In a sense, this conversation mirrors the myopia the article talks about, because people who disagree with it are defending their individual consumption choices, while ignoring the broader social and policy connections that surround them.
First, can you not buy an electric car and advocate and enact organizational or systematic change? They’re not mutually exclusive.
Second, how do dynamic systems composed of many independent, self-directed agents change? Instantaneously or over some period of time? How long is that period of time? Probably much longer a period of time than it takes to purchase an electric vehicle (< 1 minute) and reduce your emissions immediately.
They’re not mutually exclusive.
So if for example the government spends $$$$ to put an EV charging point in every street light, that's $$$$ they didn't spend making busses more appealing.
* Deliver me from point A to point G without stopping at B, C, D, E, and F along the way
* Provide room for more than a handful of cargo/luggage and park / wait around while I load/unload it
* Actually stick to a goddamn timetable (looking at you, Muni)
Then no amount of money will make buses more appealing to me than a car.
Trains have these same problems, minus the inconsistent timetables, and have the added benefit of typically going at least a little bit faster.
And perhaps it won't, if enough of the people that make it up read articles like this to ignore the very powerful automotive lobby
I mean after about a decade I finally gave in and bought a used TV (instead of using a PC monitor). I already don't fly to useless tech conferences, and work remotely (so no mindless daily commute).
And eventually when the e-charger network will become widespread enough around here, I guess, I'll buy a used EV instead of the current car, because cities can't ban these smoke machines fast enough.
And when the choice is presented I already buy local stuff.
But.. this is a luxury for me/us, because of the enormous income inequality bonus of IT/tech.
Those who already live on the edge won't pick the local things, they will pick the cheapest one. And the way to make the GHG-friendly stuff cheap is to tax the shit out of the GHG-positive things.
And that unfortunately seems like a pretty hard challenge, thanks to our wonderful society favoring chauvinists rhetoric, trade wars, nationalist triades, and other bullshit.
So, yes, in terms of the big picture EVs don't matter much, but without even presenting an alternative, it'll be quite impossible to persuade the other half of society.
Making everything more expensive is a political dead-end, and would exacerbate income inequality.
Taxing stuff that comes from large scale industrial destruction of the environment is completely different than everything.
Plus all the carbon tax schemes start with direct rebates to the tax payers in equal parts, so those who consume more get less back than those who don't.
Whoa there! These engines are indeed not optimized for emissions like NOx and particulates, but they are impressively efficient. I believe that a good deal less CO2 is emitted shipping a container across the ocean than would be spent driving it across the country.
Anyhow, the economic solution here is clear: a carbon tax that applies to imports. The serious proposals do this.
In fact, everything I know suggests the opposite - environmental engagement is always a positive feedback loop.
Why would most people do that when they can get a used car cheaper or keep driving what they have. It is just expensive (i am not saying i would not like a Nissian LEAF, that would be sweet).
I guess i see people buying EV's and ask why the rest of the world is not (i know you are not asking this, but a lot of comments i read are) when we cannot afford them.
I wouldn’t have bought the LEAF new either if it weren’t for the $10K in government cheese that came with it. (I can buy a $32K car; I just choose not to as it seems a waste.)
I have seen far too many examples of self declared communists saying things like a $20/hr minimum wage is bad thing because it distracts from overthrowing "the oppressor".