Podcast Review- How to Save a Planet

“Are Electric Cars Really Better for the Climate?” - November 23, 2020

In this episode of How to Save a Planet, Alex and Ayana help a couple living in Berlin, solve the issue of what car to buy and tap into the real issues we face as consumers. The way our society is currently set up continues to cause harm to our people and our planet

What is the most environmentally friendly option? New vs. Used

The arguments from the couple include important and relevant issues that are often overlooked when people normally think about buying the “eco-friendly” option. The first argument is whether to invest in the newest, electric model or a used, electric car. Even though the price of a new electric car is comparable to that of a regular new car, a new car is new materials being mined and manufactured. Is there a way we could use the materials we have already to create recycled, electric cars?

The second argument that the couple made when trying to find the best option for buying an electric car was whether the electricity charging your battery comes from renewable energy or “if grid is powered by coal”. This problem is extremely important as it allows us to really look at the big picture. As we move forward, we have to ask ourselves if the items we are purchasing are sustainable AND if the products were manufactured in a way that doesn’t continue harm to land and people.

7:20 - These arguments lead up to the “Consumer conundrum” they talk about. How far should we go worrying about the stuff we buy and what is reasonable for you in your life? There are so many changes that we are able to make as the privileged consumer, however due to our own greed and social politics, we continue to buy into the system that continues to oppress and harm others.

14:00 - Here is where the bring up the argument of secondhand electric cars, and really asks the question, what REALLY is the better option when buying electric? The question on everyone minds is….would an electric car really be suitable for my lifestyle?

15:45 - At this point in the podcast, they bring the specific materials that went into the batteries and it’s environmental impacts “but also with human rights abuses in the ways in which those materials are mined”. I really think that it is important that we not only look for companies that are providing the best eco-friendly options on the market, but are also ACTUALLY taking care of the land and the people who are the base of manufacturing.

They brought up Lithium mining in the Atacama desert, in the northern part Chile. If you think that mining doesn’t have an impact on our communities or that commercializing water doesn’t ruin the lives of the people, then you are wrong. Lithium mining has huge negative impacts on the people and the planet, click here to read more. In Chile, these drilling companies continue to ruin the lives of people in several communities and fail to provide consumable water to local communities. As a result of mining, the land AND the people suffer.

18:00 - BETTER RECYCLING!! I am 1000% on board with the implementation of Food Waste+ services in cities. It is important to introduce recycling containers in public spaces, just as we have garbage cans, alongside pictures and guides to help answer people’s questions. For a long time I have wondered, how much of my recycling actually gets transformed into new products? How many items on the market are being manufactured with the same companies old products? Pela Case is a great example of this. Their phone cases are already 100% biodegradable and each phone case reduces plastic waste by an average of 64 plastic bags. Pela has a program for customers to return their old or broken phone cases and they turn them into newer models of phone cases.

It is incredibly important that we think about not only reducing the waste from the products that we are choosing to consume, but also the materials that make up those products must be mined and produced in a conservationist perspective. This is important as we think about the communities and individual people that are involved in the mining industry and these low paying production jobs as well. Once again, this brings up this idea of the consumer conundrum. Is what I am buying built from sustainably sourced, recycled material? Is the company that I am buying from prioritizing the well-being of their employees before taking home more money?

Personal cars are not sustainable and expensive to maintain. We continue to manufacture “new models” every calendar year when they look similar to last year’s model. As we watch ads on tv we have to think about how many car lots there are in your city, in your state, how about in the country? In manufacturing new models every year we are contributing to the excess junk that is infiltrating and poisoning our environment. A few of the solutions to this problem would be to invest in swapping all cars on the road to lower emission vehicles, adding more efficient and spacious public transit, increase the number of bike paths, improve and invest in building pedestrian infrastructure, and the most important is adding green spaces. There is a bike path being built that would span *00,000* miles from the Pacific Northwest to the East Coast. This would open up new jobs and opportunities for people to travel light. Another option similar to the bike path would be to build a transcontinental system that would take the place of major highways. If this were to be the new normal, some people may have individual electric cars but they would be able to “link up” to the main rail and allow the driver to have peace of mind. In this scenario, an extension that I think would be necessary and force people to take this new electric rail system would be banning intercontinental/transnational travel by airplane. In the process of building these high speed rails, it would create an opportunity for initiating the recycling process of old cars and a huge number of jobs up for grabs.

29:15 - Another issue when people consider making the switch to electric cars is the distance that they would be able to drive as well as their distance to charging stations. Over the past few years, electric car charging stations have increased due to the increased demand and to show people that they don’t have to travel far to quickly charge their car. Charging stations charge your car much faster than it does at home, on average it takes about 30-45 minutes, if you were to plug your car in at home, it would take about 12 hours to fully charge. Electric cars allow you to drive about the same distance as you would be able to in a standard gas car of about 300 miles.

— CALL TO ACTION —

I love this section of the podcast. They listen to voice memos that listeners have sent in in direct response to their previous episodes. It is really incredible to hear different people call in and the ways that they found to take action in building a future that we will be proud of in 50 years.

In this episode they call on us, the consumer to:

-Test drive an electric vehicle just to try it!

-Check out The Union of Concerned Scientists

-Look into The Advocacy Group for Transport and Environment (EU)