Electric Cars Won't Save the Planet (but here's what will)

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Electric cars are seen as the magic pill that will solve all our climate and transportation problems, but will they? (no they won't)
Ultimately, electric cars are still cars, and come with all the problems of cars aside from tailpipe emissions. We need alternatives like ebikes and public transit to truly achieve a green city... not just greener vehicles.

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➜ References:
Bradsher, Keith. High and Mighty: SUVs-the World’s Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got That Way. PublicAffairs, 2002.

Miner, Patrick, et al. "Car harm: A global review of automobility's harm to people and the environment." Journal of Transport Geography 115 (2024): 103817.

Speck, Jeff. Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time. 2012, trid.trb.org/view/1264810.

Tesla Stock Plummets 50%
www.forbes.com/sites/shaharziv/2025/03/11/tesla-st…

The Tesla Backlash Is Biblical
   • The Tesla Backlash Is Biblical  

71% Of Canadians Support A Tesla Ban
finance.yahoo.com/news/attempting-erase-canadian-s…

Love your Tesla but can’t stand Musk? Sales data says you’re not alone
www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/love-you…

Tesla Sales Fall Off A Cliff Globally
www.carscoops.com/2025/03/tesla-sales-falling-off-…

The long road to electric cars in the U.S.
www.reuters.com/graphics/AUTOS-ELECTRIC/USA/mopany…

Electric Cars Are Coming. How Long Until They Rule the Road?
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/03/10/climate/ele…

The EV evolution is going to take longer than we thought
www.theverge.com/2024/9/1/24232206/ev-sales-slow-h…

How did China come to dominate the world of electric cars?
www.technologyreview.com/2023/02/21/1068880/how-di…

How Green Are Electric Vehicles?
www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/climate/electric-vehicl…

Are electric vehicles definitely better for the climate than gas-powered cars?
climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/are-electric-vehicles-defi…

Electric Vehicle Myths
www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/electric-vehicle-myths

Pickup trucks have gotten bigger, higher-tech — and more dangerous
www.axios.com/ford-pickup-trucks-history

Electric vehicles weigh more and that has implications for safety
www.cnn.com/2021/06/07/business/electric-vehicles-…

Atmospheric transport is a major pathway of microplastics to remote regions
www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17201-9

Ontario rapidly losing farmland amid urban sprawl
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ont-farmland-loss-1…

Developing countries pay environmental cost of electric car batteries
unctad.org/news/developing-countries-pay-environme…

The Popularity of E-Bikes Isn’t Slowing Down
www.nytimes.com/2021/11/08/business/e-bikes-urban-…

The affordable electric vehicles outselling electric cars around the world
electrek.co/2021/06/29/the-affordable-electric-veh…

The US is doubling e-bike imports this year to half a million, and even that isn’t enough
electrek.co/2020/10/28/the-us-is-doubling-e-bike-i…

➜ Timestamps:
0:00 The crippling state of Western EVs
3:15 The myth of fuel efficiency
7:38 Overweight cars spell trouble
9:09 Trapped in car dependency
10:41 We need smaller vehicles
12:46 Greener alternatives
15:29 The right choice should be the easy choice
19:08 Outro

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