Fossil fuels, renewable energy and electric vehicles
The transition to an environmentally sustainable economy will take at least a generation, if not longer. At the end of the journey, we will not emerge a primitive planet. The goal is to minimize the damage we humans do to the planet; the damage will never go away. There are too many of us and too few planets to undo the destruction. We need to understand our impacts and minimize them as much as possible. Our main goal should be to mitigate problems on a global scale, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, virus transmission and invasive species.
A key element of the transition is reducing our use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are expensive and environmentally damaging. In the United States, most of the fossil fuels we use are for transportation. In New York City, we have a population density that supports the mass transit system, and most of the fossil fuels we use are to power our buildings. In any case, when we switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy, we reduce but not eliminate the damage to the environment. Current versions of renewable energy sources, such as solar cells and windmills, are far less damaging to the environment than oil rigs, fracking, and surface mining, but they do cause damage to the environment. Windmills hurt migratory birds, and solar cells are needed to create toxic substances. Battery technology currently requires lithium and other rare earth metals, which must be mined. No one should pretend that these technologies are perfect – they are not.last year in the report New York TimesHiroko Tabuchi and Brad Plumer observe:
“Like many other batteries, lithium-ion batteries that power most electric vehicles rely on raw materials such as cobalt, lithium and rare earth elements, which are linked to serious environmental and human rights concerns. Cobalt is particularly problematic. Mining cobalt creates dangers of tailings and slag infiltrate the environmentThe study found high exposed to nearby communities, especially in children, cobalt and other metals. Extracting metals from ore also requires a process called smelting, which emits sulfur oxides and other harmful air pollution. ”
Since most of the electricity in the United States still comes from fossil fuels, electric vehicles charged by that energy source indirectly generate greenhouse gases. But as our sources of electricity shift from fossil fuels, the infrastructure for electric vehicles and charging stations will be in place and will help reduce greenhouse gases. The trend towards electric vehicles will spur reductions in greenhouse gases, but there is no guarantee.
A key factor will be the development of cheap and reliable renewable energy technologies. Current technology works but has limitations. They have also been subject to a disinformation campaign, in part because of Donald Trump’s longstanding hatred of windmills.According to the most recent NPR part:
“The spread of misinformation about solar and wind energy has led some states and counties to restrict or even reject projects. The Department of Energy calls it a major threat to the decarbonization of the grid. ”
Decarbonization will take decades, and in the case of large facilities such as wind and solar farms, we will see NIMBY-style opposition to siting. Some objections are justified because these installations will have a negative impact on the community. The damage won’t be the crazy stuff that windmill conspiracy theorists call it, like cancer and other diseases, but the installations will have some negative impacts on the environment and communities. All economic development projects have negative impacts. The question is: how do these impacts compare to positive impacts? In terms of renewable energy projects, how do they compare to fossil fuel alternatives?
A key issue for decarbonisation will also be the role of the grid itself. Wind and solar farms are an alternative to fossil fuel power plants. With current technology, these new forms of power plants require large amounts of land and adequate transmission lines. Our power system and its management is one of the few examples of highly centralized vertical organizational integration in our economy. The growth of supply chains and networks of organizations involved in production is common in many areas of the economy, but not electricity. Enhanced, smaller and less expensive solar and battery installations could dramatically disrupt this way of generating electricity. But from our total energy use, its growth and any view of the center of modern life, we advocate building as many different renewable sources as possible. We need off-grid and grid-tied solutions.
The transition to an environmentally friendly economy will be chaotic and slow. In many ways, the process began more than half a century ago with the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA’s regulatory responsibilities expanded during its first two decades, with many forms of pollution being identified and reduced. Cars have become more energy efficient and less polluting. When I returned to New York City in 1981, after a decade of living elsewhere, Manhattan’s untreated sewage was still being discharged untreated into the Hudson River. This ended in 1984 when the North River Sewage Treatment Plant opened. In the last two decades of the 20th century, we discovered thousands of toxic waste dumps and worked hard to ensure that people were not exposed to toxic substances. But even in 2022, many Superfund sites remain to be cleaned up, and we still discharge raw sewage into the Hudson River during severe storms. Always take two steps forward and one step back.
Decarbonization will be similar to our efforts in pollution control. When we make the problem less bad, we will see progress, but we will not solve the problem. Claims that EVs pollute too much are not convincing. They pollute less than vehicles powered by internal combustion engines. This is the only comparison that matters. Also, it keeps improving as technology develops. Tesla is already building the ability to recycle batteries, and as time goes on and more electric vehicles are put into service, the value of rare earth minerals in car batteries ensures that many new cars will be built using a portion of old batteries.
I assume that the global demand for transportation will grow as developing countries develop. I also assume that the appeal of mobility will continue in the developed world. Reducing liquidity is not feasible, so we need to find ways to reduce harm. Electric motors will eventually power large trucks, and we should see some form of renewable energy powering air travel in the future.
The fossil fuel industry and right-wing attacks on renewable energy may not extend to electric vehicles. First, the world’s automakers are just as capable of turning their economic power into political clout as fossil fuel companies. Automakers are investing billions of dollars in electric vehicles. These vehicles are technically superior to vehicles powered by internal combustion engines. They require less maintenance and have proven their attractiveness in the market. It’s hard to lie about EVs on social media when your neighbor has an EV parked in her driveway. When economies of scale are reached and prices fall, there is every reason to believe that EVs will push gasoline-powered vehicles out of the market.
This year will be a pivotal year for the development of electric vehicles, data shows New York Times Reporting by Jack Ewing and Neal E. Boudette:
“Sale car powered by battery only Last year saw a surge in sales in the U.S., Europe and China while deliveries of fossil fuel vehicles stagnated…Battery-powered vehicles are seeing a breakthrough as automakers start selling electric versions of one of America’s favorite cars Sexual Moment, and will enter the mainstream genre this year: Pickup trucks…while EVs are still only a small part of the market— Nearly 9% of new cars sold last year Global EV penetration is up from 2.5% in 2019, according to the International Energy Agency – a rapid growth in EVs that could make 2022 an unstoppable year for EV development, removing any doubts about combustion engine vehicles. towards obsolescence. ”
Focusing on electric pickups in the U.S. is a brilliant strategy for the automaker. When new technologies can do things older technologies cannot, the replacement of older technologies by new technologies can be accelerated. In marketing the new pickups, the auto company showed off their extra storage space and showed them powering homes during a power outage. Just as videotapes were replaced by DVDs and DVDs were replaced by streaming video, it can easily become overwhelming once you start adopting new technology. While electric vehicles are not perfect, they are an improvement for the environment. Once again, solutions to environmental problems caused by technology may be solved by new technologies. Right now, I’m waiting for my low-cost, apartment-friendly solar window kit that allows me to generate and store enough electricity to power my home.
