By Ed Maurer | 1 comment

Even though the horrific pandemic put a damper on economic activity, folks in most wealthy countries continued to invest in stuff that will emit plenty of CO₂ for decades to come, especially SUVs, which keep flying off the shelves.  Just look at this graphic to understand the effect of this folly:

This chart shows the change in global CO2 emissions by energy sector, 2010-2018, produced by the International Energy Agency. During this period, SUVs became the second largest emitter of CO₂ in the world!  

Unfortunately, this buying spree continues unabated.  The automotive industry gloats that “after a year of unpredictable sales due to COVID-19, SUV sales are set to get back on track in 2021.”[1]  SUVs consume about 25% more energy than medium-size cars, and  this caused the global fuel economy to worsen, even though small cars[2] and electric vehicles saved over 2 million barrels of oil per day.

There may be light at the end of this particularly dismal tunnel in the form of electric SUVs.  The German auto industry, that country’s most important and beloved economic sector, has lately realized the importance of electric vehicles, and factories are beginning to churn out EVs in growing numbers.  In the last quarter of 2020, more than 20% of all cars sold in Germany was electric, with Volkswagen grabbing the lion’s share of 22% of fully electric vehicles, Tesla was fourth with 11%.  EV’s share of new car sales in California were at 8.1% for 2020.  VW’s electric mid-size SUV, the ID4 with a range of 250 mi and a base price of a bit over $40K before any federal or local incentives, is now available in California, where it will compete with the Chevy Bolt E-UV, Hyundai Kona EV, Tesla Model Y, and others.  Clearly, there are now viable alternatives, both cost and range-wise, to fossil fuel powered SUVs. 

I’d like to see Sierra Club members take a pledge to never again buy a new fossil fuel powered vehicle.  If even we, an environmentally convinced bunch of people, cannot do this, nobody can, and the comfortable conditions  we know presently enjoy will cease to exist for our children and grandchildren by the time they reach my age (same as Joe Biden’s).

During this decade we are likely to see these comfortable conditions take some serious hits.  Store just these 2 items in your head for future reference:

• The Thwaites Glacier in the western Antarctic, a gigantic glacier the size of Florida, is losing its moorings because of a steady increase in the ocean’s temperature. This may eventually lead to the glacier’s collapse, i.e.: a break-up into icebergs that will melt and lead to a global 3’ rise of sea level.  That’s why scientists call Thwaites the “doomsday glacier”.  I see it as a doomsday for all those building sea walls to protect their expensive oceanfront properties.
• Be sure to book a window seat the next time you fly across the Atlantic during daytime so that you can see with your own eyes what is happening in Greenland.  All those pretty blue lakes on top of the ice shield empty into the ocean, lubricating and accelerating the glaciers’ flow toward the sea.  This increasing flow of water and ice into the ocean messes with the Gulf Stream that has kept the weather along the Atlantic coasts of North America and western Europe benign for thousands of years.  Now, this massive run-off from Greenland’s ice-shield is causing the Gulf Stream to slow down to the point where it may stop altogether, with catastrophic effects — think extreme heat waves and cyclones on both sides of the “pond”.

Are these the dire long-term consequences of the purchase of a fossil-fueled vehicle, such as an SUV?  Yes, and yes and yes!  Of course, buyers weren’t aware of these ramifications in the past, but by now you’d think everybody would know that the jig is up.  Yet, as mentioned above, fossil fuel SUV sales are “set to get back on track”, clearly towards humanity’s perdition, rack and ruin. 

I believe that we in the Sierra Club can do better.  Love your SUV and drive it for as long as it serves you well, but when it doesn’t serve you anymore, when it runs out of gas, replace it with something that supports the survival of mankind.  Most of us refrain from smoking, we follow healthy diets, we exercise to keep in shape, and we observe the physical distancing, mask-wearing, and handwashing to protect others from Covid-19.  Now is the time, not a moment too soon, to kick our burning fossil-fuels habit to protect the future of humanity.

Comment submitted by Tod Fitch

Hi Ed,

Nice editorial you just published.

One thing about sitting around home because of COVID is having time to think about things. It gradually dawned on us that we are comfortable enough financially that we could spend some money to reduce our carbon footprint. That we should be doing more than adding insulation when re-roofing the house or eating lower on the food chain, etc. In fact, not doing more would be morally reprehensible.

So we signed a contract for a solar photovoltaic system last fall. It took until this year before it could be installed though. Apparently there is a lot of demand for these which is good. If you are interested in the install you can see it at https://video.fitchfamily.org/videos/watch/96e673ce-a796-476f-94a6-9e22f94e1ef7

And we are now getting an electric car charger installed (with any luck the electrician will be here tomorrow). We don’t really need the 240v Level 2 charger at the moment as our plug-in hybrid (PHEV) easily tops up its 25 mile EV range using an existing 120v outlet. But we are definitely going to have our next vehicle be a full EV so we are getting ready for it.

By the way, one issue I see with the recent and near future EV introductions is that compact SUV seem to be the favored form factor. That is a bigger vehicle than we need and the aerodynamics are not great (too big on the frontal area, not the best coefficient of drag). It would be nice to have more efficient hatchback models to choose from.

Other carbon reduction steps may take us some time: To replace our gas appliances (range, water heater, clothes dryer, furnace, etc.) will require upgrading the electrical power to the house which both San Clemente and SDG&E make a slow and expensive proposition. And that will up our electrical use which means we should increase the size of our solar system.

Anyway, we are taking the steps that we can afford as quickly as we can. . .

Again, nice editorial!

—Tod