The city of Rome has announced plans to ban all diesel vehicles from its roads. Meanwhile a German court has ruled that cities in that country can likewise ban diesel cars and trucks. Can it be long before smoggy ol' London follows suit? Once this catches hold, where does it end?
I'm guessing it will end in a lot of car factories on their car and truck assembly lines.
A sign of the times? A good sign? Sort of like Dick's Sporting Goods deciding it will no longer sell the ever-popular AR-15 assault rifle because that's the right thing to do.
There will be a mighty struggle to suppress the social conscience. That sort of thing may be seen as a death threat to outfits like the National Rifle Association. Let's face it. Wayne LaPierre isn't getting any other gigs.
What's the chance that heavy vehicle makers will replace diesels with gasoline engines? Not very good, I think. Gasoline engines just don't get the same low-speed torque and reliability as diesels. Electric motors, though, have low-speed torque galore and are highly reliable. I think we'll see a lot more hybrid and electric trucks on the road as a result.
ReplyDeleteCap
ReplyDeleteI've read all sorts of proposed solutions, Cap. One is replacing tractor-trailers with modernized rail freight service between regional hubs. Trucks would then be used for local delivery.
I can see that working very well in Europe, where there's already a modern electric rail infrastructure in place.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with it here. You'd first have to drag the railway companies into the 21st century. They won't even commit to scrapping exploding oil cars, let alone expanding and modernizing freight service.
Cap
With China announcing an end date for the sale of petroleum-fueled vehicles and some European countries following suit, this might be a field in which North America gets dragged into it, Cap.
ReplyDeleteNorth America will be the last to accept the need to reduce carbon emissions.
ReplyDeleteLook to BC and Alberta for the attitude toward the future.
The west is a region of jacked up 4 x 4's with diesel chipped fuel injection spewing vehicles that I choke upon every time I am driving behind one.
I spoke to some fellow vacationers down south last week that came from the flatlands of Canada.
The word was always the same; the climate has always changed!!!
Hard to be enthusiastic about progress!!
TB
You're likely right about N.A. being the last to decarbonize, TB. A significant percentage of the population has been indoctrinated in the denialist creed.
ReplyDelete"A significant percentage of the population has been indoctrinated in the denialist creed."
ReplyDeleteNot so much indoctrination... more like a choice.
I call it wilfull ignorance.
As another who chokes up when near diesel exhaust I have been aware of its problem for a very long time. Diesel is a dirty fuel and responsible for many health problems. At the least, it is an irritant. We have been told by diesel enthusiasts that both the fuel and engines have been cleaned up but that, as Volkswagen owners found out, is a lie. I expect that all diesel manufacturers faked their test results as the only way to clean up diesel is to not use it.
ReplyDeleteAs I understand the cracking process, diesel is the by-product of making gasoline. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) When various jurisdictions ban diesel there is going to be a whopping glut of the stuff on the market. What then? Distributors won't/can't stop making it.
Electric trucks are coming. (I haven't figured out how driverless trucks will chain up for the Coquihalla but that's another issue.) Increased container traffic by rail is also coming although vested interests will fight it.