< The Morality of the Electric Car

~ew

Hello whiskeyding,

yes, it's still a car. And I'm not even trying to judge, whether mining lithium instead of oil is an environmental advantage all things considered.

I have not owned a car for a very long time. I always had bicycles. I did all my shopping with them. Then came the day when I decided to buy a (rather small) motorbike from a friend, who moved to a land afar. I loved this Yamaha SR500. I rode it for approximately 90000 km over the course of 10 or 11 years --- no matter what the temperature, whether rain or sun shine ... The point I wish to make is this: this machine enabled me to do things and participate in certain activity, which I would not have done without it. This includes countless hours of maintenance up to a complete overhaul of the engine itself.

Then came the day, when I married. My wife had a car, and so I had access to wheeled transportation. We moved to satisfy job and life demands. I moved again to gain another job after being without one for 10 months. We went into weekend commute of 200 km distance. For that I bought a big motorcycle and gave away the SR500. This commute situation imho is not really desirable. After 3 years I changed jobs again, we moved again, now to a fairly rural place to accommodate life between two different locations of job.

Then came the day, when my mother needed more help, and my brother and sister asked for some support. 200km distance. In principle I could take the train, however, it would take approximately 5 hours to get there, and another 5 to get home. That was the day when I bought a small car (Peugeot 206). And again, this machine has enabled me to do things, i.e. support my mother, brother, and sister.

I could have given the Peugeot away after my mother departed from this planet. But I didn't. And I am glad I didn't. Again this machine has enabled me to commute by car instead of public transportation, when corona numbers took a rather sharp rise in October 2020. My wife very clearly expected me to not come home with Corona and give it to her and my mother in law (aged 86). I did not argue, but took the car. My wife had changed to permanent home office, so one could call it a fair deal. But I still burn up more fuel than I did before. I did not cancel my public transportation ticket. And now, that I have received two doses of vaccine, I'm looking forward to take the train again soonish.

And that is the main point mentioned by ~pink2ds: it's good to do less, but you will die if you do not enough. Contrary to common desire, no simple answers are available here.

I would also like to add a few more options to their most desirable

Do I need it?

They are

Do I need it this size or could it be less/smaller?

Do I need it that often?

Do I need a brand new one, or would second hand do?

Do I need it all alone or can it be shared?

Can I combine some action with another in order to reduce overall expenditure?

As others have pointed out in other words: It does not do any good if by all this doing/spending less you blow out your own life candle. Nothing is gained from that. I have been down a very dark mental alley myself, and I can tell you: It is not nice there, it takes a lot of determination to survive. Remember: the sun is shining for you, too!

Cheers,

~ew

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