As divided as the world appears to be on topics such as the environmental impact of oil and other fossil fuels, I think a shift towards green sources of energy is inevitable. If it’s not a matter of what we’re doing to our only home environment, then it’s a matter that hits us where it matters most, which is in our pockets. The big oil companies have the capital resources to invest in cleaner sources of energy and in some way they’re being forced to jump on board, such as how some of their biggest clients in the motor manufacturing industry are increasingly using hybrid engines.

Speaking of cars, Dayinsure, which is one of the UK’s leading short-term car insurance firms, commissioned a survey of UK driving opinions. Different questions were asked, one very interesting one is that of whether or not hands-free kits should be illegal. You would think that it’s a straight-forward question, or rather one which is overly simplistic, but when you consider the stats associated with the safety surrounding the use of hands-free kits in comparison to using handheld devices, some interesting perspectives around the debate develop.

It very quickly gets established that things aren’t quite what they seem…

The same can be said of the question which asks if non-electric cars should be made illegal and I guess this is more in line with the main topic of this particular post.

If anything, this provokes a healthy debate which has us looking into the net effect of the intended laws which we are to progress around environmental affairs. 25% of the people who took the survey think non-electric cars should me made illegal.

This means that 75% oppose this move, but does that mean these people don’t care for the environment, or that they’re perhaps part of the lucrative global fossil fuels market?

Probably not… And here’s why:

I’m probably one of the staunchest supporters of the environmentalism movement, right? However, I think the net effect of our efforts to conserve the environment should be taken into account. Look, the UK already plans to ban a sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040, which makes for a strong statement as far as the UK Government’s efforts in forcing environmental reform.

However, in thinking about this mentioned net effect, it becomes a matter of asking ourselves the critical question of where the energy to power what would be fully electric vehicles would come from. This is how we take into account the net effect.

I mean it doesn’t help if you’ll be charging up at a charging station whose stored power supply is generated in the traditional ways that have been identified to be bad for the environment, such as using fossil fuels like coal.

I think if we’re going to go electric as a means through which to focus more on cleaner energy, we’ll have to go fully renewable, even with the original sources which power up the charging stations all our electric vehicles will be charging up at.