...so comparisons do not work.Australia - there's no place like it or so say some travel brochures. So why on earth are some cherry picking certain aspects of our way of life with those of overseas countries? But if one must use comparisons it's worth noting that Australia is the largest island continent whilst Norway is only around 4.2% the size of Australia. Australia is also around 5 times the size of Norway in terms of population. Thus though the uptake of EV's in Norway is claimed as a very high percentage and ICE vehicles are punished out of their existence, there are also other not so desirable consequences already evident:
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23939076/norway-electric-vehicle-cars-evs-tesla-osloExcerpt:
...a Norwegian EV bonanza that has indeed reduced emissions — but at the expense of compromising vital societal goals. Eye-popping EV subsidies have flowed largely to the affluent, contributing to the gap between rich and poor in a country proud of its egalitarian social policies.
Worse, the EV boom has hobbled Norwegian cities’ efforts to untether themselves from the automobile ........
Reducing driving — not just gas-powered driving — is crucial.Thus, EV's are already creating inequality, subsidize the well off and fail to curtail consumerism and help curb emissions all the way from mining ever increasing raw materials needed for this planet saving transition. Then to top it off - from another article:
https://electrek.co/2023/01/03/norway-electric-car-utopia-sustainable-transportation/Excerpt:
The country produces over 90% of its electricity from hydroelectric power. Nearly all of the rest comes from wind power. Norway is a leading producer of oil (which comes with its own concerns), but it’s nearly all exported.If one must use comparisons, it's unlikely anytime soon that Australia will produce 90% of it's electricity from hydroelectric generation but nor will Norwegians ever encounter distances travelled by Australians - like that from Sydney to Perth or Adelaide to Darwin.
If one wants to reduce CO2 vehicle emissions then reduce car dependence by increasing efficient public transport systems - but that will never happen in Australia where private enterprise is used to build more and more toll road systems thus excusing the govt from social responsibility and expenses (ask Sydneysiders) - but such govts are happy to register more cars and milk road users with ever increasing fines and taxes - such fines and taxes that would not be able to be raised with public transport systems - systems that would actually help reduce the very pollutants that allegedly cause all sorts of weather issues.
Then of course Norway's reliance on oil production is somewhat at loggerheads with the notion of curbing fossil fuel usage - in this case a similar way to Australia producing coal for overseas customers whilst shuddering local coal fired plants. A perfectly logical way to fight climate change?? Use fossil fuel royalties from producers so as to allow huge subsidy payments to the wealthy - makes sense - LOL - so let's follow Norway's example by increasing subsidies and add more 'fuel' to the rich whilst letting more people sleep in tents or in their ICE vehicles. Perhaps more a case of utter hypocrisy??
But of course one needs to be a professor to be able to distinguish and understand as some who may be less educated wouldn't know the difference - nor can afford to have another mortgage.
But then it seems learned weather forecasters have trouble with predicting an oncoming deluge (just ask those stranded around northern parts of S.A. recently) but can forecast 'likely' scenarios in 50 odd years or so.
Now, are there any well educated care to enlighten the less educated as to time frames for the likelyhood scenarios when the ice caps will stop melting, sea levels and temperatures will stop rising, hurricanes and major flooding cease and when the Great Barrier stops being totally destroyed and dams will fill?? Surely soon, especially as now Norway is nearly running on all electric transportation and green energy and Australia charges full steam toward wind and solar and EV adoption??
Happy to take a drive in the meantime using my ICE polluting vehicle - sure to delay global weather recovery - terribly sorry but one has to get to work to pay bills - all helps toward paying taxes and thus all those lucrative subsidies.
AIMO
