It’s often a waste of time to argue with a “progressive” because you’ll only get a face full of jaded clichés and vituperation. But that isn’t always the case. Sometimes you can carry on a respectful conversation that might even do a bit of intellectual good.
For example, read Bob Graboyes’ latest Bastiat’s Window post, where he recounts an exchange of ideas with a friend who was terribly upset over a culture that is “drowning in plastic!”
Bob argued back that his friend’s concerns were exaggerated and misplaced.
Here’s an example:
This publication is called Bastiat’s Window in honor of Frédéric Bastiat’s Parable of the Broken Window, which crystallized the distinction between the seen and the unseen in economics and in life. (It’s a beautiful allegory, so read it.) Carrie and I discussed the push to replace internal-combustion-engine vehicles with electric vehicles (EVs). (I’m not sure whether she favors rapid EV mandates.) My responses covered two separate groups of concerns:
Will EVs reduce pollution and energy usage? Problems include:
- EVs are heavier than internal combustion vehicles, so they wear down roads more quickly. This necessitates more frequent road repairs, which demand more asphalt, which is made from . . . oil.
- Heavier EVs mean that tires will wear out more rapidly, thus requiring more frequent purchases of tires, which are made from . . . oil.
- EVs must be recharged, and the power plants that generate the electricity mostly run on . . . oil. Or coal or natural gas. (Wind, solar, and nuclear are discussions for another day.)
What are the hidden costs—the unintended consequences—of EVs?
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As EVs grind down tires more rapidly, it turns out that this produce fine particulate matter that goes into the air we breathe. This pollution may be worse for the environment than gasoline and diesel emissions.
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Electric batteries have sharply increased world demand for cobalt and lithium. Practically speaking, this means mining under near-slavery conditions in China and Congo.
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Battery fires have increasingly become a grave danger. (Recently, headlines blared a tragic apartment fire in New York City when batteries for scooters self-combusted.)