{"id":4910,"date":"2017-09-18T16:46:50","date_gmt":"2017-09-18T21:46:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecooptimism.com\/?p=4910"},"modified":"2017-09-18T16:46:50","modified_gmt":"2017-09-18T21:46:50","slug":"the-distillery-september-18-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecooptimism.com\/?p=4910","title":{"rendered":"The Distillery: September 18, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

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EcoOptimism\u2019s current selection of favorite posts<\/p>\n

We can all use some positive news these days, especially on the environmental front in which science is considered evil, denial is an alternative fact and the EPA is now what I\u2019m calling the Environmental Destruction Agency. And while I don\u2019t want to gloss over the issues \u2013 there isn\u2019t enough paint in the world to do that \u2013 I offer here The Distillery, a weekly (or thereabouts) selection of posts to help offset the PTSD of our current nightmare.<\/span><\/p>\n

The posts I pick will be \u201creal\u201d in the sense that they aren\u2019t pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking, as fun as those can be, but are evidence of EcoOptimism.<\/span><\/p>\n

While EcoOptimism\u2019s Distillery picks don\u2019t intentionally have themes, this confluence of posts that began over the summer warrants a topical selection. The topic is the oncoming and inevitable demise of cars powered by the internal (or, some would say, infernal) combustion engine. Places from Paris to India to China, and manufacturers from Volvo to Jaguar \u2013 no word from American manufacturers \u2013 are phasing them out.<\/span><\/p>\n

September 11, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n

From ThinkProgress.org:
\nElectric cars are about to get their biggest boost ever: China plans to ban new fossil-fuel powered cars.<\/a><\/p>\n

EcoOptimism’s take: <\/span>The significance here can\u2019t be understated. China manufactured and sold more than 28 million cars last year (compared to the US\u2019s 17.55 million) and yet still only one in five owns a car. It\u2019s the world\u2019s largest car market \u2014 responsible for around 30 percent of global passenger vehicle sales. Given that China has almost \u00bc billion people, you can begin to guess the ginormous number of future cars \u2013 especially as the affluence of Chinese consumers grows \u2013 that this will represent.
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Photo source: CleanTechnica.com<\/p><\/div>\n

July 26, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n

From Bloomberg.com:
\nFrance Aims to End Sale of Fossil-Fuel-Powered Cars by 2040<\/a><\/p>\n

EcoOptimism’s take: <\/span>This news goes back to July but, along with the news from China, the death of fossil fuel powered cars seems ever more imminent.
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Photo: Mariordo (Mario Roberto Dur\u00e1n Ortiz) [CC BY-SA 3.0]<\/p><\/div>
\nJune 3, 2017
\n<\/span>
\nFrom CNN Tech:<\/span>
\n India to sell only electric cars by 2030
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\nEcoOptimism’s take: <\/span>The air quality in India contributes to 1.2 million deaths a year, and \u201cdoctors have said breathing the air in New Delhi\u2026is like smoking 10 cigarettes a day.\u201d India will subsidize electric cars for a couple of years and, after that, believes electric cars \u2013 by the millions – will start paying for themselves. That\u2019s both the ecological and economic sides of EcoOptimism.
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photo: Mark Danielson – Flickr\/Creative Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

September 7, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n

From BusinessGreen:
\nJaguar Land Rover to make only electric or hybrid cars from 2020<\/a><\/p>\n

The BusinessGreen post seems to sometimes be behind a paywall, but you can check out a related Treehugger post:
\nJaguar Land Rover to phase out gas\/diesel-only cars<\/a><\/p>\n

EcoOptimism’s take: <\/span>Given the low mpg of expensive SUVs and sportscars, getting rid of their gas versions is a big deal.
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photo: Jaguar Land Rover<\/p><\/div>\n

July 11, 2017<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

From Forbes:<\/span>
\nVolvo’s Electric Car Announcement: Turning Point or Nonevent?
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\nEcoOptimism’s take: <\/span>There\u2019s a note of skepticism in this post from a not-exactly-green source. They write that Volvo\u2019s announcement doesn\u2019t actually mean they won\u2019t be making cars that use fossil fuels; they will still make hybrids. But still it\u2019s a pretty big deal, especially since Volvo is Chinese-owned.
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photo: Volvo<\/p><\/div>\n

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