New research says building electric vehicles leaves a bigger carbon footprint than making gas-powered cars, though EVs make up the difference in the long run
That said, it feels a bit like saying vaping is healthier than cigarettes. It’s true, but we don’t want to leave with the impression that vaping is good. It’s just not as bad.
Not talking about vaping being healthier just sounds like unrealistic anti-drug propaganda we heard for decades. If you don’t acknowledge the facts, people don’t trust you and go to other sources
I think the solution is just to provide the proper context that large personal vehicles as the primary mode of transportation in urban areas are harmful and that better alternatives exist. It’s OK to examine the relative harms in relation to one another as long as you are up front with the fact that both are harmful and can realistically only play a moderate role in a decarbonized economy. But this article and much of the discourse on this topic fails to present that full picture. This leaves people with the false impression that we can just leave everything the same and replace gas cars with electric ones and the problem is solved.
This is in line with past research.
That said, it feels a bit like saying vaping is healthier than cigarettes. It’s true, but we don’t want to leave with the impression that vaping is good. It’s just not as bad.
Not talking about vaping being healthier just sounds like unrealistic anti-drug propaganda we heard for decades. If you don’t acknowledge the facts, people don’t trust you and go to other sources
I think the solution is just to provide the proper context that large personal vehicles as the primary mode of transportation in urban areas are harmful and that better alternatives exist. It’s OK to examine the relative harms in relation to one another as long as you are up front with the fact that both are harmful and can realistically only play a moderate role in a decarbonized economy. But this article and much of the discourse on this topic fails to present that full picture. This leaves people with the false impression that we can just leave everything the same and replace gas cars with electric ones and the problem is solved.