A new analysis shows that even the worldwide adoption of electric vehicles to replace gas-powered cars will not solve some of the major problems caused by automobile-oriented infrastructure.
Eric Ruston, writing for Bloomberg CityLab, explains that researchers surveyed nearly 400 research papers to understand how “large and sustained investment” in physical and economic infrastructure that prioritizes cars harms public health and worsens climate change. “A comprehensive review published last month provides a rundown of what the authors call ‘car damage,’ in estimated global totals of deaths, injuries, illness and other tragedies, over the course of automobile history.”
At the same time, electric cars do not change the basic development patterns or the amount of space allocated to cars. “Replacing motors with batteries does not change how well cities adapt themselves to accommodate cars, or how cars kill people,” the authors wrote. Although their exhaust pipes don't emit carbon monoxide, they are often heavier than their internal-combustion counterparts, which means more fine particle pollution from tires on highways.
