this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2023
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Fuck Cars

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[–] HonoraryMancunian@lemmy.world 109 points 1 year ago (5 children)

They also reduce noise pollution

And reduce the propping of petrostates

And can be fueled, in theory, almost anywhere there are buildings (including your own home/work)

And that fuel can also, in theory, come from fully sustainable sources

They also help normalise the usage of renewable energy (this is a factor that shouldn't be overlooked, imo)

[–] SkepticalButOpenMinded@lemmy.ca 25 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

They also do all those things much worse than transitioning away from car dependence.

And they give people an excuse to not move away from cars.

And they are so much heavier and deadlier than ICE cars at the same speed that they may actually actively discourage other modes, like walking or cycling.

edit: Look, I think every car should be an EV. And I also think there shouldn't be many cars because cars still suck. Both can be true.

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[–] FireRetardant@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Since much of the noise pollution from cars comes from tire noise, I doubt EVs will reduce noise pollution that signifcantly.

[–] Albbi@lemmy.ca 39 points 1 year ago (2 children)

It's not tire noise I'm hearing in bed at 1am while some yahoo is treating residential roads like a racetrack.

[–] FireRetardant@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That is because many cities/politicians refuse to enforce reasonable noise limits on automobiles. It should have never been legal/normalized to have exhausts loud enough to need hearing protection while outside of the vehicle.

[–] ScoobyDoo27@lemm.ee 19 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That shit ain’t legal, it’s just not enforced.

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[–] Viper_NZ@lemmy.nz 22 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (6 children)

Near motorways where they go high speed the reduction will be negligible, but is material around lower speed streets.

Something not mentioned is the significantly reduced brake dust as most EV braking is regenerative.

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[–] adj16@lemmy.world 68 points 1 year ago (15 children)

Ugh guys come on, don’t let perfect be the enemy of good (or better). We cannot snap our fingers and fix everything. Incremental steps are necessary.

[–] Grayox@lemmy.ml 23 points 1 year ago

Local commuter rail, walkable cities, and nationwide high speed rail are all necessary to completely eliminate 90% of individual car ownership. We should be advocating for these systems of convenience which will make car ownership obsolete while incentivizing EVs while the infrastructure is built up, not demonizing EVs and making them appear as useless and a waste of time for helping fight climate change. Plus we need EV utility vehicles and trucks for professionals who need them to do their job.

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[–] Grimy@lemmy.world 62 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (30 children)

This is pure oil company propaganda. I hate cars with a passion and want a car free society. We will get there but it will take time. But We need to get rid of gas NOW.

Anyone who spews this kind of filth is literally the enemy.

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[–] chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 47 points 1 year ago (9 children)

Climate change is a big enough problem that it is worth prioritizing.

[–] MammyWhammy@lemmy.ml 32 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I see them as "diet" cars. Similar to if someone is trying to cut back on sodas, switching to diet sodas is a net benefit. That's not to say diet sodas are good for you or remotely healthy, they're just less bad than the alternative.

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[–] franklin@lemmy.world 42 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Can I just have good public transit, or safe bike lanes, I don't even want a car.

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[–] kaotic@lemmy.world 33 points 1 year ago (63 children)

EVs also greatly reduce brake dust, as most use regenerative braking under normal circumstances, leaving traditional braking for hard (emergency) braking.

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[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 26 points 1 year ago (17 children)

I'm not unsympathetic to the fuckcars movement, but I have to ask about the road salt. When it snows and the roads are icy, what's supposed to happen? What's the plan for getting around, for getting to work, for getting to school? We can be using beet juice and other less impactful de-icing brines, but you still need the cars to get people where they need to go. Is the argument that people should stay home? Are we suggesting that colder climates just shouldn't be populated? Busses need the road salt, too. Trains and trolleys de-ice their tracks. Even urban areas where you can walk everywhere need to salt the sidewalks.

[–] Masimatutu@mander.xyz 33 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (7 children)

Where I live it's common to spread gravel on the snow to increase grip. And then, of course, it is expected that everyone has the appropriate shoes and bike tires to not slip.

And even when salt is used, cars need a lot more salt per person than other modes of transport does.

edit: clarification

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[–] wrinkletip@feddit.nl 23 points 1 year ago (8 children)

As much as I agree, these are different things. EVs are fixing greenhouse gases. While the others are also bad things, they aren't really global climate changers.

[–] HiddenLayer5@lemmy.ml 20 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)

Except EVs still have a significant carbon footprint from their manufacture. So do train cars and buses, but to transport everyone in cars instead of public transportation would require orders of magnitude more materials, and therefore a much higher carbon footprint. Not to mention the poor land use that car dependency causes, which both leads to deforestation and impedes reforestation, which is a further climate change contributor.

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[–] WetBeardHairs@lemmy.ml 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I live in a city with about 2 million people. It has major sprawl and lots of guys with big trucks to compensate for little personality. The city has a brown haze floating over it that is a result of tailpipe emissions.

EVs may not be the solution to climate change, but they are helping my local area with air pollution. Well... they would if they were more popular. Every time a local buys an EV, ten more prosthetic penises are sold.

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[–] joel@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I just wanna say I appreciate people here making intelligent, good faith arguments on both sides without resorting to black or white thinking or getting too aggressive/ abusive.

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[–] Tarcion@sh.itjust.works 17 points 1 year ago (13 children)

I love the childish smug energy of this comic which simultaneously suggests merely mitigating a serious problem is inadequate and also provides no proposed solution whatsoever. If solutions which have compromise because they are rooted in reality are a problem, I suggest finding a way to live in a world of fantasy.

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[–] 1bluepixel@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago

We hate cars so much, we've come full circle to parroting fossil fuel industry propaganda against EVs, I see.

[–] shasta@lemm.ee 16 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (6 children)

EVs also help with the brake disc "dust" since a lot of the braking is "regenerative breaking" done by the electric motor and does not use the brake pads at all. They require less maintenance, and have fewer parts in them, so fewer manufacturing materials. With very few exceptions, they are also smaller vehicles with more safety features which should result in fewer pedestrian casualties.

Obviously having no vehicles at all would be even better at solving these issues, but that's not practical for our current reality. Maybe in 100 years.

I will say that "autopilot" features should absolutely be outlawed and cause nothing but trouble to everyone.

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[–] can@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 year ago (5 children)

EVs may even lead to increased tire debris.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 16 points 1 year ago (5 children)

But less brake pad wear. The regenerative braking reduces a lot of the need for brake pads.

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[–] ozmot@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

I’m tired of people looking at me crazy because I keep suggesting we need better public transportation rather than fucking electric cars. We are 100% going to replace every car in America with an E.V before we ever expand access to public transportation. And we will do this because the car manufacturers stock prices will go up if we do.

[–] jlow@beehaw.org 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I bet there are statistics on just how much space is wasted on cars (roads, parking space) but I don't have them handy. It will probaly pretty maddening when only considering "urban" areas but I wonder if it's more or less of 1% of the world's total landmass ...

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