Pick up my first eV in two days time. Have fitted solar and a battery to my house this year as well as a solar hot water diverter and a bigger hot water tank. The options to decarbonise are huge at lots of price points. I encourage everyone to look into the changes that Dave is advocating.
I bought a Nissan Leaf nearly five years ago when I had a 130+ mile a day commute with about 1000 ft of altitude change in it. Cost of the car payment was the same as what I was spending on gas, so total cost of ownership ended up cheaper. The only time I ever had to stop and charge between work and home was in the winter when it was very, very cold. Driving at US high way speed (75 mph) with 1000 ft of elevation gain on the way back is just about the least ideal conditions you could imagine and it was still an extremely good car. Got nearly 100k miles on it now.
Great video. It’s not a didactic rant, it’s your honest opinion based on research and lived experience, and it makes a lot of sense. A great way to approach what has always been a really divisive topic. Hopefully people will follow your example and make their own, informed, decision, rather than view this as another polarised argument where belligerently sticking to one side or the other through some sense of misplaced loyalty is the only way ahead!
I go cragging in New Zealand in my Hyundai Kona Electric. Often take climbing friends down with me in my car instead of their petrol cars. Round trip to closer crags involve no charging. Slightly longer day trips take a 20-30 minute charge while we are having a cup of coffee or picking up a sandwich and drinks in the closest town. Recharging at home overnight and we are ready to go again the next day :)
Really appreciate this video, and I'll definitely be sharing it with any outdoorsy or environmentalist friends who are on the fence about an EV. Am not at the stage where I can justify any vehicle, for similar reasons to yourself. That stuff away there is great, but there's still plenty I can hop on a bus or train to that I've not seen yet.
Thanks Dave, that was totally unexpected but very welcomed. Obviously the best car is no car, only that is often not realistic so electric cars is where the future must be. Digging stuff up just to burn it only made sense when there was no alternative, now with the rapid advances (almost weekly) of battery technology it makes no sense not to leave the old ways behind and embrace a cleaner future. Even ignoring global warming the improvements to the quality of air in our towns & cities is going to improve & save lives and reduce the burden on our health services. The health savings of clean air alone is going to save each country a fortune in the long run.
Great video, this echoes my experience avoiding flying and driving an EV and electric campervan to climbing destinations in Europe for the past 9 years. It's not been a hardship, and in many ways it's been a more fulfilling experience. EV technology and charging networks have improved massively in the past few years, and cost of the vehicles have reduced. It's possible to get a 2nd hand Standard Range Tesla Model 3, Hyundai Kona or Kia e-Niro for less than £15k all of which have over 200 mile range. Taking the train is also an excellent way to get to many climbing destinations in South of France and Spain.
nice car! We have an EV for the first time this year, in May, living on Skye. It does Skye-Inverness-Skye on a charge, easily in Summer and 10% left at this time of year. Seems to be plenty of chargers available (its not a tesla) but we can also use the Tesla chargers in Inverness, Perth or Fort William, they are generally the best. Quite a few people here have EV's as well, although still minority. For the Highlands so far - no issues, agree with you about planning ahead, relaxing while charging is not an issue as you also say. Price - it is a lease, but with overnight home charging we are spending less than £15 a month as opposed to approx £160 a month on petrol. I would not go back to petrol.
Great video Dave. I've been wanting to do a similar trip to Norway from Scotland in my EV so nice to see you had a good experience. Great to hear the environmental message. Sadly discussion on the climate emergency seems to have disappeared despite record breaking global temps and extreme weather events. Cracking footage of some of your climbs!
To add to the mining minerals for batteries debate. Current batteries are 98% recyclable and the technology is only improving. So the more batteries produced, the less mining needed to produce new batteries. Nice video mate!
Great video! Would be interesting to also do a clip on your diet and how you think about the environmental impact of animal protein and the wider impact of the food value chain. Great content as always :)
This will be interesting. I eat fully carnivore for health reasons. The meat I eat comes from a field next door to me in Scotland. I find it unlikely that a vegan eating food that's flown in and grown in monocultures is having less impact on the environment than I am.
@@climbermacleodwould absolutely love this (if you'd be willing to put yourself in the firing line!). As someone transitioning back to a more omnivore diet for health after wrestling with a vegan diet it's been a huge struggle after the exposure to the shock material on health/ethics/environment often distributed to and amongst vegans. It would good to see a nutritionist's balanced take.
Thanks for ditching fossil fuel cars, it's an important choice and also thanks for your insights, for example looking at some research regarding offsets, which I also find problematic. Climate change is one of the most pressing issues for our and for future generations. If politicians and companies are too slow forcing/adopting systemic change, we have to start making personal choices and sometimes sacrifices or investments. Another very important piece of the puzzle is public transportation, which has to improve in things like affordability and reliability. I guess this is where voting and writing your local politicians is required. Thanks for using your voice, Dave! 💪
Be the change you want to see! Way to go Dave. My car just died and I was trying to decide between a used tesla (electric) or honda civic (good milage) but because I don't own a home I wouldn't have anywhere good to plug in :( . Next car is definitely electric!
Recently moved home and used electric transit van. Really great! ~200mi range (loaded). Was first EV experience and would do it again. Although I think EVs are way better than petrol cars I think trains are even better (due to no road wear, higher capacity, closed system). I'd really like to see more car sharing for those living in a city in a similar fashion to the electric bikes you can hire. It would be great for getting to rural locations that are still serviced by a train station close by. Plus no year round insurance or maintenance if only using a car a fraction of the days in a year.
Car clubs are great for cities, would definitely be great to see similar things in rural areas because it's such a shame that car ownership is a hard requirement even fairly close to large cities in the UK
Great video Dave, you really covered the reality of the EV experience. Replaced our old Skoda Yeti with an EV this year and its been superb. Yeah no going back.Solar n batteries next.
Hey Dave - this is a great take on EVs and buying one second hand is an even better way to get into it - I truly believe not buying things new can help reduce our impact whilst fulfilling the consumerist culture so many of us struggle to kick. Given your concern with the environment, I note in one of your other videos that you eat a lot of meat. I am interested to know if you source your meat as sustainably as possible to reduce your impact in that area? I am not vegan but try and buy organic in all foods if possible, on the assumption that the packaging is truthful and buying organic is better for both animal and planet. Given your expertise on nutrition I think a video on meat and approaching the environmental (and maybe ethical) issues surrounding it would be valuable and certainly round off the videos you have made on the environment and nutrition. Thanks for your time if you read this essay!
I’ve had that in the works for several years. Yes I try to buy from local farmers where I can, and climb on the same hills the animals live on, so know about the land use there etc. Organic food is obviously dependent on animal farming for its nutrients (manure). So it makes sense to eat the animal too.
Dave, all of your tech wear is made from synthetic fibers: the base layers, pants, and the down jacket. And synthetic fibers are derived from petroleum. So is climbing gear (ropes, slings, harnesses, shoes, etc.)! I'm not saying don't wear or use that stuff, but buying an EV (mostly made of plastic - a petroleum product) feels odd when you're decked out in synthetic stuff and off to climb routes using petroleum derived gear.
Great video Dave! We switched to a Hybrid Hyundai Ionic 3 in 2020. This was back right in the middle of the pandemic and prices/inflation hadn't gone crazy yet. The hybrid was very cheap at the time. We still had EV range anxiety, so going to a hybrid was a good compromise for us. Our Hybrid has a range of about 50kms. We mostly use it within the city. We RARELY use gas (except during the winters when we turn on the heater). We gas up once a month now (if that) and we've saving a lot on gas. It's very cheap to charge. Overall we've been very happy with it and we want our next vehicle to be fully electric.
Stopped van life for the same reason. "Nature's best hope..." by Douglas Tallamy. Great read. No hate to anyone who needs gas-powered. I still drive gas but I want an electric van
The argument about the need of rare minerals has always stopped me from being fully onboard with EVs. I know I should put more research into it but it is unclear to me whether there are enough mineral resources to equip anyone who needs a car with an EV. On a whole individuals can do a lot, and it might start with differentiating needs, comfort, wants and luxuries. On a political level providing good alternatives to individual cars (of any kind) should also be more of a focus. I do know that a lot f these minerals are mined in Mongolia, a country dear to my heart and that those mines are destroying beautiful landscapes. It breaks my heart. I do not own a car. I only had one for 2 years of my life. I mostly use public transportation and rent or borrow car when I go on a climbing trip.
Please do take time to research accurate info on material comparisons ev Vs ice. You will be pleasantly surprised how available all of the key ingredients are for ev manufacturing globally. And if it helps your framing of the issue consider end of purpose recycling and reuse of lithium batteries Vs trying to recycle some burnt petrol (never seen a drop of it yet)
@@olivierhuet9860all the minerals used in an EV battrey pack don't get used up or worn out, so they can be fully recycled at the end of life and made into new batteries or other products, in comparison once fossil fuels are burnt they are gone forever, at least a few million years!
@@GlynHudson I agree for the batteries. But cars (not only EVs), now use a huge amount of electonics that uses the same kind of rare minerals than phones and computers. Those aren't actually rare but their extraction, because they appear in very small concentration, their extraction requires massive openair mines. Anyway my point is not to disregard EVs, for gaz emissions they are definitevely better than petrol cars, but they are also part of another ecological problem that should not be underestimated.
@olivierhuet9860 agree, the whole manufacturing chain needs to transition to circular economy. But as far as I understand it's now lower cost to obtain rare materials by recycling old electronics rather than mining from fresh, so no resources should go to waste as long as recycling technology is widely available
Thank you for the discussion. Most essential question: how good is the model Y for crash pads transportation? Do you think it is manageable for a 3 persons bouldering trip with say 2 big pads?
It is amazing how many people say electric cars won’t work for them. I have had second hand electric cars for 7 years and I wouldn’t even consider going back to petrol/diesel. It is much cheaper to run and makes your home cheaper to run.
I have been considering the switch, but for my driving profile, I would need the big battery. And then prices are totally bonkers. I have an 11 year old Skoda Octavia station wagon. I can get the same car new with a diesel and trailer hitch for 29k€. Low running costs, reliable, no frills. Any comparable EV with ~80kWh battery costs 50k new and the used cars with 50 000km starts at around 35k (with a comparable used Octavia at 23-25k). Totally nuts. The issue is not just that large batteries are expensive, the biggest issue is that every manufacturer sells the big battery only as part of the top line. There is no way, costs will ever work out in this case. At 4.5l/100km fuel costs are already pretty low. Even if I consider that I could partially charge from solar at home and that grid electricity is slightly cheaper than running on diesel, there is no way this additional cost will pay back within the expected lifetime of the car. With 25 000km per year, I am already well above the average here in Germany. If I can't make the numbers balance, how can the average driver?
@@foobar9220compared to ice cars the battery will never be worth zero or very little. The batteries last up to 400k km, even after that they have a recycling value, meaning they aren't worthless. The same doesn't work with ice motors. You'll easily make up the upfront higher cost by savings on fuel and maintenance. I'm not sure what your agenda is, but I doubt your car uses 4,5l /100km. It's rarely below 6,5l. I think your calculation is wrong, EVs are financially better, especially used ones.
@@T0mmyAngel0 Why do you doubt, I get along with 4,5l? Diesel engines are very efficient, and I see every time at the gas station that I am very well below 5l. The secret trick is to avoid both very short trips and stop+go in city traffic. Which is by the way the kind of driving one should avoid anyways due to high wear. That batteries last for 400k is an unproven assumption (and even that still counts "lasting" as a 20% loss), as is the claim that one will get relevant amounts of money for a battered battery. There are lots of costs involved in recycling a battery that will have to be deducted from the material value. So far, manufacturers typically guarantee the battery only for 80% at 160 000km/8 years, which is a far cry from 400k. Also consider that 20% loss of range is a lot, especially when adding another loss for winter conditions (~20% according to Engineering Explained).
@@foobar9220Take a look at electric speicher on youtube. Taxi drivers are using EVs for a reason. ua-cam.com/video/cHN9vCxdLK4/v-deo.htmlsi=Wx12gbiP3x7-HH7a
There are some legitimate factors though. Even second hand EVs can be out of people's price range, plus if you live in terrace housing or no guaranteed parking spot you can be screwed. I do think EVs are becoming common sense if you can afford the initial investment and you have a driveway but not everyone has that luxury.
Can you clarify,Tesla charging in Europe,the chargers recognise your car(Tesla) as they do in UK,so no messing?I made a environmental commitment,spent all my savings on external wall insulation,solar,house batteries,and air con/heat pump unit and of course my Tesla (used).
Norway is the second largest gas exporter in the world, and what a Country it is. Oil and gas has made it the most successful in the World.... Thats why Norway is fast forwarding developing their oil and gas, meanwhile Scotland is on a path of self harm, just drive around to see the state of the place... the difference in quality between Norway and Scotland is simply astounding...
We switched to an EV for broadly environmental reasons too. We bought second-hand to essentially recycle the battery rather than put another new one in use, we charge using a green tariff at home that we researched as best as possible and try and drive efficiently so as not to waste the available range in the car. Is it perfect, no. Definitely not. We spend a bjt more time in services than we would like on long trips, it doesn’t save money, broadly speaking, and I do worry about the cost when the battery dies and what our best approach will be when the cells need recycling. However it’s an unbelievably pleasant and quiet method of driving, we are happy we’re doing at least something to help the environment and the charging solutions around the country are improving day by day it feels.
I don't want to argue with you, just a small remark: the noise of a car rolling will take over the engine noise at a relatively low speed (or, as some suggest, it doesn't, but still makes up a significant part of total noise). So an EV is not exactly quiet at higher speeds, but quite probably quieter than one with a combustion engine.
Massively respect your decision on transport. I stopped flying for the same reason, and I even stopped driving as much and cycling wherever possible. However, on researching, the footprint for transport was less than my footprint through eating meat. So i stopped eating meat.
Unlike burning petrol, you can eat meat with an entirely climate neutral footprint. No need to lower diet quality. You could just eat properly produced meat instead.
I’ve had my defender since 2011. Apart from loving the vehicle buying a new car would probably be a greater creation of more greenhouse gases than I’d actually generate. If you look into the workings of government you’ll understand the very slow transition, lobbying or corruption depending on your point of view. An interesting way to see an electric car is an energy storage system you can drive. So I believe you can get power adaption systems so if need be you can use your car to supply power to your home when you suffer power outages or when power prices peak at certain times of the day. Then recharge at the lower price point. I think you can get a smaller Chinese brand vehicle for a bit more than the equivalent size battery system. Though in Australia we’ll probably throw higher tariffs on things to remove this incentive.
Nice one. we switched to an ev 4 years ago and are more remote than you! We would never go back. I share your smart meter pain... We eventually got one but it can't get a signal so we're stuck on normal tariffs. Still much cheaper than diesel though and mostly solar powered in summer.
Yeah seems utterly mad that we were crossing our fingers we’d get signal. The fitter was telling me about the situation in the northern isles - fitting meter after meter and not one working.
We have the same issue, smart meter fitted, no signal so it doesn't work (smart meters in Scotland use different signal, not phone nor radio) I have discovered that smart meters in Mid to South England use a sim card to communicate back to energy providers. I have asked our EDF to look into installing a sim smart meter here, and await a reply..... might be worth looking onto
Hi Dave, great video as ever. Whats your experience of say an early morning drive on a cold winters day in terms of the battery heating the car and running headlights, and even wipers whilst driving. Does an hour of this workload shorten the battery range markedly? Thanks
I haven't noticed the difference to be honest. I just don't really pay that much attention to range. I have more range than I need so never think to compare to summer journeys. I dare say there is a difference, but it must be pretty small.
I couldn’t agree more, the people that push global warming also seem to be pushing meat farming based warming. Although Dave is a massive fan of meat. After an initial leaning to the other side I saw my senses finally, now I eat meat everyday and drive my diesel car and van when I need to go somewhere. It’s convenient and I feel healthier. And in the 40 years I’ve lived near the sea I haven’t noticed it rising beyond its yearly high point. The weather seems to be consistently inconsistent as well. South coast of England.
@corneliousism I'm not saying it is or isn't a thing, that's a different discussion that I didn't want to get into. I'm just saying Dave is normally fairly good at giving his references but has chosen not to on this occasion and I think the transparency with which he normally presents his arguments gives greater credibility.
I hope I can figure out home charging in the future, currently it's not an option in a rental apartment. I'm currently also eyeing a first used EV but in the meantime, I've discovered HVO. There are a couple of big "if"s e.g. it has to be made from actual waste for co2 savings to be meaningful. And a diesel engine is still nowhere nearly as efficient as an electric motor. The biggest issue with HVO is that we only really have enough waste to cover like 3% of our diesel needs. But on the positive side, most of the progress will come after greener tech is actually cheaper than fossils. A smaller battery pack can cost the manufacturer as low 3k USD these days, with price per KWH nearing 60 dollars. Electric trucks are becoming a thing. EV sales in China are almost at 40% of all car sales. I think we might be peaking, with some exceptions. The question is - are we too late?
I'd only add that EVs viable for climbers are available for far less than Dave paid, to the point the payback time is likely on the order of 5 years. I recently bought a Model S with a similar range for about 1/3rd the cost of Daves, albeit with 95,000 miles on the clock. Drives like new.
Same here: I don't own a car and travel my daily commutes by bike or public transit for the climate change issue. I have flown twice in the last year and did a road trip (rented hybrid car) but I'd like to say these ware places I wanted to visit forever and also while it's twice in the last year it's also twice in my life sooo. And the climate guilt does bother me quite a bit. I do eat a lot of meat but I think animals are part of the carbon cycle, whereas petrol does not. I think I have a way greater impact by cycling everywhere and to not take the plane again than by giving up meat.
Good to see you are consistent in your worldview. I'm a Christian, and also conservative (small c). I'm a rock climber and I was aware that the majority of other climbers were left wing environmentalists. However, they would go on multiple climbing trips abroad (flying), then go flying again for skiing in the alps in the winter. Middle class climbers find it hard to square that with their environmentalism!
One day, hopefully I will also be able to change to a more environmentally responsible option. It's worth pointing out that this is a really complicated issue. The one thing that it's not, is flying. It is just bad, and there is plenty of evidence to support this. Also cycling uses very little carbon, and that includes the manufacturing of a new bike. I'd argue that living somewhere, where you can cycle to the the shops and work, and to stop using the car for these trips, seems sensible to me. I still need to be convinced that electric cars are overall better for the environment. This is really hard to pick through, because of the lobbying which is done by oil companies. What's clear though, that charging a car, where the electricity is generated by non oil sources, has to be better in the long run. Also, the potential improvement of air quality in cities, is a big win as well. I'm personally not ready to give up my petrol/gas car. It's does not financially make sense, since it's still got a number of years left on it. I think this is main issue with moving to anything which is more environmentally responsible. It's likely more expensive. People are going to make decisions with their wallets. The other point where there is no argument, is that change will only happen from governments and companies. It still baffles me that companies are forcing workers to commute to the office. This would be an easy win to get people of the road. The unwillingness of people with power to modernize, to me, is quite staggering. Although, perhaps, not surprising.
You may have given me some useful insight into reconsidering an EV in my future. The battery i thought was an issue re how it can be recycled once it becomes unusable in the car, hopefully that technology can come about- if masses move to EVs and many more batteries get made- they all need somewhere to go once they are finished with! Your other points are quite sound and interesting- you genuinely find enough charging ports around the highlands and for long journeys?
EV batteries are recycled for storage of grid electricity, among other routes. Just look at ZapMap to see the charging points around the highlands. I hardly ever need them though. 300 miles range is a long way.
Awesome video. Big fan of yours, of climbing and Tesla. I also never learnt to drive until 29. Didn’t buy a car until my wife and I had our daughter. My next car will be an EV. Unfortunately I don’t drive enough to justify it these days. Anyway great video 🎉 Does Autopilot help keep you safe with boulder spotting?
Tyre wear. The major UK car lease company has real statistics on this…and guess what. EV wear tyres slightly less! Although heavier they accelerate and slow down more smoothly. (Though many folk get through a first set of tyres as they impress their friends with the right foot neck crunching wow)
Im very much like you, im 55 years old now, i was concerned about climate change when i was 15, we are using this planet like we got another one to go to after we disposed of this one, used to cycle everywhere but as i got older arthritis kicked in, had electric car for 5 years now, EVs are the future, EVs are coming down in price massively, you can buy a new one for 15k although that is a Dacia. EVs are so more relaxing than a carbon burning bestie, ive even talked my brother who was a petrol head in to getting one.
Does anyone have experience of having an electric car and living in a flat? If you have a house with a drive charging may well be no issue. It’s an issue if you live in a flat.
It depends on where you live and how the parking situation is. Here in Germany, you have the right to install a charger at your parking spot (on the property, in the underground garage, etc) even as a renter. It is on your own cost, of course, but it is not crazy expensive. If you live anywhere without such a rule, you might be able to find a solution by talking to the owner of the building or the homeowners' association. In general, while many people install 11kW chargers, you do not necessarily that much power. Most people will be able to charge their car overnight with the 2,3kW permanent load of a standard European outlet. If you wire your charger directly, you can get even more. A higher power charger is useful if you have time of use rates like Dave, so you can squeeze your charging into the cheap times. But of course, you have to balance that with installation costs and if it is not your house, I would try to keep things cheap.
Check if you have public chargers nearby and how much they cost. What I do is, once one is free, I move my car there and recharge, after charging just move the car again. It helps having chargers nearby. When you're on a longer drive and need to supercharge, the lower the battery the faster it charges. A few days ago I charged 40% in 10 minutes (starting from 8%, long range battery). If you rarely have long drives unlike I do, it's better and cheaper to buy standard range, the once that were built 2021 and newer have china lfp battery, you can charge them to 100% and leave them charged. Unlike long range, it's recommended to not charge above 80% unless you immediately drive. But charging up from 80-100 takes a while so without own charging station not feasible.
@@T0mmyAngel0 You know people are desperate when they bring in free charging. Free charging was an anomaly and will totally disappear in the next few years. After all, nobody is handing out free Diesel... But no, there is no free charger nearby. Quite the contrary, chargers cost me way more than the 33c/kWh I am paying at home (normal price in Germany). A public charger around here will take 40-50c/kWh for slow charging and even more for fast charging. Plus of course the membership in a charging network. And living in a rural area, the last thing I would want to do is drive 5-15km to a charger and kill my time there when I can instead charge at home without any waste of time. Just to reiterate...I am not against electric vehicles and would like to make the switch. But at the moment, you really have to be convinced of the environmental impact because the cost side really does not work out well if you would buy a reasonable car instead.
Hello Got a lot to say about this, rubbish at explaining my thoughts in writing even talking 😆. Agree with all the climate stuff extremely important, I have made solar & battery systems that run our house, caravan & workshop. We have not long just got a Ford explorer EV from my wife’s work on lease, she works for a big off shore wind turbine company. I also have a hybrid electric car, which has just sprung a load of faults because of the really wet weather and now also her car with steering issues. What annoys me regarding this, I don’t know how to fix these problems, but understand mechanical issues. The whole Renewables market is very very tough as governments, companies & restrictions make it really really hard to make progress. Then there’s materials for batteries and when charging who is the supply coming from are they a green company really. There’s so much to it all as you know and explain, I really like the technology it’s ace but also fixing things and keeping things going instead of scraping or throwing away. It’s cool your on about this stuff, nice one ✊
"environmental issues aside, they are just way better" Never a truer word was said. I hate getting in petrol cars now. Hearing a revving engine, messing around eith clutch and gears just feels wrong when something can do it better meaning less thinking for me.
Thoughtful stuff and I'd love to lower my carbon footprint but my pension is unlikely to stretch to even a reasonable, second-hand eV and on that subject do the batteries fade at the same sort of rate as the other batteries I currently rely on? I suspect that driving to the nearest city, Inverness, which is just over 100 miles away, will mean recharging before I can come home in any second-hand eV I can afford.
Im interested in your take on avoiding flying/driving gasoline cars versus eating meat which is often just as large if not a larger source of greenhouse gas emissions. Not hating at all, just very curious!
its great if one is in a position to, but for many around the world it is simply not possible to goto an EV. If we all goto an EV, costs will rise about powering them, making them unaffordable. Furthermore they are treated as White goods, with the batteries requiring a huge amount of carbon that needs to be offset, and little to no thought into their recycling that I am aware of. There is also the issue of powering them long-term. We already have a power shortage at peak hours on the UK Grid network. If the entire country goes EV over a few years and they can't keep up, we'll have bigger issues on our hands day to day, like increased electricity costs.
Beautifully presented as always Dave. Tons of food for thought. An additional angle - Solar Ev's. Once panel technology advances, there will be absolutely no reason not to add this, for example take your charging with you as many already do on a van. That said although solar isn't at all at that level, the more money invested in this abundant source/capturing technology , which if used correctly and with efficient systems, could also make a genuine impact. Panel technology has a footprint, but this is getting better and better. Anyone with interesting solar chat I'd like to hear.
No, solar panels on cars are a bad idea unless we are talking about miracle technology. They are much more complicated and expensive than a rooftop-installation. If you park in the shade or a garage (after all, who wants a hot car?) you get very little electricity. You drive around extra weight. For a campervan it may be worth it to run your fridge, but an EV is different. It is much better to do more standard solar installations and charge EVs normally. A lot more bang for your buck and if you do not need it right now, you can still feed it into the grid.
Take a look at Aptera. It is really hard. The reality is that even if you get a really good coefficient of friction on the car body & drag coefficient (the measurement of drag in the abstract) then you still have to contend with the fact that the power required increases as a cube relative the speed of travel. That means that the average power the solar cells can gather (typically not more than 500W per square meter) combined with the surface area which can easily be covered with panels (typically around 4 square meters) and the efficient / possible charging window length (often estimated as 60% of daylight hours, all said & done, as if all of that time were equally efficient) just doesn't gather enough energy to make a huge dent in the budget. The car has to be extremely efficient to make sense.
@@lenzwe7775 The average insolation across the globe in ≈ 1500W/m^2, not 1000W/m^2, hence the intentionally optimistic (peak theoretical value of a single-junction crystalline cell) power being around 500W. Remember, I was demonstrating how hard it is _even_ in *optimal* conditions.
I’m an electric car owner. I do however increasingly realise how much of a tw*t I am. I just feel completely stupid for judging others when they don’t have the same luxury of choice that I do and realistically the majority will never have. Having said that I do also have a 30 year old defender and I wonder whether that is actually more environmentally friendly considering the life expectancy of a battery and the environmental cost of acquiring rare earth metals.
If you're trying to convince people to buy an EV to help the planet then why not mention the light speed acceleration of even the most basic Tesla Model 3? The fun factor of a powerful EV is quite seriously UNIMAGINABLE to anyone that hasn't driven one, and yet not a peep about it?
For the naysayers, I did a wee bit of research into deaths in both coal mining and oil extraction in just the 20th century. It is colossal. Hundreds of thousands of lives lost in fossil economics. Never mind the climate catastrophe. Dwell on that all you libertarians.
Battery arguments are kind of pointless. Batteries are still under development and will change massively soon. Will be no rare elements, will be fast charging and much bigger range. This is what already is in laboratories. EVs technology is very young comparing to petrol industry and has big capabilities to improve. Now it is difficult to compare, it's too early. On other side petrol technology is mature and improvement is tiny now.
A really useful perspective, and provides a lot of reassurance about range. I have made a similar comment previously, but for anyone making this change due to environmental concerns, look carefully at how your electricity is generated. If your energy supplier is burning fossil fuels to produce the electricity then the impact may not be all that effective!! The energy supplier industry remains rather poor when it comes to labeling, and much of the "100% renewable" electricity might not be what you think it is - and certainly doesn't match my definition of green! For example, many suppliers generate their power by burning fossil fuels, but then purchase certificates to 'offset' the emissions. These certificates are controversial as there is no firm evidence they are effective at lowering emissions. It is possible to find a truly green supplier but the choices are very limited. Do your research, and where possible always purchase from a supplier who directly generates and invests in renewable energy, else your electric car might be powered by more fossil fuel than expected. If you are considering making the switch to EV, or even if this isn't possible for you, researching your energy supplier might be an easier and cheaper first step to do some good!
There's peer-reviewed research out there which has demonstrated that even if you get all of your electricity from coal driving a BEV is still less carbon intensive than driving the vast majority of gasoline-powered vehicles.
@DrewNorthup I'm not suggesting don't make the switch, or that it isn't beneficial. I'm just highlighting many suppliers advertise "100% renewable" energy contracts that actually directly generate large amounts of their power from fossil fules, such as natural gas. Powering an electric car by burning natural gas might not be what many people have in mind when switching to an electric car. It's unfortunate this area isn't more transparent, but an important factor to keep in mind, especially if people are making the change for environmental considerations. Switching energy supplier is a relatively easy change for a anyone concerned about reducing carbon emissions.
But why stop at flying? Climbing shoes, ropes, harnesses, clothing, climbing holds etc are dependent on fossil fuels, so why even bother climbing if you think those things are linked to anthropogenic climate change? Even with the EV's some poor souls have to deal with the consequences of lithium mining, and all the parts of those cars, the plastics, paints etc are all made possible thanks to fossil fuels. As for flying to other countries, well you help feed into their economy, and many livelihoods are dependent on people flying into other countries. I think we need more discussion and debate about the anthropogenic climate model, rather than the assumption that it's watertight and beyond debate.
Hi Dave, great video as always! Buying the car after the steepest depreciation has occurred and charging at home are great but is the insurance cost not extremely high?
I got an EV 2y ago and can never go back. They should market evs for how much better they feel today drive. Hovering around effortlessly with all the power in the world, no vibrations, no noise, so good!
As much as I do like electric cars in general( I don’t have one but would get one if I could) I think we should definitely focus on the grid since the energy comes from there. I’m pro environment however I don’t think everyone could drive a electric car
Was thinking this too. I think his commitment to environmentalism is admirable but isnt his diet terrible for the environment? Maybe he has information we don't about where his meat is sourced from that makes it less impactful on the environment but id like to hear it from Dave directly.
@@theflaggeddragon9472 there is no way meat is less impactful than plant based food. Even the cutest organic meat farm is worse. But I think Dave did this as an experiment, not as a lifestyle.
dave you are an inspiration to me, i'm currently listening to moving the needle on audible. i am looking to do the same, luckily I live in california and I have access to tons of climbing and the whole west coast, looking to get an electric van and live in it👍 one question for you, do you think that it's possible for someone who started climbing at 27 to reach the highest levels like v15+ and 9a?
Nah man. Tesla autopilot is okay, but it doesn’t do off camber bends in the mountains, or stags jumping out. A talking UA-camr still beats it. Maybe the next update will figure out bends and wild ruminants.
@@climbermacleod True! Great on highways, but not great on twisty roads. I‘m patiently waiting for FSD in Europe. Thanks for the great and well balanced video. Safe travels in your MY!
Dave what about your diet? I think what you are doing is commendable but you still stick to this animal diet which is widely known as one of the biggest contributions to climate change. I love you to bits and have followed you for a very long time indeed so this isn't a dig just a curious question.
Well this video is focused on driving cars. Diet is for another episode. But very briefly, saying an animal diet contributes to climate change is the same as saying 'cars contribute to climate change, therefore you must stop driving'. It misses that not all cars run on fossil fuels. Similarly, meat can be produced in a way that causes warming, is climate neutral, or actually causes climate cooling. It depends on how it's farmed. Just as I think transport needs to shift to climate neutral, farming does too. And it could easily. Worth noting also that unlike fossil fuel emissions (which introduce carbon to the biosphere), methane emissions from a cow herd that is stable in number does not warm the climate. Only increasing the number of animals causes warming, and that is not necessary. Further, if we reduce the number of ruminants on land as a climate mitigation strategy, we have to permanently suppress the size of animals living on land to maintain the effect. We'd have to kill any wild ruminants that took their place, otherwise the climate would rewarm. This gets pretty weird. Solution: just farm properly.
On the note of systemic vs collective climate action, I personally believe that things will not change without systemic policy change because there are so many sociatal level changes that need to happen in order to address the climate and ecological impacts we are having on the planet. That also isn't to say individual action is worthless and we should just lie down and let the politicians take care of everything (which they won't because here in America at least, the majority are in the pockets of major corporations), but instead we need to collectively fight for systemic change. Fight for funding to be allocated to renewable or low carbon power plants like geothermal or nuclear, fight for revised planning guidelines that allow for and encourage more compact cities that are able to operate with minimal use of motor vehicles, and fight for the banning of single use plastics and the reduction of the use of plastics overall. The change we require is radical but most people are not and so nothing will happen if we expect non-radical people to do radical things. That said, I do still think what people like Dave are doing is important because it brings more visibility to the cause, which in turn will convince more people to participate themselves, which in turn will build towards the critical mass required to make policy change happen.
Such ethics, then buys a car from Elon?🤔. I truly agree with your motives and I admire your willingness to make a difference... But Musk wouldn't get the dirt off my boots.
I think your decision to not fly for the environment is deserving of respect. But don't you eat a largely animal based diet? Doesn't animal agriculture significantly contribute to climate change in comparison to plant based agriculture? Why not lower your animal based food intake as that isn't *strictly* necessary either. Happy to be corrected on anything I've said Note: I'm not vegan or plant based or anything like that lol
Turbines kill a significantly lower amount of birds than many other things that we don't need, like domestic cats. Why have you focused on this one non-issue?
@@adamjskater Actually it kills a lot more than my cats ever did, i live near 7 windmills and they need constant maintenance, it destroys the biodiversity to build them and they are very hard to recycle and why do companies just choose to bury them, and they don't produce energy when they are running slow.
That's been asked and answered many times. It's estimated that the next 30 years of mineral mining and environmental damage associated with the transition to sustainable technologies as a whole (EVs, wind turbines, cables, the whole shebang) create as much damage as around 9 months of fossil fuel use (including mining, shipping, distribution, refining etc). Do you really think this question was never asked before we started the move to sustainable technologies?
@@GPR111 we changed to EV nearly 2 years ago and it's been great. I think the best bit at the moment is the fact we never need to scrape ice off it in the morning. And it costs about £12 - £15 a month in "fuel" as opposed to the £90 a month our diesel used to cost. The 200 mile range has never been an issue for us (family with 2 kids). It's our only car.
@@DeanMerchant Coal produces way more CO2 per W than gasoline. Cars combustion engine is more efficient than coal energy plant turbines. EVs of similar size are way heavier than combustion engine cars, making them require more energy to be spent. I don't know about energy loss due to transfer in electricity vs moving gasoline to the station, probably also something to think about. This isn't even taking into account cost of producing the cars battery, which makes it even worse.
@@thenayancat8802 Electricitymaps has Poland's electricity production at 754g of CO2/kWh over the past 12 months. ev-database has the Tesla Model Y at 164 Wh/km. This results in 123g CO2 / km. "EU fleet-wide CO2 emission targets" are at 95g CO2 / km. For comparison, Great Britain is at 221g CO2 / kWh, therefore 3.4x better, or 36g CO2 / km for the Model Y.
It's great that you are discussing climate change in this context. Just remember that including methane emissions 1kg beef is equivalent to ~90-100kg Co2. With a modern petrol car that's 100s of kilometers. Or a flight from Edinburgh to oslo is equivalent to 3-4kg of beef.
Only if you use the wrong measure to compare the two (GWP100). 1kg of beef, if produced properly, can actually cool the climate. Something that can never be said of a petrol car. I’m all for change in farming practice to achieve this, just as I am for change in transport practice.
@@climbermacleod Thank you very much for the quick reply. What would be your source for that? Considering the urgency of the climate crisis right now the short term reduction of methane output becomes even more important. And than using gwp* or gwp100 does not make as much of a difference. In the very long term of course this is different. (of course beef still has an extremely high gwp100 even when completely neglecting methane.
Further to your last point about minerals being mined for the batteries in EVs, a lot of those same minerals (Cobalt etc.) are used by the oil and gas industry for refinement processes. That combined with battery tech moving so fast that the mass per battery of these minerals is shrinking or being eliminated entirely makes the comparison between EV and ICE cars moot too.
Wanted to watch the video but the opening 50 seconds were just ... nonsense. Admirable to have such dedication for what is considered a worthy cause. Silly to belive in it and propogate it without (apparently) any proper research.
I admire your commitment to the environment. Thanks for giving clear reasoning for your choices.
Pick up my first eV in two days time. Have fitted solar and a battery to my house this year as well as a solar hot water diverter and a bigger hot water tank. The options to decarbonise are huge at lots of price points. I encourage everyone to look into the changes that Dave is advocating.
Great video and message. Thanks Dave.
Good to see some pro climbers trying to be a positive role model like you, Aidan and Seb
I bought a Nissan Leaf nearly five years ago when I had a 130+ mile a day commute with about 1000 ft of altitude change in it. Cost of the car payment was the same as what I was spending on gas, so total cost of ownership ended up cheaper. The only time I ever had to stop and charge between work and home was in the winter when it was very, very cold. Driving at US high way speed (75 mph) with 1000 ft of elevation gain on the way back is just about the least ideal conditions you could imagine and it was still an extremely good car. Got nearly 100k miles on it now.
Great video. It’s not a didactic rant, it’s your honest opinion based on research and lived experience, and it makes a lot of sense.
A great way to approach what has always been a really divisive topic. Hopefully people will follow your example and make their own, informed, decision, rather than view this as another polarised argument where belligerently sticking to one side or the other through some sense of misplaced loyalty is the only way ahead!
I go cragging in New Zealand in my Hyundai Kona Electric. Often take climbing friends down with me in my car instead of their petrol cars. Round trip to closer crags involve no charging. Slightly longer day trips take a 20-30 minute charge while we are having a cup of coffee or picking up a sandwich and drinks in the closest town. Recharging at home overnight and we are ready to go again the next day :)
Really appreciate this video, and I'll definitely be sharing it with any outdoorsy or environmentalist friends who are on the fence about an EV. Am not at the stage where I can justify any vehicle, for similar reasons to yourself. That stuff away there is great, but there's still plenty I can hop on a bus or train to that I've not seen yet.
Thanks Dave, that was totally unexpected but very welcomed.
Obviously the best car is no car, only that is often not realistic so electric cars is where the future must be.
Digging stuff up just to burn it only made sense when there was no alternative, now with the rapid advances (almost weekly) of battery technology it makes no sense not to leave the old ways behind and embrace a cleaner future.
Even ignoring global warming the improvements to the quality of air in our towns & cities is going to improve & save lives and reduce the burden on our health services. The health savings of clean air alone is going to save each country a fortune in the long run.
By far the most impactful thing I’ve seen or heard about Electric Cars. Thanks
Great video, this echoes my experience avoiding flying and driving an EV and electric campervan to climbing destinations in Europe for the past 9 years. It's not been a hardship, and in many ways it's been a more fulfilling experience. EV technology and charging networks have improved massively in the past few years, and cost of the vehicles have reduced. It's possible to get a 2nd hand Standard Range Tesla Model 3, Hyundai Kona or Kia e-Niro for less than £15k all of which have over 200 mile range. Taking the train is also an excellent way to get to many climbing destinations in South of France and Spain.
Great video Dave! Thank you for making this
nice car! We have an EV for the first time this year, in May, living on Skye. It does Skye-Inverness-Skye on a charge, easily in Summer and 10% left at this time of year. Seems to be plenty of chargers available (its not a tesla) but we can also use the Tesla chargers in Inverness, Perth or Fort William, they are generally the best. Quite a few people here have EV's as well, although still minority. For the Highlands so far - no issues, agree with you about planning ahead, relaxing while charging is not an issue as you also say. Price - it is a lease, but with overnight home charging we are spending less than £15 a month as opposed to approx £160 a month on petrol. I would not go back to petrol.
Great video Dave. I've been wanting to do a similar trip to Norway from Scotland in my EV so nice to see you had a good experience. Great to hear the environmental message. Sadly discussion on the climate emergency seems to have disappeared despite record breaking global temps and extreme weather events. Cracking footage of some of your climbs!
Thanks so much for this! We need way more climbers thinking and talking about this.
To add to the mining minerals for batteries debate. Current batteries are 98% recyclable and the technology is only improving. So the more batteries produced, the less mining needed to produce new batteries.
Nice video mate!
Great video! Would be interesting to also do a clip on your diet and how you think about the environmental impact of animal protein and the wider impact of the food value chain. Great content as always :)
That would be more than a clip. But yes, I’ve had this in the works for several years. About 4-500 studies in now!
This will be interesting. I eat fully carnivore for health reasons. The meat I eat comes from a field next door to me in Scotland. I find it unlikely that a vegan eating food that's flown in and grown in monocultures is having less impact on the environment than I am.
@@climbermacleodwould absolutely love this (if you'd be willing to put yourself in the firing line!). As someone transitioning back to a more omnivore diet for health after wrestling with a vegan diet it's been a huge struggle after the exposure to the shock material on health/ethics/environment often distributed to and amongst vegans. It would good to see a nutritionist's balanced take.
Thanks for ditching fossil fuel cars, it's an important choice and also thanks for your insights, for example looking at some research regarding offsets, which I also find problematic.
Climate change is one of the most pressing issues for our and for future generations.
If politicians and companies are too slow forcing/adopting systemic change, we have to start making personal choices and sometimes sacrifices or investments.
Another very important piece of the puzzle is public transportation, which has to improve in things like affordability and reliability. I guess this is where voting and writing your local politicians is required.
Thanks for using your voice, Dave! 💪
Be the change you want to see! Way to go Dave. My car just died and I was trying to decide between a used tesla (electric) or honda civic (good milage) but because I don't own a home I wouldn't have anywhere good to plug in :( . Next car is definitely electric!
So pleased you have made this video. Its great that people like you are willing to put out your thoughts on EVs.
Recently moved home and used electric transit van. Really great! ~200mi range (loaded). Was first EV experience and would do it again.
Although I think EVs are way better than petrol cars I think trains are even better (due to no road wear, higher capacity, closed system). I'd really like to see more car sharing for those living in a city in a similar fashion to the electric bikes you can hire. It would be great for getting to rural locations that are still serviced by a train station close by. Plus no year round insurance or maintenance if only using a car a fraction of the days in a year.
My garage is definitely too small for such a solution :(
Car clubs are great for cities, would definitely be great to see similar things in rural areas because it's such a shame that car ownership is a hard requirement even fairly close to large cities in the UK
Love this channel so much.
Fair play Dave, sounds like a fun and meaningful way of moving forward
Great video Dave, you really covered the reality of the EV experience. Replaced our old Skoda Yeti with an EV this year and its been superb. Yeah no going back.Solar n batteries next.
Nicely put together video. Driving through norway last year it seemed like the perfect country for an ev
Hey Dave - this is a great take on EVs and buying one second hand is an even better way to get into it - I truly believe not buying things new can help reduce our impact whilst fulfilling the consumerist culture so many of us struggle to kick.
Given your concern with the environment, I note in one of your other videos that you eat a lot of meat. I am interested to know if you source your meat as sustainably as possible to reduce your impact in that area? I am not vegan but try and buy organic in all foods if possible, on the assumption that the packaging is truthful and buying organic is better for both animal and planet.
Given your expertise on nutrition I think a video on meat and approaching the environmental (and maybe ethical) issues surrounding it would be valuable and certainly round off the videos you have made on the environment and nutrition.
Thanks for your time if you read this essay!
I’ve had that in the works for several years. Yes I try to buy from local farmers where I can, and climb on the same hills the animals live on, so know about the land use there etc. Organic food is obviously dependent on animal farming for its nutrients (manure). So it makes sense to eat the animal too.
Great inspiring video with clear explanations :)
Dave, all of your tech wear is made from synthetic fibers: the base layers, pants, and the down jacket. And synthetic fibers are derived from petroleum. So is climbing gear (ropes, slings, harnesses, shoes, etc.)! I'm not saying don't wear or use that stuff, but buying an EV (mostly made of plastic - a petroleum product) feels odd when you're decked out in synthetic stuff and off to climb routes using petroleum derived gear.
Great video Dave! We switched to a Hybrid Hyundai Ionic 3 in 2020. This was back right in the middle of the pandemic and prices/inflation hadn't gone crazy yet. The hybrid was very cheap at the time. We still had EV range anxiety, so going to a hybrid was a good compromise for us. Our Hybrid has a range of about 50kms. We mostly use it within the city. We RARELY use gas (except during the winters when we turn on the heater). We gas up once a month now (if that) and we've saving a lot on gas. It's very cheap to charge. Overall we've been very happy with it and we want our next vehicle to be fully electric.
I presume that 50 km is the EV-only range…?
yes. Battery only range for our plug in hybrid is about 50kms. When it switches over to hybrid mode or gas only it’s a lot farther
Stopped van life for the same reason. "Nature's best hope..." by Douglas Tallamy. Great read.
No hate to anyone who needs gas-powered. I still drive gas but I want an electric van
The argument about the need of rare minerals has always stopped me from being fully onboard with EVs. I know I should put more research into it but it is unclear to me whether there are enough mineral resources to equip anyone who needs a car with an EV. On a whole individuals can do a lot, and it might start with differentiating needs, comfort, wants and luxuries. On a political level providing good alternatives to individual cars (of any kind) should also be more of a focus.
I do know that a lot f these minerals are mined in Mongolia, a country dear to my heart and that those mines are destroying beautiful landscapes. It breaks my heart.
I do not own a car. I only had one for 2 years of my life. I mostly use public transportation and rent or borrow car when I go on a climbing trip.
Please do take time to research accurate info on material comparisons ev Vs ice.
You will be pleasantly surprised how available all of the key ingredients are for ev manufacturing globally.
And if it helps your framing of the issue consider end of purpose recycling and reuse of lithium batteries Vs trying to recycle some burnt petrol (never seen a drop of it yet)
@@olivierhuet9860all the minerals used in an EV battrey pack don't get used up or worn out, so they can be fully recycled at the end of life and made into new batteries or other products, in comparison once fossil fuels are burnt they are gone forever, at least a few million years!
@@GlynHudson I agree for the batteries. But cars (not only EVs), now use a huge amount of electonics that uses the same kind of rare minerals than phones and computers. Those aren't actually rare but their extraction, because they appear in very small concentration, their extraction requires massive openair mines.
Anyway my point is not to disregard EVs, for gaz emissions they are definitevely better than petrol cars, but they are also part of another ecological problem that should not be underestimated.
@olivierhuet9860 agree, the whole manufacturing chain needs to transition to circular economy. But as far as I understand it's now lower cost to obtain rare materials by recycling old electronics rather than mining from fresh, so no resources should go to waste as long as recycling technology is widely available
autopilot is great for checking out those boulders on the side of the road for a few seconds without risking to swerve off the road ;)
Thank you for the discussion. Most essential question: how good is the model Y for crash pads transportation? Do you think it is manageable for a 3 persons bouldering trip with say 2 big pads?
It is amazing how many people say electric cars won’t work for them. I have had second hand electric cars for 7 years and I wouldn’t even consider going back to petrol/diesel. It is much cheaper to run and makes your home cheaper to run.
I have been considering the switch, but for my driving profile, I would need the big battery. And then prices are totally bonkers. I have an 11 year old Skoda Octavia station wagon. I can get the same car new with a diesel and trailer hitch for 29k€. Low running costs, reliable, no frills. Any comparable EV with ~80kWh battery costs 50k new and the used cars with 50 000km starts at around 35k (with a comparable used Octavia at 23-25k). Totally nuts. The issue is not just that large batteries are expensive, the biggest issue is that every manufacturer sells the big battery only as part of the top line.
There is no way, costs will ever work out in this case. At 4.5l/100km fuel costs are already pretty low. Even if I consider that I could partially charge from solar at home and that grid electricity is slightly cheaper than running on diesel, there is no way this additional cost will pay back within the expected lifetime of the car. With 25 000km per year, I am already well above the average here in Germany. If I can't make the numbers balance, how can the average driver?
@@foobar9220compared to ice cars the battery will never be worth zero or very little. The batteries last up to 400k km, even after that they have a recycling value, meaning they aren't worthless. The same doesn't work with ice motors. You'll easily make up the upfront higher cost by savings on fuel and maintenance. I'm not sure what your agenda is, but I doubt your car uses 4,5l /100km. It's rarely below 6,5l. I think your calculation is wrong, EVs are financially better, especially used ones.
@@T0mmyAngel0 Why do you doubt, I get along with 4,5l? Diesel engines are very efficient, and I see every time at the gas station that I am very well below 5l. The secret trick is to avoid both very short trips and stop+go in city traffic. Which is by the way the kind of driving one should avoid anyways due to high wear.
That batteries last for 400k is an unproven assumption (and even that still counts "lasting" as a 20% loss), as is the claim that one will get relevant amounts of money for a battered battery. There are lots of costs involved in recycling a battery that will have to be deducted from the material value.
So far, manufacturers typically guarantee the battery only for 80% at 160 000km/8 years, which is a far cry from 400k. Also consider that 20% loss of range is a lot, especially when adding another loss for winter conditions (~20% according to Engineering Explained).
@@foobar9220Take a look at electric speicher on youtube. Taxi drivers are using EVs for a reason. ua-cam.com/video/cHN9vCxdLK4/v-deo.htmlsi=Wx12gbiP3x7-HH7a
There are some legitimate factors though. Even second hand EVs can be out of people's price range, plus if you live in terrace housing or no guaranteed parking spot you can be screwed. I do think EVs are becoming common sense if you can afford the initial investment and you have a driveway but not everyone has that luxury.
Can you clarify,Tesla charging in Europe,the chargers recognise your car(Tesla) as they do in UK,so no messing?I made a environmental commitment,spent all my savings on external wall insulation,solar,house batteries,and air con/heat pump unit and of course my Tesla (used).
Yeah it’s the same. Just plug in and done.
Bures, Dave! This is where i'm from. Amazing route you put up on Stáddá!
Norway is the second largest gas exporter in the world, and what a Country it is. Oil and gas has made it the most successful in the World.... Thats why Norway is fast forwarding developing their oil and gas, meanwhile Scotland is on a path of self harm, just drive around to see the state of the place... the difference in quality between Norway and Scotland is simply astounding...
Indeed. Scotland is decades behind Norway. And Scotland is ahead of the UK. It could choose a different path.
Superb video, well presented.
I am keen to get an EV soon. I actually have a Twizy but it only has 30 miles range.
We switched to an EV for broadly environmental reasons too. We bought second-hand to essentially recycle the battery rather than put another new one in use, we charge using a green tariff at home that we researched as best as possible and try and drive efficiently so as not to waste the available range in the car.
Is it perfect, no. Definitely not. We spend a bjt more time in services than we would like on long trips, it doesn’t save money, broadly speaking, and I do worry about the cost when the battery dies and what our best approach will be when the cells need recycling.
However it’s an unbelievably pleasant and quiet method of driving, we are happy we’re doing at least something to help the environment and the charging solutions around the country are improving day by day it feels.
I don't want to argue with you, just a small remark: the noise of a car rolling will take over the engine noise at a relatively low speed (or, as some suggest, it doesn't, but still makes up a significant part of total noise). So an EV is not exactly quiet at higher speeds, but quite probably quieter than one with a combustion engine.
Massively respect your decision on transport. I stopped flying for the same reason, and I even stopped driving as much and cycling wherever possible.
However, on researching, the footprint for transport was less than my footprint through eating meat.
So i stopped eating meat.
Unlike burning petrol, you can eat meat with an entirely climate neutral footprint. No need to lower diet quality. You could just eat properly produced meat instead.
@climbermacleod i don't believe that can be done at all at scale
I’ve had my defender since 2011. Apart from loving the vehicle buying a new car would probably be a greater creation of more greenhouse gases than I’d actually generate.
If you look into the workings of government you’ll understand the very slow transition, lobbying or corruption depending on your point of view.
An interesting way to see an electric car is an energy storage system you can drive. So I believe you can get power adaption systems so if need be you can use your car to supply power to your home when you suffer power outages or when power prices peak at certain times of the day. Then recharge at the lower price point. I think you can get a smaller Chinese brand vehicle for a bit more than the equivalent size battery system. Though in Australia we’ll probably throw higher tariffs on things to remove this incentive.
Nice one. we switched to an ev 4 years ago and are more remote than you! We would never go back. I share your smart meter pain... We eventually got one but it can't get a signal so we're stuck on normal tariffs. Still much cheaper than diesel though and mostly solar powered in summer.
Yeah seems utterly mad that we were crossing our fingers we’d get signal. The fitter was telling me about the situation in the northern isles - fitting meter after meter and not one working.
We have the same issue, smart meter fitted, no signal so it doesn't work (smart meters in Scotland use different signal, not phone nor radio) I have discovered that smart meters in Mid to South England use a sim card to communicate back to energy providers. I have asked our EDF to look into installing a sim smart meter here, and await a reply..... might be worth looking onto
Hi Dave, great video as ever. Whats your experience of say an early morning drive on a cold winters day in terms of the battery heating the car and running headlights, and even wipers whilst driving. Does an hour of this workload shorten the battery range markedly? Thanks
Depends on your car- Got an old Nissan Leaf, yes. More recent car, not really. Based on 6 years experience in a cold country
I haven't noticed the difference to be honest. I just don't really pay that much attention to range. I have more range than I need so never think to compare to summer journeys. I dare say there is a difference, but it must be pretty small.
@@climbermacleod great thanks
It's a shame that you didn't provide your references like you often do in many of your other videos
I couldn’t agree more, the people that push global warming also seem to be pushing meat farming based warming. Although Dave is a massive fan of meat.
After an initial leaning to the other side I saw my senses finally, now I eat meat everyday and drive my diesel car and van when I need to go somewhere. It’s convenient and I feel healthier. And in the 40 years I’ve lived near the sea I haven’t noticed it rising beyond its yearly high point. The weather seems to be consistently inconsistent as well. South coast of England.
@corneliousism I'm not saying it is or isn't a thing, that's a different discussion that I didn't want to get into. I'm just saying Dave is normally fairly good at giving his references but has chosen not to on this occasion and I think the transparency with which he normally presents his arguments gives greater credibility.
@@MattyDredge i think its because to me this video is mostly an experience report. For what arguments are you missing references?
@@Argcz all of them because there were no references 😆
Thoughts on manufacturing and shipping cars?
Great video, thorough and informative. How has the EV performed in Scottish Winter? Battery performance in winter?
Seems fine. I haven’t been looking carefully at it, but haven’t noticed any difference.
I hope I can figure out home charging in the future, currently it's not an option in a rental apartment.
I'm currently also eyeing a first used EV but in the meantime, I've discovered HVO. There are a couple of big "if"s e.g. it has to be made from actual waste for co2 savings to be meaningful. And a diesel engine is still nowhere nearly as efficient as an electric motor.
The biggest issue with HVO is that we only really have enough waste to cover like 3% of our diesel needs.
But on the positive side, most of the progress will come after greener tech is actually cheaper than fossils. A smaller battery pack can cost the manufacturer as low 3k USD these days, with price per KWH nearing 60 dollars. Electric trucks are becoming a thing. EV sales in China are almost at 40% of all car sales. I think we might be peaking, with some exceptions. The question is - are we too late?
I'd only add that EVs viable for climbers are available for far less than Dave paid, to the point the payback time is likely on the order of 5 years. I recently bought a Model S with a similar range for about 1/3rd the cost of Daves, albeit with 95,000 miles on the clock. Drives like new.
Same here: I don't own a car and travel my daily commutes by bike or public transit for the climate change issue.
I have flown twice in the last year and did a road trip (rented hybrid car) but I'd like to say these ware places I wanted to visit forever and also while it's twice in the last year it's also twice in my life sooo. And the climate guilt does bother me quite a bit.
I do eat a lot of meat but I think animals are part of the carbon cycle, whereas petrol does not. I think I have a way greater impact by cycling everywhere and to not take the plane again than by giving up meat.
Good to see you are consistent in your worldview. I'm a Christian, and also conservative (small c). I'm a rock climber and I was aware that the majority of other climbers were left wing environmentalists. However, they would go on multiple climbing trips abroad (flying), then go flying again for skiing in the alps in the winter. Middle class climbers find it hard to square that with their environmentalism!
Owned an EV for 11 years. Travelled nearly 200k miles in that time.
Never going back to an ICE vehicle and now added a 2nd EV to the household.
One day, hopefully I will also be able to change to a more environmentally responsible option. It's worth pointing out that this is a really complicated issue. The one thing that it's not, is flying. It is just bad, and there is plenty of evidence to support this. Also cycling uses very little carbon, and that includes the manufacturing of a new bike.
I'd argue that living somewhere, where you can cycle to the the shops and work, and to stop using the car for these trips, seems sensible to me.
I still need to be convinced that electric cars are overall better for the environment. This is really hard to pick through, because of the lobbying which is done by oil companies.
What's clear though, that charging a car, where the electricity is generated by non oil sources, has to be better in the long run. Also, the potential improvement of air quality in cities, is a big win as well.
I'm personally not ready to give up my petrol/gas car. It's does not financially make sense, since it's still got a number of years left on it. I think this is main issue with moving to anything which is more environmentally responsible. It's likely more expensive. People are going to make decisions with their wallets.
The other point where there is no argument, is that change will only happen from governments and companies. It still baffles me that companies are forcing workers to commute to the office. This would be an easy win to get people of the road. The unwillingness of people with power to modernize, to me, is quite staggering. Although, perhaps, not surprising.
Great video thanks Dave! How does it get on in Scottish winter weather road conditions? Ice/snow etc
I don’t know yet. We haven’t really had any winter road conditions yet.
You may have given me some useful insight into reconsidering an EV in my future. The battery i thought was an issue re how it can be recycled once it becomes unusable in the car, hopefully that technology can come about- if masses move to EVs and many more batteries get made- they all need somewhere to go once they are finished with! Your other points are quite sound and interesting- you genuinely find enough charging ports around the highlands and for long journeys?
EV batteries are recycled for storage of grid electricity, among other routes. Just look at ZapMap to see the charging points around the highlands. I hardly ever need them though. 300 miles range is a long way.
Awesome video. Big fan of yours, of climbing and Tesla. I also never learnt to drive until 29. Didn’t buy a car until my wife and I had our daughter. My next car will be an EV. Unfortunately I don’t drive enough to justify it these days. Anyway great video 🎉
Does Autopilot help keep you safe with boulder spotting?
Tyre wear.
The major UK car lease company has real statistics on this…and guess what. EV wear tyres slightly less! Although heavier they accelerate and slow down more smoothly.
(Though many folk get through a first set of tyres as they impress their friends with the right foot neck crunching wow)
Did you wild camp along the way up to Norway?
What mountain at 2:00?
Im very much like you, im 55 years old now, i was concerned about climate change when i was 15, we are using this planet like we got another one to go to after we disposed of this one, used to cycle everywhere but as i got older arthritis kicked in, had electric car for 5 years now, EVs are the future, EVs are coming down in price massively, you can buy a new one for 15k although that is a Dacia.
EVs are so more relaxing than a carbon burning bestie, ive even talked my brother who was a petrol head in to getting one.
Does anyone have experience of having an electric car and living in a flat? If you have a house with a drive charging may well be no issue. It’s an issue if you live in a flat.
It depends on where you live and how the parking situation is. Here in Germany, you have the right to install a charger at your parking spot (on the property, in the underground garage, etc) even as a renter. It is on your own cost, of course, but it is not crazy expensive. If you live anywhere without such a rule, you might be able to find a solution by talking to the owner of the building or the homeowners' association.
In general, while many people install 11kW chargers, you do not necessarily that much power. Most people will be able to charge their car overnight with the 2,3kW permanent load of a standard European outlet. If you wire your charger directly, you can get even more. A higher power charger is useful if you have time of use rates like Dave, so you can squeeze your charging into the cheap times. But of course, you have to balance that with installation costs and if it is not your house, I would try to keep things cheap.
Check if you have public chargers nearby and how much they cost. What I do is, once one is free, I move my car there and recharge, after charging just move the car again. It helps having chargers nearby. When you're on a longer drive and need to supercharge, the lower the battery the faster it charges. A few days ago I charged 40% in 10 minutes (starting from 8%, long range battery). If you rarely have long drives unlike I do, it's better and cheaper to buy standard range, the once that were built 2021 and newer have china lfp battery, you can charge them to 100% and leave them charged. Unlike long range, it's recommended to not charge above 80% unless you immediately drive. But charging up from 80-100 takes a while so without own charging station not feasible.
@@T0mmyAngel0 You know people are desperate when they bring in free charging. Free charging was an anomaly and will totally disappear in the next few years. After all, nobody is handing out free Diesel...
But no, there is no free charger nearby. Quite the contrary, chargers cost me way more than the 33c/kWh I am paying at home (normal price in Germany). A public charger around here will take 40-50c/kWh for slow charging and even more for fast charging. Plus of course the membership in a charging network. And living in a rural area, the last thing I would want to do is drive 5-15km to a charger and kill my time there when I can instead charge at home without any waste of time.
Just to reiterate...I am not against electric vehicles and would like to make the switch. But at the moment, you really have to be convinced of the environmental impact because the cost side really does not work out well if you would buy a reasonable car instead.
Hello
Got a lot to say about this, rubbish at explaining my thoughts in writing even talking 😆.
Agree with all the climate stuff extremely important, I have made solar & battery systems that run our house, caravan & workshop.
We have not long just got a Ford explorer EV from my wife’s work on lease, she works for a big off shore wind turbine company.
I also have a hybrid electric car, which has just sprung a load of faults because of the really wet weather and now also her car with steering issues.
What annoys me regarding this, I don’t know how to fix these problems, but understand mechanical issues.
The whole Renewables market is very very tough as governments, companies & restrictions make it really really hard to make progress.
Then there’s materials for batteries and when charging who is the supply coming from are they a green company really.
There’s so much to it all as you know and explain, I really like the technology it’s ace but also fixing things and keeping things going instead of scraping or throwing away.
It’s cool your on about this stuff, nice one ✊
"environmental issues aside, they are just way better"
Never a truer word was said. I hate getting in petrol cars now. Hearing a revving engine, messing around eith clutch and gears just feels wrong when something can do it better meaning less thinking for me.
Thoughtful stuff and I'd love to lower my carbon footprint but my pension is unlikely to stretch to even a reasonable, second-hand eV and on that subject do the batteries fade at the same sort of rate as the other batteries I currently rely on? I suspect that driving to the nearest city, Inverness, which is just over 100 miles away, will mean recharging before I can come home in any second-hand eV I can afford.
Im interested in your take on avoiding flying/driving gasoline cars versus eating meat which is often just as large if not a larger source of greenhouse gas emissions. Not hating at all, just very curious!
Are you going to translate the book into Spanish? I would be very grateful.
its great if one is in a position to, but for many around the world it is simply not possible to goto an EV. If we all goto an EV, costs will rise about powering them, making them unaffordable. Furthermore they are treated as White goods, with the batteries requiring a huge amount of carbon that needs to be offset, and little to no thought into their recycling that I am aware of.
There is also the issue of powering them long-term. We already have a power shortage at peak hours on the UK Grid network. If the entire country goes EV over a few years and they can't keep up, we'll have bigger issues on our hands day to day, like increased electricity costs.
Beautifully presented as always Dave. Tons of food for thought.
An additional angle - Solar Ev's. Once panel technology advances, there will be absolutely no reason not to add this, for example take your charging with you as many already do on a van. That said although solar isn't at all at that level, the more money invested in this abundant source/capturing technology , which if used correctly and with efficient systems, could also make a genuine impact. Panel technology has a footprint, but this is getting better and better. Anyone with interesting solar chat I'd like to hear.
No, solar panels on cars are a bad idea unless we are talking about miracle technology.
They are much more complicated and expensive than a rooftop-installation. If you park in the shade or a garage (after all, who wants a hot car?) you get very little electricity. You drive around extra weight. For a campervan it may be worth it to run your fridge, but an EV is different. It is much better to do more standard solar installations and charge EVs normally. A lot more bang for your buck and if you do not need it right now, you can still feed it into the grid.
Take a look at Aptera. It is really hard. The reality is that even if you get a really good coefficient of friction on the car body & drag coefficient (the measurement of drag in the abstract) then you still have to contend with the fact that the power required increases as a cube relative the speed of travel. That means that the average power the solar cells can gather (typically not more than 500W per square meter) combined with the surface area which can easily be covered with panels (typically around 4 square meters) and the efficient / possible charging window length (often estimated as 60% of daylight hours, all said & done, as if all of that time were equally efficient) just doesn't gather enough energy to make a huge dent in the budget. The car has to be extremely efficient to make sense.
@@DrewNorthup500w/m² would be groundbreaking. Current cells get up to 25% efficiency. At a theoretical 1000W/m² that makes 250W/m².
@@lenzwe7775 The average insolation across the globe in ≈ 1500W/m^2, not 1000W/m^2, hence the intentionally optimistic (peak theoretical value of a single-junction crystalline cell) power being around 500W. Remember, I was demonstrating how hard it is _even_ in *optimal* conditions.
@DrewNorthup average insolation at sea level is 1000W as per Wikipedia. That is on a clear day, so the maximum you could get.
, I didn’t expect such a positive experience because you live in a remote area. If you had some sun, solar panels could help if your home some days 😂
Hi Dave, any conflict of interest to report?
None.
This commenter clearly didn’t watch the video 😂
We bought the same car. Best car ever. Even did a weekend of bouldering in Brione, camping out of the car.
I’m an electric car owner. I do however increasingly realise how much of a tw*t I am. I just feel completely stupid for judging others when they don’t have the same luxury of choice that I do and realistically the majority will never have. Having said that I do also have a 30 year old defender and I wonder whether that is actually more environmentally friendly considering the life expectancy of a battery and the environmental cost of acquiring rare earth metals.
If you're trying to convince people to buy an EV to help the planet then why not mention the light speed acceleration of even the most basic Tesla Model 3? The fun factor of a powerful EV is quite seriously UNIMAGINABLE to anyone that hasn't driven one, and yet not a peep about it?
For the naysayers, I did a wee bit of research into deaths in both coal mining and oil extraction in just the 20th century. It is colossal. Hundreds of thousands of lives lost in fossil economics. Never mind the climate catastrophe. Dwell on that all you libertarians.
third world countries don't keep records of deaths in their industries
Battery arguments are kind of pointless. Batteries are still under development and will change massively soon. Will be no rare elements, will be fast charging and much bigger range. This is what already is in laboratories. EVs technology is very young comparing to petrol industry and has big capabilities to improve. Now it is difficult to compare, it's too early. On other side petrol technology is mature and improvement is tiny now.
A really useful perspective, and provides a lot of reassurance about range. I have made a similar comment previously, but for anyone making this change due to environmental concerns, look carefully at how your electricity is generated. If your energy supplier is burning fossil fuels to produce the electricity then the impact may not be all that effective!!
The energy supplier industry remains rather poor when it comes to labeling, and much of the "100% renewable" electricity might not be what you think it is - and certainly doesn't match my definition of green!
For example, many suppliers generate their power by burning fossil fuels, but then purchase certificates to 'offset' the emissions. These certificates are controversial as there is no firm evidence they are effective at lowering emissions.
It is possible to find a truly green supplier but the choices are very limited.
Do your research, and where possible always purchase from a supplier who directly generates and invests in renewable energy, else your electric car might be powered by more fossil fuel than expected. If you are considering making the switch to EV, or even if this isn't possible for you, researching your energy supplier might be an easier and cheaper first step to do some good!
There's peer-reviewed research out there which has demonstrated that even if you get all of your electricity from coal driving a BEV is still less carbon intensive than driving the vast majority of gasoline-powered vehicles.
@DrewNorthup I'm not suggesting don't make the switch, or that it isn't beneficial.
I'm just highlighting many suppliers advertise "100% renewable" energy contracts that actually directly generate large amounts of their power from fossil fules, such as natural gas. Powering an electric car by burning natural gas might not be what many people have in mind when switching to an electric car.
It's unfortunate this area isn't more transparent, but an important factor to keep in mind, especially if people are making the change for environmental considerations.
Switching energy supplier is a relatively easy change for a anyone concerned about reducing carbon emissions.
I'm sticking to my 27 year olds 3l sprinter. Great for big trips to the alps with loads of gear- kayaks, bikes, motorbike, climbing gear etc.
But why stop at flying? Climbing shoes, ropes, harnesses, clothing, climbing holds etc are dependent on fossil fuels, so why even bother climbing if you think those things are linked to anthropogenic climate change? Even with the EV's some poor souls have to deal with the consequences of lithium mining, and all the parts of those cars, the plastics, paints etc are all made possible thanks to fossil fuels. As for flying to other countries, well you help feed into their economy, and many livelihoods are dependent on people flying into other countries. I think we need more discussion and debate about the anthropogenic climate model, rather than the assumption that it's watertight and beyond debate.
Hi Dave, great video as always! Buying the car after the steepest depreciation has occurred and charging at home are great but is the insurance cost not extremely high?
I got an EV 2y ago and can never go back. They should market evs for how much better they feel today drive. Hovering around effortlessly with all the power in the world, no vibrations, no noise, so good!
As much as I do like electric cars in general( I don’t have one but would get one if I could) I think we should definitely focus on the grid since the energy comes from there. I’m pro environment however I don’t think everyone could drive a electric car
If you'd eat McPlant instead of McBurger you wouldn't need to drive electric :p
Was thinking this too. I think his commitment to environmentalism is admirable but isnt his diet terrible for the environment? Maybe he has information we don't about where his meat is sourced from that makes it less impactful on the environment but id like to hear it from Dave directly.
Curious to hear his opinion on this as well
@@theflaggeddragon9472 there is no way meat is less impactful than plant based food. Even the cutest organic meat farm is worse. But I think Dave did this as an experiment, not as a lifestyle.
@@daanschone1548 from everything I've read that's my conclusion as well
dave you are an inspiration to me, i'm currently listening to moving the needle on audible. i am looking to do the same, luckily I live in california and I have access to tons of climbing and the whole west coast, looking to get an electric van and live in it👍
one question for you, do you think that it's possible for someone who started climbing at 27 to reach the highest levels like v15+ and 9a?
i've seen this mountain equipment sweater on you now for a lot of videos, pls tell me what it is. is it unrealeased or an old one? - i need it
Not released yet! I’ll give a shout out when it does.
It looks cosy
Dave, opinion on heat pumps? Go.
Dave, use the autopilot (push down the cruise control twice)! Much saver when you’re recording a video 😉
Nah man. Tesla autopilot is okay, but it doesn’t do off camber bends in the mountains, or stags jumping out. A talking UA-camr still beats it. Maybe the next update will figure out bends and wild ruminants.
@@climbermacleod True! Great on highways, but not great on twisty roads. I‘m patiently waiting for FSD in Europe.
Thanks for the great and well balanced video. Safe travels in your MY!
Dave what about your diet? I think what you are doing is commendable but you still stick to this animal diet which is widely known as one of the biggest contributions to climate change. I love you to bits and have followed you for a very long time indeed so this isn't a dig just a curious question.
Well this video is focused on driving cars. Diet is for another episode. But very briefly, saying an animal diet contributes to climate change is the same as saying 'cars contribute to climate change, therefore you must stop driving'. It misses that not all cars run on fossil fuels. Similarly, meat can be produced in a way that causes warming, is climate neutral, or actually causes climate cooling. It depends on how it's farmed. Just as I think transport needs to shift to climate neutral, farming does too. And it could easily.
Worth noting also that unlike fossil fuel emissions (which introduce carbon to the biosphere), methane emissions from a cow herd that is stable in number does not warm the climate. Only increasing the number of animals causes warming, and that is not necessary. Further, if we reduce the number of ruminants on land as a climate mitigation strategy, we have to permanently suppress the size of animals living on land to maintain the effect. We'd have to kill any wild ruminants that took their place, otherwise the climate would rewarm. This gets pretty weird.
Solution: just farm properly.
Have you tought about using trains? Might be quite a hazzle tho if you travel with much equipment.
I used trains for the first half of my climbing career. So I ended up doing almost all the routes in my country near the lines.
On the note of systemic vs collective climate action, I personally believe that things will not change without systemic policy change because there are so many sociatal level changes that need to happen in order to address the climate and ecological impacts we are having on the planet. That also isn't to say individual action is worthless and we should just lie down and let the politicians take care of everything (which they won't because here in America at least, the majority are in the pockets of major corporations), but instead we need to collectively fight for systemic change. Fight for funding to be allocated to renewable or low carbon power plants like geothermal or nuclear, fight for revised planning guidelines that allow for and encourage more compact cities that are able to operate with minimal use of motor vehicles, and fight for the banning of single use plastics and the reduction of the use of plastics overall. The change we require is radical but most people are not and so nothing will happen if we expect non-radical people to do radical things. That said, I do still think what people like Dave are doing is important because it brings more visibility to the cause, which in turn will convince more people to participate themselves, which in turn will build towards the critical mass required to make policy change happen.
Such ethics, then buys a car from Elon?🤔. I truly agree with your motives and I admire your willingness to make a difference... But Musk wouldn't get the dirt off my boots.
yes, why shouldn't it? lots of EV choices, but why the heck a Tesla? :(
I think your decision to not fly for the environment is deserving of respect. But don't you eat a largely animal based diet? Doesn't animal agriculture significantly contribute to climate change in comparison to plant based agriculture? Why not lower your animal based food intake as that isn't *strictly* necessary either.
Happy to be corrected on anything I've said
Note: I'm not vegan or plant based or anything like that lol
carro elétrico é muito mais econômico e ecológico
Love a good wind turbine graveyard to make our environment an extra special, beautiful place, not to mention a bird graveyard while in service.
Turbines kill a significantly lower amount of birds than many other things that we don't need, like domestic cats. Why have you focused on this one non-issue?
@@adamjskater Actually it kills a lot more than my cats ever did, i live near 7 windmills and they need constant maintenance, it destroys the biodiversity to build them and they are very hard to recycle and why do companies just choose to bury them, and they don't produce energy when they are running slow.
I wonder what the production of electric vehicles and the charging infrastructure is doing to the climate..... 🤔
That's been asked and answered many times. It's estimated that the next 30 years of mineral mining and environmental damage associated with the transition to sustainable technologies as a whole (EVs, wind turbines, cables, the whole shebang) create as much damage as around 9 months of fossil fuel use (including mining, shipping, distribution, refining etc). Do you really think this question was never asked before we started the move to sustainable technologies?
@@cosmicpop Thanks. To me the whole ev thing is still a great white elephant though
@@GPR111 we changed to EV nearly 2 years ago and it's been great. I think the best bit at the moment is the fact we never need to scrape ice off it in the morning. And it costs about £12 - £15 a month in "fuel" as opposed to the £90 a month our diesel used to cost. The 200 mile range has never been an issue for us (family with 2 kids). It's our only car.
@@cosmicpop thanks, is that charging mostly at home ??
@@GPR111 yes it is. We're lucky in that regard. More has to be done to enable those without off-street parking to charge cheaply overnight
Here where I live(Poland), if I decide to buy EV, I will be producing more CO2 per km due to electric energy mix we have in a grid.
Polands grid is ~73% fossil fuels. Regular cars are 100%, how do you figure you generate more CO2 with an electric?
@@DeanMerchant Coal produces way more CO2 per W than gasoline. Cars combustion engine is more efficient than coal energy plant turbines. EVs of similar size are way heavier than combustion engine cars, making them require more energy to be spent. I don't know about energy loss due to transfer in electricity vs moving gasoline to the station, probably also something to think about. This isn't even taking into account cost of producing the cars battery, which makes it even worse.
I'm pretty sure even on fairly dirty coal power this isn't actually true.
@@thenayancat8802 Electricitymaps has Poland's electricity production at 754g of CO2/kWh over the past 12 months.
ev-database has the Tesla Model Y at 164 Wh/km.
This results in 123g CO2 / km.
"EU fleet-wide CO2 emission targets" are at 95g CO2 / km.
For comparison, Great Britain is at 221g CO2 / kWh, therefore 3.4x better, or 36g CO2 / km for the Model Y.
@@burnheart123 Ah right enough actually, I think mixed fossil fuels are fine but mostly coal not so
It is insane just how much nicer a "silent" car is to be in
It's great that you are discussing climate change in this context. Just remember that including methane emissions 1kg beef is equivalent to ~90-100kg Co2.
With a modern petrol car that's 100s of kilometers. Or a flight from Edinburgh to oslo is equivalent to 3-4kg of beef.
Only if you use the wrong measure to compare the two (GWP100). 1kg of beef, if produced properly, can actually cool the climate. Something that can never be said of a petrol car. I’m all for change in farming practice to achieve this, just as I am for change in transport practice.
@@climbermacleod Could you provide a link to a paper (that you think is good quality) describing the environmental impact of beef?
@@climbermacleod Thank you very much for the quick reply. What would be your source for that? Considering the urgency of the climate crisis right now the short term reduction of methane output becomes even more important. And than using gwp* or gwp100 does not make as much of a difference. In the very long term of course this is different. (of course beef still has an extremely high gwp100 even when completely neglecting methane.
Electric car instead of petrol/diesel car: Yes.
But Elon Musk's Tesla: NO!!!
If you don't understand, read yourself up on Elon Musk
Luckily there are options now for everyone to choose. For example new Skoda Elorq is supposed to be a pretty good (and good value aswell)
Further to your last point about minerals being mined for the batteries in EVs, a lot of those same minerals (Cobalt etc.) are used by the oil and gas industry for refinement processes. That combined with battery tech moving so fast that the mass per battery of these minerals is shrinking or being eliminated entirely makes the comparison between EV and ICE cars moot too.
Tesla are made to last a very long time. Mine has 10 yerars and 625000km (bought to a Taxi). So the impact is WAY lower than petrol
Wanted to watch the video but the opening 50 seconds were just ... nonsense.
Admirable to have such dedication for what is considered a worthy cause.
Silly to belive in it and propogate it without (apparently) any proper research.