I avoid using my car when I can bike or take the bus. I compost, reuse plastic containers, store my lunch in beeswax wraps and consciously use eco-friendly cleaners at home. I could go on but the point is, I'm trying to do what small things I can to better look after our environment.
What works for me won't work for everyone but I believe we could make a big difference collectively if we all try where we can.
However, I'm struggling to support the Government's incessant push towards people swapping combustion engines for electric vehicles. The proposed diesel levy and electric vehicle subsidies are the latest examples.
It all seems like a bit of window dressing to me.
I'm yet to see how the Government realistically plans to cope with the increased demand for more electric cars in use. I've known people who couldn't make it from Napier to Taupō without needing a charge halfway through.
Last month, the New Zealand Energy Quarterly for January-March 2021 showed we had burned nearly 430,000 tonnes of coal for electricity production – nearly double the previous quarter and the highest amount since 2012.
Just last year, we imported more of that fossil fuel than any year since 2006. Just imagine what that becomes if every second person you meet takes up that Government subsidy.
The fact the coal is being shipped from overseas, using a fossil-fuelled mode of transport, only adds to the sad irony.
In my view, I just don't believe the technology and battery life of electronic vehicles are ready yet for the Government to justify imposing over-arching legislation about their use.
Sure, we've got to start somewhere to reduce carbon emissions but I feel there are still too many unanswered questions.
Where are the batteries - and all of their contaminants - expected to be dumped once they die?
What thought has been given to the mining of minerals such as lithium and cobalt for batteries? Particularly when such industry has been linked by Amnesty International and the Center for Research on Multinational Corporations to environmental degradation and human rights abuse?
Who's the big winner out of all of this?
Yes, we all need to make changes to combat climate change but if the Government is so keen to push this electric vehicle agenda, I believe it needs to stack up better.
Let's make this work, but maybe not just yet.
