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What does this accomplish? A quick search on Google Maps shows this city (Petaluma, CA) already has at least 18 gas stations. Gas stations don't cause people

What does this accomplish? A quick search on Google Maps shows this city (Petaluma, CA) already has at least 18 gas stations. Gas stations don't cause people to consume more gas - they are built because people are already consuming the gas. People will certainly just travel a little bit further for their fuel. Nobody is going to buy a new EV because of this. Even for the few people looking to buy a new vehicle there are few "affordable" EVs on the market, the ones which are available are relatively expensive, and plenty of other reasons to consider gas-powered alternatives. Charging is still relatively slow and charge stations are relatively hard to come by compared to gas. The batteries are also still incredibly expensive to repair or replace - in some cases seemingly by design. I really don't understand this. If you want to stop automotive gas consumption, you need to stop people from buying gas-powered vehicles, not stop them from building gas stations.

ravenstine 5y ago
If people just took out loans and dumped their savings into the stock market, they too could afford a trendy car with a long tail pipe that relies on lithium mined overseas and is a hassle to repair. /s
bobthepanda 5y ago
Gas stations have known environmental impacts. The storage tanks are an environmental hazard that makes redevelopment extremely expensive. The operation of the gas pump itself pollutes the air with toxic fumes, to the point where CA already bans their installation 300 ft from sensitive uses (e.g. schools and playgrounds) and even that may not be sufficient to actually prevent health hazards. While for now they are a necessary part of the transportation system, gas stations have very obvious downsides at least from a local perspective.
- CivBase 5y ago
  > The operation of the gas pump itself pollutes the air with toxic fumes, to the point where CA already bans their installation 300 ft from sensitive uses (e.g. schools and playgrounds) and even that may not be sufficient to actually prevent health hazards. That's another result of fuel consumption, not the construction of new gas stations. The toxic fumes aren't reduced because a driver goes an extra couple minutes out of their way to use one of the existing stations. The goal is to reduce automotive emissions. Gas stations don't incentivize automotive emissions - it's the other way around.
  - bobthepanda 5y ago
    They are reduced in the immediate local area, though. Which is something one can certainly optimize for. Local road emissions are linked to poor health conditions like asthma.

ravenstine 5y ago

If people just took out loans and dumped their savings into the stock market, they too could afford a trendy car with a long tail pipe that relies on lithium mined overseas and is a hassle to repair. /s

bobthepanda 5y ago

Gas stations have known environmental impacts. The storage tanks are an environmental hazard that makes redevelopment extremely expensive. The operation of the gas pump itself pollutes the air with toxic fumes, to the point where CA already bans their installation 300 ft from sensitive uses (e.g. schools and playgrounds) and even that may not be sufficient to actually prevent health hazards. While for now they are a necessary part of the transportation system, gas stations have very obvious downsides at least from a local perspective.

CivBase 5y ago
> The operation of the gas pump itself pollutes the air with toxic fumes, to the point where CA already bans their installation 300 ft from sensitive uses (e.g. schools and playgrounds) and even that may not be sufficient to actually prevent health hazards. That's another result of fuel consumption, not the construction of new gas stations. The toxic fumes aren't reduced because a driver goes an extra couple minutes out of their way to use one of the existing stations. The goal is to reduce automotive emissions. Gas stations don't incentivize automotive emissions - it's the other way around.
- bobthepanda 5y ago
  They are reduced in the immediate local area, though. Which is something one can certainly optimize for. Local road emissions are linked to poor health conditions like asthma.