FELDSTED -- There lookouts to spot invaders, and an inner hall where the anointed gather to eat, drink, make merry and congratulate each other, safe from outside intrusion

'Mobility as a Service' may be a bigger shake-up to the car industry than electric vehicles

Don Pittis ~~ CBC News

Volkswagen, the company that alternates with Toyota for the title of world's biggest carmaker, shook up the global industry last week when it announced it would begin accepting orders for its new electric car, the ID.3.

With a price and a 550 km range that challenge the Tesla 3, the new Golf-sized battery-powered car signaled a startling shift for the German automotive sector that only a few years ago seemed locked into its historic specialization in fossil fuel technology.

But just as skeptics have repeatedly underestimated the ability of the car business to adapt to climate change, there is early evidence of a potentially bigger transformation underway: the move to abandon car ownership altogether ....

Volkswagen's ID.3

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There are certain economic impacts of ‘going green’ in the automotive field.

Hundred of thousands of us live in apartments. An electric car is not feasible for us – nowhere to plug in, and the landlord is not about to invest in providing the specialized heavy wiring and plugs for us.

As we move from urban cores with good mass transport, doing without an auto is less and less feasible. That drives up the desirability, and cost, of urban core homes. You trade off car costs for far higher home prices and rents.

Many of our governments are using tax dollars to subsidize electric vehicles -- up to $5,000 for purchase of electric or hybrid vehicles in the case of the federal government. In other words, we are all being taxed to support an unsustainable purchase for the few who can afford it. That is absurd and deceitful.

BC offers up to $5,000 for and electric or hybrid, and $6,000 for a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. BC also offers from $20,000 to $50,000 for electric specialty vehicles such as heavy-duty trucks and buses.

Ontario offers up to $2,000 for purchase of a used electric vehicle.

Quebec offers up to $8,000 for purchase of an electric, hybrid or hydrogen vehicle and up to $600 for the purchase and installation of a home charger. Quebec also offers up to $4,000 for purchase of a used fully electric vehicle and up to $5,000 each for installation of workplace charging stations.  

 

No one is considering the power grid upgrades required if electric vehicles become more popular. Our governments will add the upgrade costs to all consumers through increased utility rates, when the upgrade costs should be shared by electric vehicle owners.

Carbon taxes are the first overt taxes on us. We have been paying hidden taxes (subsidies) for years without realizing it, and that is going to get worse.

The federal campaign telling us over and over that “polluters must pay” as justification for a carbon tax is dishonest. Carbon dioxide is a naturel atmospheric element and CO2 levels increase or decrease following changes to temperature; they do not drive temperature change.

Pollution is an entirely different issue which governments are ducking, focused on reducing carbon emissions and pretending that effort is sufficient. Particulates and other gases will continue to contaminate our air and make urban life miserable.  

The portion of our population able to go car free is rather small and will not have any effect on our overall economy. The carbon myth is trending towards implosion as all scams eventually do.         

The ultimate irony is that if we really want to “go green” we need more atmospheric carbon dioxide not less. Higher levels of CO² promote rapid, healthy plant growth. Ask any greenhouse operator.

The problem with accepting the ‘big lie’ of carbon emissions affecting our climate is that governments have to keep expanding their lies to maintain an untenable position.

The government bubble within the Ottawa bubble is real.  It resembles a medieval castle complete with draw-bridges over deep moats, ramparts from which bureaucrats ward off enemies. In addition, there are of course turrets for lookouts to spot invaders and an inner hall where the anointed gather to eat, drink, make merry and congratulate each other, safe from any outside intrusion.

That is a very strange form of representative government.  

John Feldsted

Political Consultant & Strategist

Winnipeg, Manitoba