Why Electric Cars Won't Save Us

In this Our Changing Climate climate change video essay, I look at why electric cars won't save us. Specifically, I unpack why electric cars still have emissions tied to them as well as solidify imperialist extraction in the global south. That being said, electric cars are still much better for the planet and for people than gas-powered, fossil fuel-guzzling cars. My question, however, is whether completely replacing gas cars with electric cars is a justice-oriented answer to the climate crisis. To that, I offer up free and electrified public transportation like trams and buses as an alternative that would expand access to cities, especially for low-income people, and minimize our material footprint. Public transportation is essential to creating an ethical and ecologically focused future.

Check out other Climate YouTubers:

Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
1:41 - Are Electric Cars the Answer?
5:27 - What Should We Do Instead?
6:33 - Car-less Transportation
9:51 - Towards a Car-less World
11:24 - Nebula and CuriosityStream Ad Spot
13:48 - Outro

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#ElectricCars #PublicTransportation #ClimateChange

[OurChangingClimate]

Note: There's some sloppy research and wording in here. I'm sorry. (1) The white paper by Michael Kelly is funded by a climate-denial think tank. (other, better sources linked below) (2) I want to make clear that I don't think EVs are the devil, I just think they are not THE solution to future transportation. It feels as if there's such a heavy emphasis on EVs and comparably little on public transit. I believe it should be the opposite. There will always be a role for EVs, but it must be much smaller than what it is currently. Please read further on this and come to your own conclusions. There are some great counterpoints in the comments! I have a bunch of resources in the description!

[ccasto]

Also crucially road-based public transit (like buses) need dedicated lanes because if they get stuck in traffic with all the cars there will never be a time incentive to take public transit - public transit should be the best option, not just the one people take to save money or the environment

[Emily-cehd]

Also, in the continental US there's already a lot of train rails in areas that have no public transit. I'm from a small town in Indiana and if there were passenger trains on the local rails it would cut down to drives to Indianapolis immediately. And in many cases there USED to be passenger trains on these rails but they disappeared over time.

[nel]

I'm an Estonian and live in Tallinn. When public transport became free I sold my car the next day and started taking public transport. It has allowed me to pay my debt off faster and experience true financial freedom, which allows me to purchase more local goods and raise me out of low income. I hope other countries around the world adopt this as I want others that were in my situation can flourish.

[sami.ehlers]

Thanks so much for this. I've had a gradual shift over the past few years from hyping up electric cars, to being turned off by all cars. This video solidified that for me.

[ANTHNY.VII.]

A huge problem I see here at home (the US) is that our cities were poorly planned out.

You can't walk anywhere. Obviously you can but a trip to the store will take over an hour by walking. And unfortunately many places have unfinished sidewalks or none at all.

[SgtKaito]

As someone who lives in suburban America and has to own a car, I really hate car-centric societies. Keep in mind I am a car person and I love driving- just not through traffic. As a college student, I need a car to reliably get to my college which is an hour from me (Still the closest college I can afford). Car expenses are a lot and while my part time job does pay for them, the issues that come up from owning an old car like mine (The only kind I can afford) are often unexpected and expensive. I find it really dumb that there is no train route from my town to my college, only endless different roads you can take there. Public transportation is super limited around me as well, it is not a viable option and the people who use it need to go by its limited schedules. I would love to bike around more for local travel too, but there is no protection for bikers on roads so it is not very safe to do it. Part of me wants to to save money on gas, but I will have to be super careful. I've been thinking about getting a job closer to my house so at least it would be a quick bike ride despite not being very safe, maybe I'll do that. Like my car person needs would be satisfied if I could just drive on a track with some frequency, it's just not as fun when I have no other option to get around. Some people think cars give you freedom, but how free are you when you have no other viable transportation options and you need to dish out a lot of money just to travel?

[yo-no]

A wise man once said:
"Electric cars aren't here to save the planet, they're here to save the car industry"

[shaunaburton]

My town turned an old railroad line into a walkway and all the businesses on it have done great. I hope more cities do this.

[WolfiiDog]

Another important thing: city centers have become increasingly more expensive places to live due to high rents, and apartment prices, pushing people into sprawling neighborhoods.

[MrLegHair]

You hit the nail on the head as always. I work for a Canadian ENGO and it seems to me that all the funding and priority is geared to expand EVs as fast as possible. It is honestly maddening to know there are better solutions but the focus is on cars (that most people still can't afford to purchase even with government incentives).

[KJSvitko]

Cities need to do more to encourage people to ride bicycles. Safe protected bike lanes and trails are needed so adults and children can ride safely. Speak up for bicycles in your community. Bicycles make life and cities better.

[mollym]

Awesome video! Car centric culture is definitely something I want to see challenged in the U.S. I'm curious whether you'll do a video on trucks. I've heard those can't be easily electrified and yet we depend so heavily on trucks to transport materials and goods. I imagine re-localizing our economies would help but I just wondered if you had any thoughts on that.

[piccolo]

I’ve vowed to never own a car. I might hire one when I’m moving stuff or on holiday in the French mountains, but 95% of the year, I want nothing to do with cars. Luckily, I live in the Netherlands and work in microbiology, so I can get around with my bike and public transport without much issue. I hope others want to and can live like me too, soon.

[kuyshina]

I grew up in a suburban town and required a car for getting anything done. It was only after moving to the east bay area was I able to truly utilize public transportation and living on a town built around people.


It is so nice being able to take the bus or ride my bike to anywhere I need to go.

[Thinginator]

As a car enthusiast, I don’t want to envision a carless world, but I do agree that we need better public transportation. It benefits everyone, car enthusiasts and non-car-people alike. If cars could be purely a choice and not a necessity, then car enthusiasts would be free to drive whatever fun car they want without worrying about practicality, and everyone else would be able to spend that money on other things. Plus fewer cars on the road would mean better driving conditions for those with cars, and potentially fewer regulations because they’re no longer necessary. There’s no need to get rid of all the roads that currently exist. Trams, trains, and buses can both save car culture and give us a greener future.

[ernststravoblofeld]

Most of the emissions and materials problems with cars also apply to wind and solar farms. Endless mining. Energy costs of production. Exploitation of workers.

Why can't anyone even consider the idea of using less energy?

[AntiAntiVaxxer]

They are better than regular cars, but can’t beat trains or buses

[Evan.the.Butler]

The city I'm from, Olympia Washington, also made all public transportation free. Bus fares made up so little of their income, that they decided to just get rid of them. It is, admittedly, a small city with just a bus system--no trains (a really good bus system, tho)

[denelson]

Here is the reality. Public transportation will not save you in the US either, because Big Business is vehemently and bitterly opposed to it. They would rather sell more cars and more oil. Remember that the US used to have really good public transportation, back in the first half of the 20th Century, but big automobile companies exterminated that and replaced it with a highway network and an appetite for cars instead.