In theory the introduction of electric vehicles will improve the quality of air in the major cities, towns, villages and countryside which could have a knock-on effect on health care spending. It is well known that air pollution has played a major role in the ever increasing number of sufferers of medical conditions such as asthma, etc. Therefore, in theory, an improvement in air quality via the introduction of electric vehicles could lead to a significant saving in health care spending.
Perhaps any potential savings could be reinvested into the industry?
When we discuss pollutants from gas vehicles we tend to only think of tailpipe emmissions and air quality. Other sources of environmental contamination come from disposing of waste oil from the engine, transmission differentials etc. Oil leaking slowly onto the roadways washed away into the water supply by rainfall. Vapors emmitted while fueling the vehicle. There is a witches brew of chemicles in these fluids that are taken in through breathing fumes and vapors, drinking contaminated ground water and absorbed through the skin while handling the waste products. A larger percentage of E.V.'s on the road would help relieve some of these issues I believe.
Some great points there - sometimes we dont appreciate what impact everyday life has on our health.
Mark
I can’t help but jump in here! Nearly 100% of our health cost is diet caused. Whole-food, plant-based diets (such as you will see on Forks Over Knives documentaries) all but eliminate chances for cancer and heart disease which kill most of us. I saved myself from a wheelchair almost 20 years ago by diet change, missed the 4 operations they were about to do for arthritis and have had an active, pain-free lifestyle ever since. Second hand smoke, car fumes, etc are the least of my worries. Not saying that they shouldn’t be a consideration; I’ve built three EVs, have built a dozen tornado proof 500 year homes/buildings, and am experimenting with building them with a 3D printer. My philosophy has always been to attack the biggest problems first. 1) reduce home energy use 2) reduce transportation energy use, etc. But, health is diet.
I absolutely agree! Diet is by far the # 1 cause of health problems. As a heart disease patient and with my wife a cancer survivor I have become very proactive in learning about and adopting a healthy lifestyle. That of course includes non diet factors as well, like exhaust fumes and second hand smoke.
I appreciate all the points you have raised and the fact that diet and lifestyle are perhaps greater problems with regards to health going forward.
While there is evidence that conditions such as asthma are impacted by vehicle emissions, in reality any improvement in air quality would be a side-effect from the electric vehicle industry not a reason to increase investment by the government or private companies.