It is crazy to me that some people are still rationalizing to themselves that burning gas isn’t necessarily bad. It reminds me of the 1980’s when half the population was saying smoking wasn’t bad for you. Ha. I smoked a pack a day back then, but I wasn’t naive or gullible enough to think it was healthy. I also drive an ICE vehicle (sometimes) and appreciate how important gas still is to society, but just because it is important doesn’t mean it isn’t incredibly harmful.
An average car puts out 4.6 TONS of C02 into the air annually, along with a bunch of other toxins. There are 1.4B cars on the road, most (outside the US) with little emission controls. An average human puts out .2 tons of C02 just breathing, plus all their other supply chain emissions from consumption. Since I was born we’ve added another 4B humans, so that is a s*** ton of extra C02 in our tiny thin atmosphere. Captain Obvious says that’s no bueno.
Anyone that lived in Los Angeles in the 70’s or 80’s knows first hand what it is like to experience this in a “concentrated” environment. The same is true for Mumbai, Delhi, Beijing, and many other big cities today. You don’t need to debate studies, just go hang out for a week in Mumbai and report back.
That said, everyone of us on the forum burn propellant as a hobby. So all of us driving electric cars and advocating for a clean atmosphere (myself included), are also a bit hypocritical. I am excited for the future. One without pollution. One that is healthier and more sustainable to support (an eventual) 9-10B people. ICE cars are at the end of their 100 year run. It’s game over for them. No major manufacturer is planning new ICE models out beyond 20 years.
Here is Los Angeles in the 70’s with an average of 160 days a year of smog alerts contrasted to today with less than five a year. Emission controls have helped. Pollution sucks.
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