Automobiles

I have a problem with cars. Too many people own vehicles which are too big for their needs, use them too frequently and buy new ones too often.

Here's the thing - a car is a luxury mode of transportation. They are ubiquitous, yes, but they are a luxuary compared to the alternatives of walking and cycling. Consider than on a typical drive to the supermarket, your 2000 kg vehicle is burning through about 1.5 litres of fuel, the raw products of which have taken tens of millions of years to form through slow heat and pressure of decaying organic matter deep underground. The majority of the energy needed for that trip is required to haul your car around, not you. This is very wasteful. A reminder of the typical energy consumption from a short 6-mile round trip to the shops (from this blog):

Created using ChatGPT.

In a car, you're being driven around in a hulking mass of steel, plastic and rubber which weighs 20 times more than you, providing you with a comfortable position sitting in a chair with the climate and radio station set just so. Sounds perfect yes? And it is perfect... for long inter-city journeys. But for short journeys, using a car is slowly killing us and the planet.

Emissions

There's no doubt that in the production process, a battery electric vehicle is more hamful to the environment than a petrol/ diesel car. The battery in the EV is the major contributor to C02 (equivilent) emissions, with greater emissions for vehicles with large batteries and which are produced further from their sale location. As a rough ballpark estimate, in the production process of an EV, ~8-12 tonnes of C02e may be emitted, with ~5-7 tonnes C02e for a petrol/diesel car.

The production of all vehicles produces other GHGs like methane, nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide (during steel, aliminium and other chemical processes). EV battery production, through lithium, nickel and cobalt mining, may also lead to the release of toxic wastewater, with mining often occurring in countries where child labour is prolific. The open pit mining operations needed to dig all these metals out of the ground also result is habitat destruction.

Of course, an electric vehicle has zero talepipe emissions - while emissions related to the production of electricity in the grid are countered by emissions in getting fuel from source to pump (typically an additional 35-50gkm C02, which is rarely talked about). In total, the lifecycle emissions for a petrol/diesel car (over 150,000 km) might be 36-46t C02e, and 13-25t C02e for an electric car with the same mileage.

In countries with a clean electricity grid (like Norway), EVs break even with ICE cars within 1-2 years, while in coal heavy grids it can take 5+ years.

Either way, the production and running of any automobile has a significant impact on the environment due to the shear weight and volume of raw materials involved.

Health

Constantly sitting on your ass in the drivers' seat is not good for your health either (surprisingly). In a society where lifestyles are becoming increasingly sedetry, this is a problem. The body needs as much exercise as you can give it; the Ideal Exercise Ratio suggests around 7.5 hours of structured exercise is needed per week. So, making a conscious decision to not cycle everywhere is better for your health. Intra-city or town journeys less than 5 miles should be made by bike, especially here in the UK where there is relatively good cycling infrastructure. And if you have to travel a little further (say up to 10 miles), get an e-bike. A second hand e-bike can be bought for as little as £500 in the UK!

Cycling will turn you into a toned, muscular everyday athlete. You'll have greater self-confidence, be more motivated and more productive. Without having to state the obvious, you'll reduce your risk to many of the leading causes of death, including obesity and cardiovascular disease.

Money

The True Cost of Driving is shockingly high; you must consider depreciation, cost of fuel/electricity, maintenance, insurance and road tax. Here are some typical ballpark figures:

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But this isn't the end of the story. There are also hidden costs, like tyres, the cost of installing a home charger for an EV, and interest payments for vehicles bought on finance. The real true cost of driving is even higher:

Created using ChatGPT.

So, that 40 mile round trip to work suddenly looks a lot more expensive. The median post-tax salay in the UK is around £29,000. Assuming a relatively low cost of 50p/mile, that's £5,200 per year. (5,200/29,000) x 12(months in the year) = an additional 2.15 months worked every year just to cover the cost of the commuting. And this doesn't include any additional driving, of course.

Driving is very expensive. The solutions are to live closer to work and to drive less or cycle/walk more. By driving less, I'm not suggesting you should be always be cycling on busy roads at night and in heavy rain, but you ought to be consciously thinking about whether driving is really the best option for the environment, your health and your finances, every time you step in the car.