Friday, November 12, 2010

The skies over Europe won't be cleaned by electric cars but only by a well-regulated free public transport.

I was following a debate of the German parliament about electro mobility in the 21st century. Judging by their speeches, 99% of the speakers talked about electric cars while only 1% about public transit. At the same time, the news ticker on the bottom of the screen said that German Transport Minister Ramsauer wants to cut budget for railroads.

Pure coincidence? Certainly not. Lobbying for the benefit of electric cars is under way and not just in Germany. Euphoria and conviction that only electric cars can save us from further air pollution is spreading all over Europe.

Where would the electricity come from? Nuclear power plants, of course. Is this coincidence, too? Not at all. Everything is agreed upon in advance and then confirmed in the parliament by majority. The public is of course excluded from these important decisions because it could negatively impact such agreements.

What about the environment and health of people? Politics is not interested in that. What interests politics are taxes and cash-loaded treasury.

The future lies in a society that will succeed in putting social and environmental interests before personal gain. EU has not this goal therefore her stars keep fading away.