[seanmcdirmid]

> Everybody knows (whether they admit it or not) that EVs don't help with global warming.

That isn’t true: this is very a popular crank theory right now, but it’s not a popular opinion in mainstream science or among the public at large.

[readyman]

It's absolutely true. The detriment of manifesting the necessary new and very nasty manufacturing processes make it a done deal, especially compared to simply building trains, which is admittedly not simple in the US due to the cruel and unusual political economic situations. Nevertheless, all of this is true.

[seanmcdirmid]

I get it, it’s the most important theory of crank science today. But it makes assumptions like people buying EVs and incinerating their existing ICE cars, everyone getting electricity from small island diesel generators or the dirtiest coal plants, etc…

China is doing all of the above, BTW and it’s working well for them. You build out HSR, local transit, and EV capabilities out all at the same time. It will work out well for them.

[readyman]

>You build out HSR, local transit, and EV capabilities out all at the same time

And the critique is that the US is not and cannot do so. These are political problems and our politics are dominated by the interests of capital, not the interests of our society.

[seanmcdirmid]

The statement “EVs won’t seriously do anything about global warming” is explicitly a global one, not limited to the USA (or you could have said US warming).