Once again the SF Chronicle has edited a letter to the editor from me to make me look stupid. What they published: Electric cars kill millions of people every year. What I actually wrote: Cars kill a million people per year. There were other dumb changes too. Thanks a lot.
@jef My dad wrote 100s of LTEs (against the war on some drugs), got many published, not sure if that happened to him (and he's no longer here to ask). Been trying to figure out, what to write to persuade people. Whole lot of people need to get out of their car rut.
Here's what I wrote:
Electric cars are still cars.
Electric cars fix one problem with cars completely: tailpipe emissions.
They improve on another problem: overall energy use.
They are worse on two car problems: embodied energy and resource use during manufacture, and greater vehicle weight causing more road damage and people damage.
[continued]
@jef
Brake dust is a huge pollutant as well. I think it beats tailpipe emissions nowadays. Of course, since cars keep getting heavier that means they need more brakes.....
I live in the country where a car is pretty much required but my goal is to move into a city and use a little 49cc Honda scooter to get around. I hate driving around 3 extra seats I never use and a cargo space I never fill up all the way. I hate that it's seen as the norm too.