5215

Electric cars currently have a big carbon footprint too. I trust it will diminish over time, but they’re still not a great solution to global warming.

5216

That’s to do with their manufacture more than their operation, no? Perhaps economy of scale will bring that down over time? (Of course it also depends what generated the electricity that goes into their batteries.)

5217

That CNN quiz is just a very badly repackaged version of the drawdown.org list; which has a global, governmental perspective rather than one based on individual action by the average First Worlder; presenting it as a quiz omits necessary context and does a grave disservice to a lot of the concepts.

5218

It’s funny how true this is. My beloved neighbor, Jerry, has a bamboo line along his fence. Sort of an extra privacy fence. This time of year bamboo shoots just begin randomly shooting up in the middle of our front yard. My son enjoys kicked them so that they snap and fly into the air.

This does not help.

-xtien

5219

I think it’s predominantly manufacturing as you say. Probably the costs of power generation and transport and also battery inefficiencies and lifetimes play a part, too, but I don’t know what the breakdown is.

5220

Be advised, there are different types of bamboo.

While running bamboo will spread rapidly, and needs to be contained, clumping varieties spread in a much more controllable manner.

5221

Here is a decent article written by the lead author of the IPCC:

5222

At least with electric you can capture carbon at production and centralized power plants (or use decentralized green energy). The actual vehicle emits nothing when driven around. I try to explain this to everyone who tells me that the electricity my car is using is made by a plant that makes pollution.

I’m like “sure, but if everyone was driving these things and we captured all the carbon the power plant made (or transitioned them to green/nuclear) then there would be no pollution coming from roads at all”. Which seems a fair bit easier to do than have everyone driving fossil fuel burning smog machines to recycle enough or something to offset that.

5223
5224


I’m no longer surprised by surprising findings about how bad the situation is.

5225

Indeed, and they’ve done everything they can to undersell the effect nuclear could have.

5226

I feel like, looking forward, this is probably going to be the tipping point politically.

I suspect that Greenland’s ice sheet will fail catastrophically and cause a large “event” that will be felt worldwide, either as a kind of tsunami like situation for those nearby and/or just a sudden dramatic rise in sea level that is noticeable by everyone.

And that’s going to be the “moment” when it’s no longer politically possible to ignore climate change by even conservative governments parties.

5227

conservative government parties: hold our beer

Sorry, the cynicism is so deep seated in me now

5228

Justifiably so, when our current radical “conservative” government is actually going in the opposite direction - not just ignoring, but exacerbating.

5229

EV’s produce far less lifetime GHG than gas cars. Accounting for manufacture. Accounting for power supply. In all 50 states. All across Europe. However you measure it.

@Arrendek, don’t say “sure, but”. Say “you’re wrong, Google it”.

There is so much FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) about EVs, the only way to address it is with clear statements. Buying cars is generally hard on the environment, it’s true. We should all drive less, also true. But if we’re in the market for a new vehicle, it’s much better to get an EV.

Edit: also they’re getting cleaner over time, measurably so, because the power supply is getting cleaner.

5230
5231

Kudos to Arstechnica, who seems to have actually purchased and read the underlying paper, and didn’t just write an article based on the abstract and title:

The finding is that yes, switching from coal to natural gas is a valid and appropriate strategy and should be pursued, though over the long term cleaner power sources are better.

I’d add that switching faces few political hurdles as we could probably use the same buildings - no waiting 10 years for first round of consultation of a new nuclear power plant to start.

5232

Coal mining also releases methane, of course.

5233
5234