EV Owners are Causing an Obesity Epidemic

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America’s supersizing trend is posited that it might affect---if not prevent---when the U.S. can fully make the transition from gas-only vehicles to electric ones.

In a recent article subtitled “The EV Obesity Epidemic” under the column/blog title “Schumpeter” in this past week’s issue of The Economist, an argument is made that EV shoppers who not just insist, but demand auto manufacturers to supersize their EV’s today are practically dooming other car owners from making the switch from gas-only to fully electric cars. Why? Because the growing trend of EV size is becoming so unsustainable that it could economically prevent many if not most U.S. car owners from turning electric in the future.

Schumpeter Defined

Who is this “Schumpeter” namesake in The Economist article?

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica:

Joseph Schumpeter, also called Joseph A. Schumpeter, in full Joseph Alois Schumpeter, (born February 8, 1883, Triesch, Moravia [now Třešť, Czech Republic]—died January 8, 1950, Taconic, Connecticut, U.S.), Moravian-born American economist and sociologist known for his theories of capitalist development and business cycles.

Schumpeter was educated in Vienna and taught at the universities of Czernowitz, Graz, and Bonn before joining the faculty of Harvard University (1932–50). In 1919 he served briefly as minister of finance in the Austrian government. His influence in the field of economic theory was powerful. In his widely read Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy (1942), he argued that capitalism would eventually perish of its own success, giving way to some form of public control or socialism. 

In other words, he was kind of a wild hare within Economic expert circles as an early champion of entrepreneurial profit, of which in a developing economy, innovation prompts a new business to replace the old (a process Schumpeter later called “Creative Destruction”) where booms and recessions are unavoidable without preventing the creation of new wealth through innovation. Are you Musk fans listening?!

In any case, the referred-to Schumpeter-esque article points out some of the pitfalls of EV’s. In particular, the problem of wanting and expecting bigger and questionably “better” EVs. But at what cost? And, how long can this last?

The Good Points of an EV

If there is one good point to be made about EVs is that “theoretically” and in some cases “practically” EVs should have a significantly less carbon-heavy impact on the environment than that of gasoline-powered vehicles.

Believe it or not (because there are other factors as well associated with EVs not discussed in the article) although building an EV takes a heavier manufacturing toll on its “Greenness” in comparison to a gas-only vehicle, “…even the biggest EVs have lower lifetime emissions than the average conventional car” due to that EVs compensate for their environmental impact from the absence of tailpipe emissions.

The Bad Points of EVs

The bad points of EVs are numerous and self-evident enough to not need elaboration. Summarized from the article, they include:

  • Car shoppers desire larger SUVs and trucks over smaller cars.
  • Car manufacturers want to make more and larger SUVs and trucks over smaller vehicles because they offer a higher profit margin (for now).
  • Last year more than half of the vehicles sold worldwide were SUVs according to the International Energy Agency.
  • 8,000-pound (or more) EVs are becoming common due to the desired SUVs and trucks have to be even physically bigger to carry an enormous battery.
  • Based on “anxiety range” fears, Car shoppers are said to demand more range which translates to bigger batteries---in fact, a yearly 10% size increase was globally observed from 2018-2022.
  • The trend toward increasing the size of batteries is predicted to backfire: scarcities of needed minerals for batteries will undermine manufacturer’s profits. Therefore, affordable electric cars will become a problem and result in making electrification for the masses less accessible.
  • Carbon neutral ways to charge bigger batteries could create bottlenecks on the grid.
  • Larger sized EVs create additional road pollutants and endanger smaller vehicles in a collision.
  • And although not part of the article’s arguments, the toll on humanity as reported in the recent book Cobalt Red, describes the lives of freelance workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo who do extremely dangerous artisanal mining for scarce battery-required minerals for the equivalent of just a few dollars a day.

The Point of the Article

The point of the article is that the EV Obesity epidemic is a real problem that many have yet to foresee the consequences of. Should the driving force of EV manufacture pursue an unchanged profit motivated “Greenwash” course, the writer(s) of the article hint that the solutions left after the damage is done will require actions such as Government control or some form of “…public control or socialism” as Schumpeter warned when capitalism fails.

In other words, EV owners should not be so quick to pat themselves on the back and, “…relish flaunting their low-carbon credentials from the vantage point of a large SUV or monster truck,” when there is a much bigger societal and economic view to the picture.

Bonus Video

Not convinced that EVs are truly unsustainable? Here’s an interesting video that explains why EVs are unsustainable; and, how that arguing EV’s versus gas-only vehicles is irrelevant from a sustainability point of view that wants neither (or very little) of the two.

For additional articles related to EV’s, here are a few for your consideration:

Timothy Boyer is a Torque News automotive reporter based in Cincinnati. Experienced with early car restorations, he regularly restores older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites for daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.

COMING UP NEXT: A Collapsible Spare Tire Solution for EVs Without Spare Tires

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