Another interesting article on EVs. Or maybe not.

its clearly obvious, irelands immediate future for transport is gonna be fossil fuel private vehicles, which means, we re fcuked!

we re clearly gonna completely miss our ev targets, its gonna be many decades until the majority are driving ev's, and we re clearly never gonna get a suitable public transport system in order to take more out of their fossil fueled vehicles, so, we re fcuked!

Depends

Not that I would suggest anyone get an EV for that reason..

Great post!

We are the EU, your preference is to tell ourselves to get fucked? Not sure how much of the German economy we saved in 2008 but actually what happened there was our government were actually following the rules, admittedly they shouldn't have, but that's a debate for another thread.

Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kilkata, LA, Chicago, Houston, Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg are all cities in the aforementioned countries with similar or smaller populations. Should they all follow the same mantra of being too small to make any impact or should they all realise they are part of something bigger?

Hear me out on this, it's something I've been mulling over from a while. I am an engineer in a different industry but have a decent understanding of physics and its general principles.

I agree 100% that we should be trying not to pollute our natural environment, the air in our cities and towns, the water in our rivers, lakes and seas etc. I also agree that people do need to be willing to engage with technological development, regardless of their age.

But I struggle to see how driving EVs is going to reduce global CO2 emissions. At a local level yes, car's tailpipes in urban areas all blow crap into our respiratory systems. Ultimately, to move a car (kinetic energy) you need to convert energy from another form to motion. Combustion engine cars take the chemical energy of petrol/diesel, convert it to heat energy (ignition in engine cylinders) and then through a series of mechanical systems convert that to motion at the wheels.

An EV has to operate on a very similar principal to achieve the motion at the wheels that is necessary. Chemical energy is stored in a battery, it's converted into electrical energy and the motors convert that to kinetic energy to rotate the wheels. When the chemical energy of the battery is depleted is is charged up. The problem is that the energy required to charge the battery has to come from converting another energy source i.e. chemical energy stored in oil, gas, coal, to heat energy. So the combustion of fossil fuels is centralised instead to power stations and not to individual cars. Fine, they are likely more efficient than individual combustion engines and their pollution is ring fenced to the area in which they operate.

Yes, EVs can be charged from energy generated from solar, wind and hyrdo etc. but how likely is it that in the next 100 years that we will be able to use these energy sources exclusively for electricity generation? Claiming that EV's are 100% emissions free is only true if counting tailpipe emissions.

The whole EV vs. combustion engine debate is a distraction from the real issue. How does the modern world continue to convert energy into usable forms for modern life without accelerating climate change further or depleting all of the world's natural resources?

Interesting points. According to SEAI, in 2023 just over 40% of our electricity came from renewable sources. Presumably it’s a bit higher now and rising. As it increases, EVs will be more than playing their part in the climate change battle. Obviously other forms of energy use continue to depend on fossil fuels, but I think EVs are the good guys already and other industries need to look at their processes in the same fashion.

Probably good idea to wait and see. There more to it than just fuel choice. Public charging depends on your route and demand in 2-3 years. Who knows what it will be like then. Lexus warranties are usually reliant on Lexus services. Things like hybrid batteries etc. Very rare to have an issue with a lexus but not never either. ICE cars and Diesel residuals got a unexpected boost due to lockdown and Brexit and also govt policy not penalising them. Who knows what way that will change for the better or worse in 2 yrs time.

It's nothing to do with reducing pollution.

It's all about reducing CO2 emissions which supposedly will slow down the climate "emergency". CO2 is not a pollutant.

If anything, we should be trying to increase CO2 levels to ensure a greener planet.

It’s about trying to change very fixed mindsets. My wife’s friend bought a new hybrid this year. She wouldn’t buy an EV as she was concerned about range and the charging network. She drives about 6 kilometres to work everyday and when she goes down the country it’s with her husband in his giant SUV thingy. 🤔

We drove to Galway and back yesterday on a single charge. Got home with 10% battery and 400 kilometres done. Go figure.

There's more to "pollution" than CO2. Need to look at it holistically.

I do like the minimal maintainance side of things with EVs which will likely tempt me when it's time to change. I'm used to maintaining my own cars and only going to a garage if a repair is beyond my equipment and capability. Guess that still applies with EVs, suspension and brakes are the same regardless of fuel type.

The only other thing that will catch me down the road is that I never buy new. Always try to buy 3-5 years old with low mileage and run for 10 years then myself. Really hate taking on debt for car purchases and always try to minimise it. That invariably means using slightly out of date technology, albeit often more proven technology. Time will tell.

And I'm sure the EV choices you've made have served you well in that time. But changing every 3 years (albeit forced by circumstance) is a sure way to lose money. Financially speaking buying a 3 year old car that has taken a decent depreciation hit and then driving it for 10+ years is the best way to avoid losing too much money on cars. What i wouldn't want with an EV is after 5-7 years having to get rid of it due to battery degradation and subsequent range loss. Making the car worthless also as a trade in or as a private sale. But I suppose most manufacturers now are covering batteries with 10 year warranties. Albeit the fine print would have to be closely examined.