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Pollutions Exchange

20 May 2016

Have you driven an electric car? I have. Tesla gave me the opportunity last year to get behind the wheel of a Model S. They said it would put a smile on my face and it did. The acceleration, speed and deceleration make you feel euphoric.

Have you looked at the BIK advantages of driving a sports hybrid? Porsche sales of Cayenne S E Hybrid look good, creating a twelve month lead time on delivery. Mitsubishi delight in how popular a fleet proposition the Outlander PHEV has become.

Government policy certainly seems to support the proposition that driving electric equals driving down pollution. But according to a recent report it seems that scientists are suggesting that hybrid and electric vehicles might be just as polluting as their diesel and petrol counterparts. The gist of the argument being that because batteries make the vehicles heavy, the stress on brakes and tyres goes up. This coupled to the use of the braking system to generate energy allegedly creates emissions more toxic than the emissions that come out of the exhaust pipe.

Attempts to reduce pollution always seem to be undermined by the fact that when we reduce emissions in one area, we simply transfer the problem somewhere else. Of course, we have primary needs we humans, getting about, keeping warm, keeping cool, light at night and eating. Agriculture is another big polluter. Think cattle, who generate a huge level of global pollution, a growing human population likes drinking milk and eating beef. Eventually we will set up solar farms in space. So there will be no pollution frontiers. We have made significant progress in how we manage waste. But as the ice melts, and the growing economies of the world expand we should recognise that a political solution must take into account the pollution exchange predicament.

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