Only On The Walters Post
Now, I’m not here to tell folks what to think, I’m just sharing what life has shown me. Take from it what makes sense, leave the rest, but maybe let it sit with you a while.
You know, I’ve been doing some reading lately on this big push for electric vehicles here in Canada, and I’ll tell you straight. I don’t think we’re going about it the right way.
They’re talking about forcing car companies to hit twenty percent EV sales by 2026, then banning new gas and diesel cars by 2035. Trouble is, no one seems to be asking the simple question: can we even handle it?
As it stands, right now, we don’t have near enough charging stations, or the power grid upgrades needed to keep all these batteries humming. And speaking of batteries, have folks really looked into what goes into them? Mining for lithium, cobalt, and nickel tears up the land somewhere else, and often in places with little to no environmental safeguards. Then there’s the dirty truth about what happens when these massive batteries wear out. They’re not exactly easy to recycle, and that’s a pile of hazardous waste waiting for the next generation.
Meanwhile, here in Canada, we’ve got plenty of oil and natural gas. It’s our bread and butter, puts food on the table for countless families, and keeps small towns alive. Instead of tearing down what we have, why aren’t we putting our heads together to make our traditional engines cleaner? We’ve already come a long way, as modern gas and diesel engines are nothing like the old smoke-belchers. With a bit more effort, we could keep refining them so they’re even easier on the environment.
And let’s not forget, our electricity isn’t all coming from wind or water. Much of it still burns fossil fuels, so pushing everyone into EVs doesn’t magically clean things up. It just shifts where the pollution happens, usually out of sight and out of mind.
Now, I’m not saying we shouldn’t look for new tech. But I am saying we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Seems to me, we ought to be improving what we already have, making the most of our own resources, and ensuring Canadians can keep moving without having to pay the folks in charge, for the privilege.
That’s how I see it, anyway.
Until the next time: Keep Your Minds Open & Your Stories Alive. GW