Electric cars

[guest4871]

I have worked out that I contribute one hundredth million of one percent to CO2 emissions and I am being asked to make that fifty millionth of one percent.

To do that I have, at least, to eat flies to "save the planet".

Is that a world really worth anyone living in?

Could you show your working please?

I would think it would be relatively easy for people in the western world to cut their carbon footprint in half without undue hardship. Not so for those in third world countries.

Edit Added last paragraph.

United Kingdom percentage of world CO2 emissions = 1.1%

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/uk-and-global-emissions-and-temperature-trends/

United Kingdom population = 68 million

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/articles/overviewoftheukpopulation/january2021

Each person in the United Kingdom therefore emits 68 millionths of 1.1% of the world's CO2 emissions.

Adjust for your individual lifestyle, eg travel by car or air, central heating temperature settings, consummation of red meat, you know the rest, etc, etc.

I am a low consumer of all these things.

QED

[JimSh]

I have worked out that I contribute one hundredth million of one percent to CO2 emissions and I am being asked to make that fifty millionth of one percent.

To do that I have, at least, to eat flies to "save the planet".

Is that a world really worth anyone living in?

Could you show your working please?

I would think it would be relatively easy for people in the western world to cut their carbon footprint in half without undue hardship. Not so for those in third world countries.

Edit Added last paragraph.

United Kingdom percentage of world CO2 emissions = 1.1%

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/uk-and-global-emissions-and-temperature-trends/

United Kingdom population = 68 million

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/articles/overviewoftheukpopulation/january2021

Each person in the United Kingdom therefore emits 68 millionths of 1.1% of the world's CO2 emissions.

Adjust for your individual lifestyle, eg travel by car or air, central heating temperature settings, consummation of red meat, you know the rest, etc, etc.

I am a low consumer of all these things.

QED

Er,
You'll be pleased to learn that your contribution to global carbon dioxide is much less than you calculated.

By your figures
United Kingdom percentage of world CO2 emissions = 1.1%
United Kingdom population = 68 million
 Therefore each person in Britain contributes 1.1/68000000% not  1.1X68/1000000%

I would also be interested in how you determined that halving your already modest contribution would result in your having to eat flies.

[nowster]

It's all pie in the sky without a significant increase in electricity generation and distribution capacity, just like switching to all electric heating. These focus groups don't consider that aspect.

[richardfrost]

Fear not, the blond Baldrick will come up with another three word slogan.

I predict is will be 'I'm alright jack'.

[culzean]

No wonder China is laughing - they will sell the west electric vehicles manufactured using coal fired power, then laugh while stupid pinkie struggles to charge it...

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/05/03/china-renewable-energy-intermittent-and-unstable-we-must-rely-on-a-stable-power-source/

[peteo48]

I've watched 2 interesting you tube clips from two early adopters and influencers as they say. The first was from EV Opinion. This is the second video in which he has slammed the UK charging infrastructure. He concludes that he could not recommend an EV to anybody who needed to use the UK charging network regularly. He remains an EV enthusiast so this opinion carries weight with me.

The other You Tuber to weigh in on this was EVM (Electric Vehicle Man formerly Electric Leaf Man). His video was a rant about the still shockingly poor state of the UK charging network. A key gripe was the failure of Charging Companies to repair broken chargers.

Add that to the fact that, if you purchase a Nissan or (I think) a Mitsubishi, you are going to find that the Chademo charging system is tipped, indeed already is, going the way of Betamax which will mean you won't be able to rapid charge at many outlets in the future.

So, there you have it, 2 EV alumni are virtually advising those who would rely, to any great extent, on the charging network as it stands to stay clear of EVs at this time.

Completely different arguments apply if you only venture outside the range of your car on occasions and/or you use an EV as a second car.

It's going to be a very long time before EVs become the norm. The best estimate for EVs is that, by 2030, there will be around 10 million on the roads as compared to over 21 million ICE vehicles. I think dinosaur juice will be available for some considerable time.

I still hanker for an EV but using head as opposed to heart, not anytime soon.

PS

Just to add, my daughter got her friend's electrician husband to quote for the installation of a charge point in her 1920s house. £2,500 was quoted - the grant would barely touch the sides. On top of that another £3,000 to convert her small front garden into off road parking.



 

[TiJazz]

Completely true. Binned my EV as soon as my apartment charger stopped working because I know what a mug’s game it is to own one without home charging (as I did with my first Zoe).

[Jocko]

I've decided against the MG5. Read too many issues. Still fancy an EV though. Mk 4 Jazz high on the list too.

[John Ratsey]

There's also the Honda e, or did that get vetoed by SWAMBO? There are a few ex-demonstrators available including a couple near you https://usedcars.honda.co.uk/en/used-cars/approved-cars/all-brands/all-models?country=gb&unitSystem=imperial&currency=GBP&currentSearch=honda&manufacturer=21&price_type_switch=price&model=3231&zip=BS0+1ZZ&radius=5000&warrantyProgram=22&sort=price:ASC#result-tools-top . still, however, significantly more expensive than an ex-demonstrator Mk 4 Jazz.

[Jocko]

She said she would have to wear a blindfold to avoid the dashboard and that would make her sick!

[swhull]

I’d be great to be able to have an EV and for it to be easy to charge at home and wherever you want to go, but I just think it’s going to take decades for it to be a practical choice for people. If the rest of the world had the same ambitions as our government then it’d make a bit more sense than it does at the moment. When are India and China banning ICE? Probably never.

[Jocko]

China is at the forefront of EV sales and manufacture.

The direction of travel was underlined by President Xi Jinping at the United Nations last September, when he pledged to cut China’s carbon dioxide emissions to nearly zero by 2060. Low-emissions transport, including EVs, will be one of the strategic industries helping the country achieve its climate goals.

2020 also saw policy updates that will accelerate the adoption of EVs, even as vehicle price subsidies are phased out. Beginning this year, mandatory emission quotas for internal combustion engines (ICE) and EVs are being tightened to help EVs reach 20% of new car sales by 2025; this equates to around 6 million units a year, from 1.3 million in 2020.

A decade later, by 2035, EVs are expected to account for 50% of all new car sales, according to the government’s ‘Energy-saving and New Energy Vehicle Technology Roadmap 2.0’.

[swhull]

China is at the forefront of EV sales and manufacture.

The direction of travel was underlined by President Xi Jinping at the United Nations last September, when he pledged to cut China’s carbon dioxide emissions to nearly zero by 2060. Low-emissions transport, including EVs, will be one of the strategic industries helping the country achieve its climate goals.

2020 also saw policy updates that will accelerate the adoption of EVs, even as vehicle price subsidies are phased out. Beginning this year, mandatory emission quotas for internal combustion engines (ICE) and EVs are being tightened to help EVs reach 20% of new car sales by 2025; this equates to around 6 million units a year, from 1.3 million in 2020.

A decade later, by 2035, EVs are expected to account for 50% of all new car sales, according to the government’s ‘Energy-saving and New Energy Vehicle Technology Roadmap 2.0’.

Communists and their quotas… I’m sure it’ll all end well

[E27006]

We are trading away or undermining our energy security as a consequence of green thinking, the energy security of the country has been historically  very high with natural gas , North Sea oil and coal under our control. So secure were  our energy sources, that during the coal miners strike of the early 1980s , the country was energy-secure for a year without any detriment, the country had a 12 month stockpile of coal, I cannot see that today, coal-fired power  generated electricity, probably the cheapest method, is replaced by electricity imported from France,  solar power which has the least availability when our needs  are  greatest,  and we import so much motor  fuel , especially diesel, as we allowed our refineries to close. I support green measures, but when we depend on others, it leads to international  war

[Kremmen]

Fully agree, we are allowing our industries to be foreign owned, presumably for a quick fix buck.

Thatcher sold off council houses and now look where we are with social housing.