THE ELECTRIC CAR IS NO SOLUTION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52195/pm.v21i2.970Abstract
The accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is one of the main human causes that affect climate change (Mercado, 2024), and transport is the main source of greenhouse gas emissions. Just behind China, the United States is among the countries that produce the most tonnes of CO2, having reached 6.11 billion tonnes in 2014 (Hannah, R., Max, R & Pablo, R., 2020). If we focus on per capita emissions, the USA remains at the top of the rankings. Since 1950, cumulative CO2 emissions have quadrupled (Hannah, R., Max, R & Pablo, R., 2020). In the US, transport accounts for the second largest share of 2021 emissions, at 28.5%, after electricity and heating (US EPA, 2023).
This seems logical, given that oil, gas and coal are the fuels that produce the most CO2 (Hannah, R., Max, R & Pablo, R., 2020). Although France was the cradle of the invention of the car, the USA is the main player in the worldwide development of this means of transport. This is true, in particular, thanks to the Ford model T, and the introduction of Fordism: an assembly line, standardization of the vehicles produced and higher wages for workers (Anonyme AMT, 2020). Americans had a culture of travelling by car, because it was relatively cheap, both the price of the car and the petrol.
Subsequently, the important role of the car in the USA can be explained by the country’s urban layout, which tends to favor the residential suburbs to the detriment of the city center. To look at concrete numbers, around 20% of American households have three or more cars, 30% have two, 30% have one and just under 10% have none at all (Lesley, B., 2019). In terms of kilometers travelled by car per person per year, the USA is also ahead of all other countries. Conversely, the use of public transport is less than 10% in most American cities, except in New York, where it is 20% (Lesley, B., 2019).
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USA is the main player in the worldwide development of this means of transport. This is true, in particular, thanks to the Ford model T, and the introduction of Fordism: an assembly line, standardization of the vehicles produced and higher wages for workers (Anonyme AMT, 2020). Americans had a culture of travelling by car, because it was relatively cheap, both the price of the car and the petrol.
Subsequently, the important role of the car in the USA can be explained by the country’s urban layout, which tends to favor the residential suburbs to the detriment of the city center. To look at concrete numbers, around 20% of American households have three or more cars, 30% have two, 30% have one and just under 10% have none at all (Lesley, B., 2019). In terms of kilometers travelled by car per person per year, the USA is also ahead of all other countries. Conversely, the use of public transport is less than 10% in most American cities, except in New York, where it is 20% (Lesley, B., 2019).
