This column is written as correspondence between Byron the Bicyclist and Maddy the Motorist.
Dear Maddie.
Phew, the heat!! It is 37 C outside. I just got back from a bike run into downtown Williams Lake.
Contributing to the high temperatures are the vehicles we drive, be electric or fossil-fuel powered.
Cycling home, someone in an electric Hyundai drove by and waved. Not sure who it was but it had both an N and an L attached to the back of the car. Someone from the Netherlands? More likely someone with two teenagers learning to drive.
I will give the driver points for driving electric. From 87-91 per cent of the energy goes to moving the vehicle while the rest is heat coming from the electric motor. By contrast, only about 20 per cent of the energy from gasoline in the infernal combustion engine (ICE) goes to propulsion, 80 per cent is heat. (https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2022/08/electrifying-transportation-reduces-emissions-and-saves-massive-amounts-of-energy/)
That doesn’t consider the energy used to find the oil, mine it, get it to the refinery, refine it and transport it to your local gas station.
No, electric isn’t perfect either. But in terms of heat waste, electric is better. Biking is best.
Dear Byron.
You biked in 37 C heat? You know, only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun? I hope you took a cold shower when you got home.
By the way, ICE stands for internal combustion engine, not infernal. Just who do you hang with? But my guess is you know that.
And you probably also know that making electric vehicles means mining copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite. (https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47227)
You are right about electric not being perfect.
But enough about that, you were pedal-powered, fueled partly from your organic garden veggies. The zero-mile diet. You got some exercise too, plus it doesn’t add to the heat. Thanks for that.
Signed, Maddie the Motorist
Bert Groenenberg is a pedestrian, cyclist and motorist.
