A cup of novelty

Audio: Medium

Today I was thinking of approaching a very sensitive subject, namely consumerism. If in previous articles I referred to the fashion side, this time I want to touch on the subject of electric cars and subliminal consumerism pushed under our noses by big companies, which under the slogan of saving the planet, make us buy more and more.
The fact that the vast majority of companies go on this message of saving the planet, forgets to omit the fact that if you put a green label or your product only goes on electricity, that does not mean is eco-friendly.

Electric cars can make us feel better as humans, that we are no longer so responsible for everything that happens to the planet. And they come nicely packaged in commercials that sell nicely and well. But how much do we know about these cars and their effect on the environment? Is it really that eco?

I don’t want to say that electric cars are the worst, but compared to fossil fuel cars, electric cars come with as much pollution as a car on diesel or gasoline driven for about four years.
And I can somehow understand those who believe that electric cars are saving the planet, but another aspect is forgotten or not taken into account, namely the weight of an electric car. If you’re wondering what the connection is, I can explain. Electric cars are heavier than usual cars, which means that the tires wear out faster. One of the biggest sources of pollution is rubber waste. If the interest was so great in saving the planet, it would at least regulate the number of toxins allowed by tire wear.

Besides all the other branches of our lives that produce a lot and throw away a lot, consumerism is flourishing even in the automotive industry. At a minimum calculation, and I will not go into too much technical information, electric cars have zero emissions depending on the kilometers driven in about 4-6 years. And there are studies that prove my theories.

According to hotcars.com, “Tesla does work to either extend the life of or recycle, all of the lithium-ion batteries used in their vehicles. However, when the vehicle hits the road, the energy to power it has to come from somewhere. As around 60% of electricity generated in the United States comes from oil, coal, and gas, fossil fuels are still effectively getting you from A to B in most cases.”

Speaking of costs, a conventional car can be easily refueled from a nearby gas station, if you are on the road with an empty tank. In the case of an electric car, it is very possible that you will need a towing truck, which involves other additional costs.
Also in terms of costs should be added “in comparison, the national average cost of one kilowatt of electricity is $0.14 per hour. The standard EV takes about 7.2 kWh/hour to reach a full charge of about 50 kWh. That means the average cost of a full EV charge is $6.86, caranddriver.com says.

For countries with very large populations, such as France, the UK, Holland, etc., the use of public transport or bicycles is the best choice, in the sense that the concern for saving the environment does not remain on a dusty file and forgotten on a shelf, it turns into a real process. Our planet is already experiencing all sorts of devastating phenomena, uncontrollable fires, sudden snow in the summer, and floods that turn people’s lives upside down. The resources that were supposed to be enough for this year are already exhausted since last week. The direction we are heading is certainly not the best, but we must realize that replacing one pollutant with another is not a solution.

In conclusion, I consider that in the middle there is much more advertising than it would be necessary in the case of a car, consumerism is unfortunately on the rise and on the grounds of “saving the planet” we search and buy anything and in any quantity or number. Either sometimes we feel good about that thing, or we impose ourselves on society, or we really think we are helping, but buying too much has never helped.
I am not totally against electric cars, but it seems to me that there is more business interest than slowing down global warming.

DEEA OLIVIA

Sources: hotcars.com, caranddriver.com, ifo.de