The Return to Serfdom
There is no question that car emissions pollute cities. Both diesel and gasoline pollute, though in different ways, with different particles. Yet, diesel cars have long been touted as cleaner than gasoline because they emit less carbon dioxide. The only problem is that they emit more nitrogen oxides and particulates, which, while not adding to the total carbon dioxide causing global warming, are harmful to people's health, especially when concentrated in urban areas.
Many European cities are now legislating against diesel engines, and the older ones are being banned. Madrid and Barcelona will soon ban all diesel cars in upcoming years. So, where's the problem? The problem is that, until a couple of years ago, people were urged to buy diesel cars precisely because they don't emit as much carbon dioxide.
So, while more expensive than gasoline cars at the beginning by a couple of thousand euros, more or less, diesel car owners were, and are, compensated by better mileage and lower prices at the pump. Now, however, their cars are being declared the devil's spawn and punished by major cities. The alternative? Gasoline cars, or, even better, hybrid or electric.
Okay, I understand why drivers are now being pushed to buying more fuel efficient cars and cars that rely more on electricity and less on fossil fuels. But, here we run into two problems. One is the expense, and the other is that fossil fuels are still involved, which would not make cars any cleaner.
At the pump, gasoline is much more expensive than diesel. Though now the difference is down to about ten to fifteen cents, it used to be much bigger. I (and I'm not alone) will go out of my way to find cheaper diesel. Also, hybrid cars begin at around €20,000, electric at around €23,000. That may not seem like a lot for some, but it is with salaries for the growing lower classes at around a thousand euros a month. Most people can't afford them, and with second-hand cars from around €10,000 upwards, still out of reach for most. (Says the person who owns two second-hand diesel cars, the most expensive of which was €3,000.) Besides, the totally electric cars are only for use within a city. The autonomy doesn't go much above two hundred kilometers, and recharging takes from a half hour to an hour. Living in the country, you log in kilometers like raindrops on a stormy day. Besides, the only public charging stations I've ever seen are at a shopping mall in Santiago.
But, even if you own an electric car, you're still using fossil fuels, or worse, nuclear energy with all the danger that encases. Most of our electricity is still manufactured the old-fashioned way, with fossil fuel-burning power plants or nuclear energy. Some are incorporating renewable energy, but they are still the minority. The greater the number of electric cars being plugged in, the greater the demand for electricity. With normal use, at peak periods, such as when the weather is very hot or very cold, there might be brown-outs or even blackouts with every power plant generating electricity at full capacity. If we demand even more kilowatts to be able to move around, what then? And if something should happen to the power grid? If cars are not autonomous, we could be in trouble.
Sometimes, thinking about the different choices, I come to the conclusion that the powers-that-be are finding ways to keep the lower classes in place. These past few years, with the dawn of cheap airfare, cheap cars, cheap movement, people who could otherwise not travel, did so. Travel is the ultimate mind-opener. You see you are not the star of the cosmos, and that other ways of living, other ways of thinking, are as important as your own. You do not own the monopoly on how to do things or how to see the world. That is a danger to those in power. So, they begin by limiting education to obtaining a skills set for certain jobs, and now they continue by making it more and more difficult to travel outside your area. That would help explain why no clean, autonomous cars have been developed yet, much less airplanes or ships. Call me a conspiracy nut, but things are looking suspicious right now. It's the dawn of the new Middle Ages, and we're the serfs, tied to our masters.
Many European cities are now legislating against diesel engines, and the older ones are being banned. Madrid and Barcelona will soon ban all diesel cars in upcoming years. So, where's the problem? The problem is that, until a couple of years ago, people were urged to buy diesel cars precisely because they don't emit as much carbon dioxide.
So, while more expensive than gasoline cars at the beginning by a couple of thousand euros, more or less, diesel car owners were, and are, compensated by better mileage and lower prices at the pump. Now, however, their cars are being declared the devil's spawn and punished by major cities. The alternative? Gasoline cars, or, even better, hybrid or electric.
Okay, I understand why drivers are now being pushed to buying more fuel efficient cars and cars that rely more on electricity and less on fossil fuels. But, here we run into two problems. One is the expense, and the other is that fossil fuels are still involved, which would not make cars any cleaner.
At the pump, gasoline is much more expensive than diesel. Though now the difference is down to about ten to fifteen cents, it used to be much bigger. I (and I'm not alone) will go out of my way to find cheaper diesel. Also, hybrid cars begin at around €20,000, electric at around €23,000. That may not seem like a lot for some, but it is with salaries for the growing lower classes at around a thousand euros a month. Most people can't afford them, and with second-hand cars from around €10,000 upwards, still out of reach for most. (Says the person who owns two second-hand diesel cars, the most expensive of which was €3,000.) Besides, the totally electric cars are only for use within a city. The autonomy doesn't go much above two hundred kilometers, and recharging takes from a half hour to an hour. Living in the country, you log in kilometers like raindrops on a stormy day. Besides, the only public charging stations I've ever seen are at a shopping mall in Santiago.
But, even if you own an electric car, you're still using fossil fuels, or worse, nuclear energy with all the danger that encases. Most of our electricity is still manufactured the old-fashioned way, with fossil fuel-burning power plants or nuclear energy. Some are incorporating renewable energy, but they are still the minority. The greater the number of electric cars being plugged in, the greater the demand for electricity. With normal use, at peak periods, such as when the weather is very hot or very cold, there might be brown-outs or even blackouts with every power plant generating electricity at full capacity. If we demand even more kilowatts to be able to move around, what then? And if something should happen to the power grid? If cars are not autonomous, we could be in trouble.
Sometimes, thinking about the different choices, I come to the conclusion that the powers-that-be are finding ways to keep the lower classes in place. These past few years, with the dawn of cheap airfare, cheap cars, cheap movement, people who could otherwise not travel, did so. Travel is the ultimate mind-opener. You see you are not the star of the cosmos, and that other ways of living, other ways of thinking, are as important as your own. You do not own the monopoly on how to do things or how to see the world. That is a danger to those in power. So, they begin by limiting education to obtaining a skills set for certain jobs, and now they continue by making it more and more difficult to travel outside your area. That would help explain why no clean, autonomous cars have been developed yet, much less airplanes or ships. Call me a conspiracy nut, but things are looking suspicious right now. It's the dawn of the new Middle Ages, and we're the serfs, tied to our masters.
We have a very old diesel. We were planning to keep it until it developed dementia. Now we will keep it as long as we can drive it in places we go.
ReplyDeleteMaria, I have a feeling you are right. I don't drive a diesel car, but my barge runs on diesel. I dread the day we will no long be allowed to travel with our barges.
ReplyDelete