Spotting climate error

Do you have an EV? No, that’s not shorthand for an Evangelical or even a new English translation of the Bible, it’s an Electric Vehicle.

My recent purchase of an EV has got me pondering, in a strange sort of way, the importance of truth when it comes to creation care.

Deciding what’s best

Sometimes it’s just not easy to tell what’s the right thing to do for the planet. About eight years ago I bought a diesel car; it’s much more fuel efficient, I thought, so I’m doing my bit to help the planet.

Alas, diesel cars proved to be not so good as I imagined. Yes, they are more fuel efficient than petrol cars, resulting in carbon savings, but the tiny particles they emit are not good for air quality and people’s health.

Now I’m buying a replacement car. Surely all-electric is the way to go! Zero carbon emissions, zero particulates, cheaper to run, what’s not to like?

There are some downsides: range anxiety, access to charging infrastructure and the upfront cost. On the other hand, battery ranges are increasing all the time as technology advances. Do I really need to get to John O’Groats on a single charge? Charging infrastructure is being rolled out, if slowly, and I can top up for free at my local superstore. Price is definitely still a barrier, so it’s beyond many people’s reach, but I expect the second-hand market to expand and prices to fall over time as people increasingly switch to EVs.

Media debate

Not long after I’d paid the deposit, I came across an article in a tabloid newspaper by the well-known climate sceptic Bjorn Lomberg. According to him, at best I’d done a dubious thing for the planet. Was this Dieselgate all over again?

The article sparked an exchange on social media with a Dutch researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology. Now, I’m all for healthy debate and different points of view. People are entitled to come to different conclusions, whether it’s on EVs, climate change or vaccinations.

It has to be said that social media (or any media come to that, with the possible exception of en) is not generally the place to find informed, responsible discussion on contentious issues.

And yet … all truth is God’s truth, whether Biblical or scientific. Proverbs 12:17 tells us that ‘An honest witness tells the truth, but a false witness bears lies’ (NIV).

Am I being unreasonable in expecting people to base their views on evidence, rightly-handled? To give more weight to the views of experts than the latest theory circulating internet chat groups? Or in probing the arguments, motivations, expertise and even the funding of people I suspect of peddling misinformation?

Check out the facts

I’m not an expert on EVs, nor am I a climate-change scientist. But I’m familiar with the facts of the ecological crisis and I’ve worked long enough in the environment sector to spot pseudoscience, even where it sounds plausible. If I don’t know the answer myself, I will check it out with sources I trust. Even doing just a little bit of online research around an issue, checking out different sources, is a wise move. On climate-change science issues, as I’ve mentioned before, my go-to source is Evangelical Christian Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University. And in the opposite corner I would take anything coming from the Global Warming Policy Foundation with a very large pinch of salt.

I hope en readers are good at spotting Biblical error. We also need to be wise in the ways of the world and be discerning about anything that purports to be truth, wherever it is found.

Electric vehicles are not going to be the silver bullet that solves all our environmental problems. But I will enjoy driving my electric car in the certainty that it’s far better for creation than my old diesel.