Feb 25, 2022·edited Feb 25, 2022Liked by Prof. Kimberly Nicholas
Wow, I'm surprised about this. My partner's car is 25 years old. It's a small car, a Peugeot 106, so it has a small engine and it's light, so it's rather fuel-efficient. It was one of the first to be fitted with a catalytic converter so it continues to pass its MOT. The reason it's still running is that we don't use it very often, maybe once a month or so. Our plan is to perhaps go car-free at some point, especially as we're moving to a new apartment which doesn't have a garage. But would you say that the advice to scrap the old car and switch to electric applies in our case? Car-free or car pooling/renting etc makes more sense I feel. But also given how infrequently we use it, it seems silly to get an electric car!
A case can be made for holding on to the fossil fuel car if you drive it only occasionally after transitioning to almost always walking, bicycling... A fossil fuel car that is seldom driven generates little greenhouse gas emissions. A fossil fuel that is not being replaced, eliminates or postpones the upfront carbon of a replacement car.
Also, if you have an EV, consider that less driving is provides an important benefit - uses less electricity. We are all on widespread electric grids that have insufficient green electricity to meet all needs. Electricity not used means either nongreen electricity not used, or green electricity that can be made available to be used in place of nongreen electricity.
I'm 77 years old. I was pleasantly surprised how well my manual bicycle met my needs as I transitioned completely away from using an automobile between 2017 to 2020. Since 2020 I average about 3 miles a day on my manual bicycle in Seattle (I walk up the steep hills pushing the bike). My longest roundtrip bicycle ride to date Is about 20 miles - it was easy. I was also pleasantly surprised how much cargo I could carry once I added a cargo basket (with a long strap to lash down the cargo) to the back of the bicycle - that's in addition to cargo in my backpack and in bags over my wrists. Bicycling on the sidewalk is legal in the State of Washington (make it legal everywhere), so I do most (but not all) of my bicycling on the sidewalk to distance myself from automobiles.
Do you have advice on the best practice to dispose of fossil gas appliances when electrifying? On the one hand, I like the idea of my appliance never burning fossil fuels again. But on the other, if it can be used by someone who would otherwise buy a new fossil gas appliance (with its embedded carbon and longer life), giving it to someone else would at least prevent the embedded carbon of a new unit. And potentially it would remain in service for a shorter time than if they made a new purchase - hopefully at a time when there will be federal subsidies for electrification. I hate the idea of people buying new fossil gas appliances. Same question for an ICE car. I've switched to an electric assist cargo bike for nearly all of my transportation, so what should I do with an ICE vehicle I am no longer driving?
Wow, I'm surprised about this. My partner's car is 25 years old. It's a small car, a Peugeot 106, so it has a small engine and it's light, so it's rather fuel-efficient. It was one of the first to be fitted with a catalytic converter so it continues to pass its MOT. The reason it's still running is that we don't use it very often, maybe once a month or so. Our plan is to perhaps go car-free at some point, especially as we're moving to a new apartment which doesn't have a garage. But would you say that the advice to scrap the old car and switch to electric applies in our case? Car-free or car pooling/renting etc makes more sense I feel. But also given how infrequently we use it, it seems silly to get an electric car!
A case can be made for holding on to the fossil fuel car if you drive it only occasionally after transitioning to almost always walking, bicycling... A fossil fuel car that is seldom driven generates little greenhouse gas emissions. A fossil fuel that is not being replaced, eliminates or postpones the upfront carbon of a replacement car.
Also, if you have an EV, consider that less driving is provides an important benefit - uses less electricity. We are all on widespread electric grids that have insufficient green electricity to meet all needs. Electricity not used means either nongreen electricity not used, or green electricity that can be made available to be used in place of nongreen electricity.
I'm 77 years old. I was pleasantly surprised how well my manual bicycle met my needs as I transitioned completely away from using an automobile between 2017 to 2020. Since 2020 I average about 3 miles a day on my manual bicycle in Seattle (I walk up the steep hills pushing the bike). My longest roundtrip bicycle ride to date Is about 20 miles - it was easy. I was also pleasantly surprised how much cargo I could carry once I added a cargo basket (with a long strap to lash down the cargo) to the back of the bicycle - that's in addition to cargo in my backpack and in bags over my wrists. Bicycling on the sidewalk is legal in the State of Washington (make it legal everywhere), so I do most (but not all) of my bicycling on the sidewalk to distance myself from automobiles.
Do you have advice on the best practice to dispose of fossil gas appliances when electrifying? On the one hand, I like the idea of my appliance never burning fossil fuels again. But on the other, if it can be used by someone who would otherwise buy a new fossil gas appliance (with its embedded carbon and longer life), giving it to someone else would at least prevent the embedded carbon of a new unit. And potentially it would remain in service for a shorter time than if they made a new purchase - hopefully at a time when there will be federal subsidies for electrification. I hate the idea of people buying new fossil gas appliances. Same question for an ICE car. I've switched to an electric assist cargo bike for nearly all of my transportation, so what should I do with an ICE vehicle I am no longer driving?