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On a per-dollar basis, it's more efficient to replace older cars with worse emissions profiles than it is to shift new production to EVs.
by dcolkitt 7y ago
On a per-dollar basis, it's more efficient to replace older cars with worse emissions profiles than it is to shift new production to EVs.
- Robotbeat 7y agoI'm not sure that's actually true any more. But even if it is: That's low hanging fruit that simultaneously locks in fossil fuel vehicles for longer and risks the Jevons Paradox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox Need to go full EV to meet our goals.
- tankerdude 7y agoData on that point? What's the comparison to new ICE production?
- Robotbeat 7y agoRight. I doubt it's actually true. An newer vehicle may get ~25% better efficiency and so a factor of 1.25 lower carbon emissions, but an electric car (which may only have a 20% price premium, if that) in a state like California (which has the most EVs) has a factor of 5 lower carbon emissions.
- dcolkitt 7y agoCarbon emissions are an entirely different issue from air pollution.
- mikepurvis 7y agoI think that depends a lot on your usage pattern. My family is low-car— I'm a four season bike commuter and my partner can largely get around during the day by walking and transit. Because we put less than 10k km on our car each year, I don't think buying a new Tesla or Prius makes sense for us, either from a cost or environmental standpoint. We were previously in a 2003 Volvo station wagon, and now in a 2013 Mazda 5. Neither of these cars is the most efficient on a per-km basis, but we're tackling that by just keeping the total number of km to a minimum. Now, I am in Ontario where we have snowy winters, so almost all cars tend to rust out and be done within 10-15 years— it's not like the southwest where there are lots of truly ancient vehicles still being used as daily drivers. Perhaps the situation is different there.
- markdown 7y ago> I am in Ontario where we have snowy winters, so almost all cars tend to rust out and be done within 10-15 years How does snow accelerate rust?
- Dylan16807 7y agoRoad salting. Also it's pretty humid there, apparently?
- markdown 7y agoAhh, the salting makes sense. I live by the sea in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and our cars last longer than 15yrs so I wondered how snow could be worse. Having salt regularly splattered all over your undercarriage would definitely be much worse than anything our cars go through.