Europe to Replace Fossil Fueled Vehicles
By: John Semmens
By a vote of 339 to 249 Members of the European Parliament (MEP) voted to outlaw fossil-fueled vehicles by the year 2035. Netherlands MEP Jan Huitema characterized the decision as “our last best chance to save the planet.”
BMW CEO Oliver Zipse pointed out that “a focus on tailpipe emissions neglects to take into account the total pollution impact of switching to battery-powered vehicles. First of all, they are more expensive. Many of the components require rare minerals—some of them from unreliable sources of supply like China. Worn out batteries cannot be safely disposed of without creating environmental problems. The electricity consumed in manufacturing the vehicles is mostly fossil-fueled generated. We'd be exchanging tailpipe emissions for smokestack emissions.”
Huitema waved away objections as “incompatible with climate change goals. The fact of the matter is that too many people do too much unnecessary motorized traveling. It's unhealthy. Almost everything a person needs can be obtained from sources within walking distance. Walking is good exercise. Fewer people would be obese if we all walked more. For those who can't walk we can return to the trusty old sedan chair to get around. The emissions of those who walk or carry the sedan chairs will be less harmful than the CO2 emitted by gasoline engines. As for the heavy stuff, ox-carts would be a more environmentally friendly method for hauling what needs to be hauled.”
“Civilization existed for thousands of years using these simpler methods for transporting persons and goods,” Huitema asserted. “We shouldn't be so arrogant that we demand more than was adequate for our ancestors when the fate of the planet is at stake.”
In related news, the number of birds and bats being killed by environmentally mandated wind turbines is seriously disrupting natural food chains. Carolin Scholz of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research said “the decimation of birds and bats who help keep insect pest populations in check will have concerning impacts on food production and disease transmission. Shifting to wind power generation is not without negative ecological consequences.”
