Electric Cars

The impression I had was that New Yorkers rejected cars in general, and that's a good thing.

On the one hand, I'll admit that I really like EVs. I like the quiet motor, the smootheness of the ride, the acceleration, the fact that the thing isn't belching noxious fumes into the area I live. When I take a Lyft and the driver has an EV, I tend to go all EV nerd on them and get them talking about their vehicle, because damn, EVs are just frigging sexy and they don't burn fossils.

But on the other hand, automobiles in general are a disaster, and most people shouldn't have one. The real answers are more and better mass transit, walkable cities, and densification. Here in the US, what we need is extreme change to solve our problems. It won't be easy, but I know we can do it if the will were there. Unfortunately, everyone's answer to problems in the US is more consumption. After September 11th, one of the first things Bush said was "go shopping". And it's the same way with the environment. Instead of protesting for walkable cities, mass transit, and densification, it's easier for your typical US latte liberal to buy an EV and think they're doing their part to save the planet. Because more consumption will solve all our problems! Ra ra re, go shopping!

or the fact that the electricity the EV uses comes from coal-burning plants in some poor area?

I wish we could power everything with solar, wind, and other renewables. Or perhaps nuclear fusion, which is just around the corner™. But we aren't there yet. We do have nuclear fission however, and we should be doing more of that. At least for now. Because screw fossils.