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Adoption of EVs tied to real-world reductions in air pollution: study

keck.usc.edu

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Re: Adoption of EVs tied to real-world reductions in air pollution: study

#81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? Are you worried from a liberty/privacy standpoint? "Smart" EV's are demonstrated to be significantly safer than "dumb" EVs. Waymo’s 2025/2026 data shows an 80–90% reduction in injury-causing crashes compared to human drivers in the same cities. [1, 2, 3, 4] [1] https://www.reinsurancene.ws/waymo-shows-90-fewer-claims-tha... [2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11305169/ [3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.go…

Personally I’m not very keen on owning a vehicle the manufacturer can completely brick at will

So liberty then. I don't disagree with you, but this modern flashpoint in the classic debate between individual liberty and collective safety does bring up the question what is saving 50,000+ lives annually actually worth in terms of loss of personal freedoms? I am personally struggling with this debate having lost loved ones in this manner.

Re: Adoption of EVs tied to real-world reductions in air pollution: study

#82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really, they are just newer than the average ICE car. Parent wants an EV from the early 2000s or the 1990s.

Depends. They get a virtually continual supply of standby power that can last for months if left untouched. So from a technology standpoint that enables them to do many things - from being connected to the network, aware of their location on the map, recording camera footage and other remote capabilities. ICE cars do have some of these but the huge battery packs on EVs make these very feasible.

you are mistaken. Not a single EV or hybrid car uses power directly from the traction battery for the 12 V system.

Re: Adoption of EVs tied to real-world reductions in air pollution: study

#83
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They often have eSIMs I think, but (depending probably on the car) pulling the modem's fuse can be safe. That's the case for the VW ID.4 at least.

I want the car to be able to contact emergency services, but not to otherwise be able to use the cellular network. Is there a good way to sabotage the eSIM, without otherwise breaking the modem? (This would still allow the car to be tracked via IMEI, but I'm not too worried about that: anyone capable of that is also capable of tracking my actual phone, and anyone buying that data will already know what car I own.)

why do you want your car to contact emergency services? the people around you can do that just fine and very reliably.

How on earth did we survive as a species before our cars could make automated phone calls?

Re: Adoption of EVs tied to real-world reductions in air pollution: study

#84
post #28

No surprises. No matter how we look at it, EVs are much friendlier and safer to the environment. Some people argue the source of electricty can be contested against because that involves fossil fuel burning again, but in today's world we are rapidly moving away from it and towards nuclear/hydel/wind methods for generating power. I hope ICE cars completely become a thing of the past in the next couple of decades to co…

The number of ICE cars I get stuck behind from time to time that just REEK is amazing. I’m in a decently well off area too. Some putting off soot clouds, white smoke, nothing visible but clearly not doing complete combustion. Sometimes I wonder if half the cylinders are even working. I’ve heard one car like that is the equivalent of a surprisingly large number of modern ICE cars is in good shape. I love EVs. I’ve had…

Besides the crap they pump into the air, they also excrete gunk onto the road. It’s so primitive.

Re: Adoption of EVs tied to real-world reductions in air pollution: study

#85
post #46

Tires and brakes still contribute to a lot of particulate matter pollution even from EV's, but they're at least a step up. The best EV's are still eBikes though.

The study is about NOx levels which have nothing to do with tires or brakes.

I mean, it kind of is. But I'd say the framing is about general air pollution, and they happen to use NOx levels as proxy indicator. So from that perspective, I think it is important to note that there are other types of pollution that go up with electric cars.

Re: Adoption of EVs tied to real-world reductions in air pollution: study

#86
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OK but we already know that EVs don't just move pollution around.

AIUI there are still disagreements about how to calculate that exactly. This study doesn't (and doesn't try to) provide any input towards settling that.

there are no disagreements about the fact that any electric is FAR more efficient than any combustion car.

Re: Adoption of EVs tied to real-world reductions in air pollution: study

#87

i moved to beijing in 2015.. and i have to buy a air purifier, prepare masks for winter. pepople talks about air polutions so much, it feels like we are struggle, not living a life. i remember one day, it was so bad, i have to wear gas mask to go outisde, i know it's rare, and people are staring, but yes, its that hard. it's 2026 now, you barely see bad days in Beijing, most people wear mask only for the flu, not for…

Factories were one source, but in-home coal furnaces were a gigantic pollutant source in aggregate. I read articles about villagers banned from this who couldn't afford cleaner heat sources. Is that still the case?

Re: Adoption of EVs tied to real-world reductions in air pollution: study

#88
post #38
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just hope "dumb" EV's become a thing soon. I cannot and will not own a smart car any more I want to own a smart TV or smart fridge or smart toaster.

I don't love smart TVs either, but why not just buy a smart TV and not use the smart features? I have a few "smart TVs", but I haven't even connected them to Wi-Fi, and I instead opt for an Nvidia Shield TV or just a laptop computer plugged in instead.

Depending on the TV, it will still kick you to their bloated “smart” interface all the time, instead of just simply cycling through inputs.

Re: Adoption of EVs tied to real-world reductions in air pollution: study

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally I’m not very keen on owning a vehicle the manufacturer can completely brick at will

So liberty then. I don't disagree with you, but this modern flashpoint in the classic debate between individual liberty and collective safety does bring up the question what is saving 50,000+ lives annually actually worth in terms of loss of personal freedoms? I am personally struggling with this debate having lost loved ones in this manner.

Remote bricking of cars does not save 50,000 lives.

Re: Adoption of EVs tied to real-world reductions in air pollution: study

#90

No surprises. No matter how we look at it, EVs are much friendlier and safer to the environment. Some people argue the source of electricty can be contested against because that involves fossil fuel burning again, but in today's world we are rapidly moving away from it and towards nuclear/hydel/wind methods for generating power. I hope ICE cars completely become a thing of the past in the next couple of decades to co…

> No surprises.

What about all the resources and people used to develop the cars?

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