I found.