Sad to say you've bought Tesla's hype (as did the state of Nevada for billions of public dollars). You're right that desuburbanization and transit are far better at reducing GHGs and are necessary, so please explain how making cars more efficient will promote desuburbanization or the revitalization of car-free cities. What about the "rebound effect" from the decreased cost of automobile operation as people drive more? Moreover, I'm sure the bulldozers that strip mine the resources for LI-ion batteries, aluminum, steel and the petroleum that goes into the plastics in EVs will all be "carbon neutral," right? How about the disposal of tens, perhaps hundreds of millions of dead batteries once EVs get a significant market share? EVs produce fewer tailpipe emissions, but the larger system of sprawl and consumption will remain untouched. It's not about buying a different car and continuing to drive everywhere and pretending you're making a difference, it's about significantly ratcheting down fossil fuel energy consumption. This kind of techno-utopianism makes people feel good, but it overlooks some inconvenient realities.
Sad to say you've bought Tesla's hype (as did the state of Nevada for billions of public dollars). You're right that desuburbanization and transit are far better at reducing GHGs and are necessary, so please explain how making cars more efficient will promote desuburbanization or the revitalization of car-free cities. What about the "rebound effect" from the decreased cost of automobile operation as people drive more? Moreover, I'm sure the bulldozers that strip mine the resources for LI-ion batteries, aluminum, steel and the petroleum that goes into the plastics in EVs will all be "carbon neutral," right? How about the disposal of tens, perhaps hundreds of millions of dead batteries once EVs get a significant market share? EVs produce fewer tailpipe emissions, but the larger system of sprawl and consumption will remain untouched. It's not about buying a different car and continuing to drive everywhere and pretending you're making a difference, it's about significantly ratcheting down fossil fuel energy consumption. This kind of techno-utopianism makes people feel good, but it overlooks some inconvenient realities.