Urban Life

Canada to Ban New Gas-Engined Car Sales by 2035

Canada to Ban New Gas-Engined Car Sales by 2035

The 2035 target is part of the country's plan to achieve a net-zero emissions economy by 2050, with the federal government already offering a $5000 subsidy for purchases of EVs priced under $55,000, with the province of Quebec adding a maximum of $8000 on top of that federal subsidy. In 2020 the government of Quebec announced an identical plan to phase out the sales of gas and diesel passenger models in the province by 2035, and aims for 22% of new car sales to be zero-emission far sooner, by 2025.

When do electric vehicles become cleaner than gasoline cars? | Reuters

Analysis: When do electric vehicles become cleaner than gasoline cars? | Reuters

I think this analysis ignores that most coal power plants are located in remote areas, often on high ridges outside of polluted air basins unlike gasoline automobiles. Moreover, natural gas power plants put far fewer traditional emissions than gasoline engines on a per mile basis. Electric cars don't have tailpipe emissions. 

I think the national obsession over climate change is unhealthy, when we should be more concerned about controlling urban emissions in air basins that significantly out of compliance. Climate change emissions have the lowest impact on the environment compared to nearly any other form of pollution. 

A Personal Antiracism Tool For People Who Think They’re Allies

A Personal Antiracism Tool For People Who Think They’re Allies

6/17/21 by NPR

Web player: https://podcastaddict.com/episode/124533262
Episode: https://play.podtrac.com/npr-510338/edge1.pod.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/lifekit/2021/06/20210617_lifekit_layla_saad_interview_life_kit__-_rebroadcast_061721_-_final.mp3?awCollectionId=510338&awEpisodeId=1007163338&orgId=1&d=1020&p=510338&story=1007163338&t=podcast&e=1007163338&size=16325948&ft=pod&f=510338

Me And White Supremacy author Layla Saad explains the work of undoing white supremacy and why being an ally isn’t enough. (This episode first ran in July 2020.)

I was listening to this podcast the other day. While it’s fairly brief, I will say it had some interesting insight and things worth thinking about.

ALCO

I was reading about the decline of ALCO in Schenectady. A pretty common sad story, new technology comes out and a business is slow and half heartily adopting as they can’t imagine a world where there old profit center doesn’t exist any more.

ALCO believed in steam locomotives, as they very profitable at one point, and while they adopted diesel electric locomotives eventually by outsourcing technology development to GE, they couldn’t be bothered to spend much money on developing a good diesel electric locomotive in house even though GM EMD and eventually GE developed their own superior models in their final 40 years that the corporation limped along.