A recent blog about the fact that size matters points out the scale issues being called for as the world moves to reduce carbon emissions. That is clearly one dimension to the problem. But, there is a more pressing question right now. Read this article to understand the background for this blog.
Why in this country at least are we considering such large EVs on the roads
along so many and much smaller vehicles? Have we forgotten the most fundamental law of physics that for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. This is the central issue when playing pool or billiards. We all have seen those swinging balls where the number of balls that react is exactly the same as the number you swing.
The latest version of the Hummer EV weighs in at about 9,000 pounds. It is only a matter of time before it hits the typical car weighing about one third of that. It is going to send that smaller car flying!
Why, in this age of environmental sensitivities are we offering ideas that are simply wrong headed? Oh … I forgot, if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. If you are Hummer, the answer is an all-electric Hummer. We are willing to ban all internal combustion engines (ICEs), but we are not willing to ban cars that have no place on the road?
Your reaction to this will certainly avoid some middle ground position. After all, we are not really willing to have a full debate here. Free market types will simply say that this involves the freedom of choice, and I agree. Then why are we reducing the freedom of choice with the ICE? Another position might be that we should tax “overweight” EVs to reflect their societal costs. Then why aren’t we willing to tax the future sale of ICEs and let customers decide?
You can’t have it both ways. We are either going to let a free market work, or we are going to attempt to control markets with regulations.
There is no question that size matters. To me, the biggest question we are trusting others to answer is the size of government. That is at the root of all of this mess.