The Electric Car: I must have vs We need

Funny how the mind works.

“Growing concerns about climate change and peak oil prices have car manufacturers scrambling to find greener and more sustainable ways to fuel the world’s estimated 750 million automobiles.” (‘Electric Empire’, London Free Press, Sept. 25)

Climate change and peak oil are great topics for any car manufacturer to think about and toss around.

We should commend them if they do something to significantly reduce carbon emissions in their industry.


["Chevy Volt: Let's all buy one?"]

But, is building an electric empire by satisfying the needs of the individual the best way to do that?

It would be the most lucrative (It’s funny how the mind works. After all, “if trends continue, that number - 750 million autos - is expected to double in the next 30 years”), but is it the best?

In the scramble to find greener ways for people to get around town are car manufacturers simply focusing on greenbacks over long-term sustainability?

I wouldn’t doubt it.

Gwynne Dyer recently wrote the following:

“The problem is not the current economic slump. That is cutting into living standards in many places, but even if it lasts for years, it is essentially a transient event.

“The real worm of doubt is the gradual realization that seven billion human beings cannot all live the current lifestyle of the billion richest without causing an environmental and ecological catastrophe.

“It is inherently unsustainable.

“Rich really is better than poor, in the sense that people who are physically secure and have some freedom of choice in their lives are generally happier people.

“But we have to do a serious re-think about how we define the concept of rich.”

I feel car producers and buyers need to rethink their concept of sustainable transportation.

For example:

Does everyone deserve a car?

Is that where our human energy and electric power should go?

Is there a more sustainable way to transport people from A to B than putting individual bums into individual electric cars?

Do electric trains, trams, buses, come to mind when car manufacturers brainstorm about climate change and peak oil prices?

It’s funny how the mind works.

I think the ‘I must have vs We need’ issue, as it relates to transportation (and several other areas), must be addressed with some vigour and with national governments at the table beside car manufacturers.

Because if “growing concerns about climate change and peak oil prices have car manufacturers scrambling,” they need to be scrambling with more in mind than the needs of the individual who has $40,000 for an unsustainable mode of transportation.

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I’m sure many government leaders would disagree with me.

They wouldn’t want to say too much to business officials, even ones they (we) have helped bail out of the recent recession.

However, real talks about climate change and peak oil demand they do.

Please click here to read Climate Change Concerns

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