Episode 79

79: Embracing the EV Future

Published on: 7th February, 2022

Embracing the EV Future

The Radical Secular is sponsored in part by Kanibal & Co.

(00:00) Intro and T-Shirts

(07:05) The importance and complexity of energy. Why it's so fraught with controversy. The breakdown of global carbon emissions by sector.

(20:11) Why are there such strong feelings against electric vehicles?

(24:30) The ten biggest EV lies, listed. Christophe, Joe and Sean break down their own personal feelings and experiences with EVs.

(37:15) Range anxiety. Life cycle emissions. Reducing car dependency through redesigned cities, public transport, and robotaxis. Land use reform. Drastically reducing traffic deaths. How to avoid battery longevity issues. Charging station availability. Moral implications of EV vs. gasoline cars. The rarity of battery fires. Difficulty of charging for urban apartment dwellers. Easy setup for home charging if you have a garage.

(01:24:25) Social justice implications of EVs. Impact of pollution and heat on poor urban areas. Lack of affordability of new technology for working poor. The decline of the American middle class makes the EV transition much more difficult.

(01:33:00) The decline in battery prices. The steady increase of EV sales over time. Purchase price parity. EV total cost of ownership drop. Mass market adoption timetables. The Osborne effect. Public transport works together with robotaxis to cover the last mile. Norway's EV transition is nearly complete. EU and California will end sales of combustion cars by 2035. Expect further sabotage efforts from the oil industry.

(01:43:19) Wrapup and Outro

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Show notes:

Example life-cycle emissions of EVs vs. gasoline cars

Wisconsin high-speed rail trains head to Nigeria

Hybrid battery longevity

Tesla battery capacity loss over time

EV Charging Stations in the US

Plans for major expansion of US charging network

"Why driving an EV might not be morally praiseworthy"

EV vs. Gas cost of ownership comparison

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