4x4xBye
Bearing in mind that a lot of people will have to call out tow trucks/tyre companies all they're doing is adding to the problem. Also most SUV's are very economical with small diesel engines and stop/start technology.
People that do this kind of thing don't tend to be the brightest.
My current car has lower emissions and better MPG than my wife's petrol Mini. That said mine is a diesel which is about to be replaced by a PHEV running electric and petrol, with even better MPG, lower emissions and 45 mile (WLTP) range on battery.
I am sure this website is biased, and of course don't believe everything you read on the internet, but this article suggests that is not the case
https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/batteries-vs-oil-comparison-raw-material-needs/
"EV. Under the EU’s current recycling recovery rate target, [regarding electric cars] around 30 kilograms of metals would be lost (i.e. not recovered). That’s about the size of a football.
In contrast, the study shows that the weight of petrol or diesel that is burned during the average lifetime of a vehicle is around 300-400 times more than the total quantity of battery cells metals ‘lost’. Over its lifetime, an average ICE car burns close to 17,000 litres of petrol, which would be equivalent to a stack of oil barrels 90m high."
the article on the Greenpeace website also suggests that electric vehicles, while not perfect, are better than petrol/diesel vehicles.
https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/electric-cars-greener-petrol-cars/
The mining for the Lithium, Cobalt etc is doing untold damage.
As will the recycling of the old batteries when they begin to reach the end of their cycle.
I'm against it, unless its a Range Rover with a private plate
The mining for the Lithium, Cobalt etc is doing untold damage.
As will the recycling of the old batteries when they begin to reach the end of their cycle.
SUVs and private plates, 2 things I cannot get my head round - Unless one's express intention is to look a bit of a cock.
"SUVs and 4x4s are a disaster for our health, our public safety and our climate"
Hard to disagree with this statement. The Chelsea Tractor is a completely egregious vanity item esp in urban areas.
Meanwhile re petrol vs electric and life cycle carbon impact, BBC R4's More or Less investigated this last week https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0014x0f
The conclusion was that the Greenhouse Gas/environmentally deleterious impact was initially worse for current EVs until about 3 years of age, when the benefits of cleaner fuel started to outweigh the negative impacts. Worth a listen.
Of course if the country can rely more on renewable energy, using electricity becomes more sustainable. Not much good if we are burning fossil fuels to run EVs.
I do wonder whether the carbon footprint involved in scrapping a working car and building a brand new one to replace it is actually better than someone who can't afford a new car just running their 15-29 year old Ford Fiesta or Nissan Micra until it expores.