More greenwash—-100,000 vehicles that wouldn’t be on the roads if we weren’t so addicted to consumerism. Each vehicle consuming a lot of materials and energy to manufacture. And the grand finale—-once they are operating, most of the energy they consume will come from fossil fuel burning generating plants. A step forward is not really a step forward if it has steps backward hidden within it.
Ok, even though my car is now electric, where I live it is still effectively powered by coal. But from everything I read that still works out to be more efficient than running an ICE engine.
So 100k Electric delivery vehicles might seem like a backwards step but is still probably a net positive compared to what might otherwise be used.
Yes I agree it’s still supporting “an out of control” consumerist culture. But that’s not going to disappear any time soon. So the best we can do is try to minimise that impact.
Bit by bit though it looks like large numbers of (mainly younger) people are waking up to that…
Don’t forget that home delivery vans replace a lot of out-and-back shopping trips by customers. I used to drive out to and shop at Target, a place with a giant apron of asphalt largely covered by a variety of personal ICE vehicles. I haven’t gone there in years because of home delivery, and I especially appreciate the newish Amazon feature of a personal “delivery day” so I get my stuff bunched into fewer packages.
Amazon vans do a lot of stopping, which makes going electric all the more efficient.
It’s sometimes very difficult to decide whether certain media releases are a genuine, meaningful contribution to “carbon footprint”reduction or just plain insignificant greenwashing propaganda.
I guess we’ll never know for sure in most cases as the interpretation is the choice of the reader.
Russia Steps into Oil-Free Future With New Arctic Research Station
Every home it manufacturers will produce its own electricity using solar panels and have a built-in battery storage system, eliminating the need to connect to the electrical grid at all if a customer chooses not to.
Located off Nurai Island, which is a 15 minute boat ride from the UAE capital, the floating solar panels will provide an additional 80 kilowatts of solar power energy to the nearby Zaya Nurai resort, where there are already 1,000 kilowatts of rooftop and ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) systems.
There is only one way to get to a zero CO2 emission future and that is step by step. It is a step in the right direction. Every step matters, not a single step is the final solution to our problems.
True enough, except that when one is being pursued by a large and hungry carnivorous beast that wants to eat your liver and other parts, one should not take baby steps while trying to escape but run like hell.
More greenwash—-100,000 vehicles that wouldn’t be on the roads if we weren’t so addicted to consumerism. Each vehicle consuming a lot of materials and energy to manufacture. And the grand finale—-once they are operating, most of the energy they consume will come from fossil fuel burning generating plants. A step forward is not really a step forward if it has steps backward hidden within it.
Ok, even though my car is now electric, where I live it is still effectively powered by coal. But from everything I read that still works out to be more efficient than running an ICE engine.
So 100k Electric delivery vehicles might seem like a backwards step but is still probably a net positive compared to what might otherwise be used.
Yes I agree it’s still supporting “an out of control” consumerist culture. But that’s not going to disappear any time soon. So the best we can do is try to minimise that impact.
Bit by bit though it looks like large numbers of (mainly younger) people are waking up to that…
Don’t forget that home delivery vans replace a lot of out-and-back shopping trips by customers. I used to drive out to and shop at Target, a place with a giant apron of asphalt largely covered by a variety of personal ICE vehicles. I haven’t gone there in years because of home delivery, and I especially appreciate the newish Amazon feature of a personal “delivery day” so I get my stuff bunched into fewer packages.
Amazon vans do a lot of stopping, which makes going electric all the more efficient.
It’s sometimes very difficult to decide whether certain media releases are a genuine, meaningful contribution to “carbon footprint”reduction or just plain insignificant greenwashing propaganda.
I guess we’ll never know for sure in most cases as the interpretation is the choice of the reader.
Russia Steps into Oil-Free Future With New Arctic Research Station
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/01/31/station-arctic-without-oil-a69105
Every home it manufacturers will produce its own electricity using solar panels and have a built-in battery storage system, eliminating the need to connect to the electrical grid at all if a customer chooses not to.
https://cleantechnica.com/2020/02/20/new-prefab-homes-never-need-to-be-connected-to-the-grid/
Located off Nurai Island, which is a 15 minute boat ride from the UAE capital, the floating solar panels will provide an additional 80 kilowatts of solar power energy to the nearby Zaya Nurai resort, where there are already 1,000 kilowatts of rooftop and ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) systems.
https://gulfnews.com/technology/uaes-first-floating-solar-power-plant-launched-in-abu-dhabi-1.69750495
There is only one way to get to a zero CO2 emission future and that is step by step. It is a step in the right direction. Every step matters, not a single step is the final solution to our problems.
True enough, except that when one is being pursued by a large and hungry carnivorous beast that wants to eat your liver and other parts, one should not take baby steps while trying to escape but run like hell.
One problem I have with the van design: It’s too dark, and the interior will warm up (like brown UPS vans) in the 6-month summers of the sunbelt.