Climate change

[Mandouke]

We have a responsibility to control the quality and impacts of the products we allow in our markets. Just because something can be made cheaply doesn't mean we should encourage it. Chinese-made products often have a history of leaving a significant negative environmental and social footprint. This is largely due to skipped regulatory measures, allowing them to produce at lower costs and flood markets with basement-priced goods. Instead, we should prioritize quality solutions that align with higher standards, both for the environment and for the people involved in production.

That is very well said and once a reality in Canada.

Some of you older gentlemen may remember a day when we produced consumer goods of the highest quality in Canada. It was not long ago, the 1970s and early 80s come to mind.

I still own a pair of men's Kodiak steel-toed workboots and a suede jacket, both made in Canada of the highest quality.

There is not a blemish on either of the products and they are both still in my wardrobe. This is a testament to the above statement by neverbored.

 

[ThunderLipps]

You should move to Earth ! 2024 summer has been the hotest ever.
Except where you live !

I am not talking about the world temp, I am talking about the temp around Montreal. I have never spent so little time in the pool due to chilly water or turn the heat on twice in Aug. I repeat, not talking about global temperatures.

 

[ThunderLipps]

The public should decide if they want to buy a made in China EV or not. At the end it is the public that will pay for these types of protectionist policies. It will mean much higher prices for EVs. It will impact the poor the most. Given the choice between a cheap EV and taking the bus, it might be preferable to get a cheap EV. Again such decisions are personal and should be left to the individual, not the state. A tariff is a tax.

China has a good EV ( reviews say it is great ) which would have had selling price of $16 k US and be affordable to many low income people and according to the climate alarmist slow climate change. Now the same EV will be $32 k and out of reach for millions.

 

[neverbored]

Let’s be real... pumping out a ton of cheap products, especially those relying on rare or mined materials, just adds to the mess we're already in with metals mining. We're talking about an industry that's plagued by terrible working conditions, including child and even slave labor, not to mention the awful health impacts on workers. By pushing for more of these products without addressing these issues, we're just deepening the exploitation and environmental damage that's already way too common in this space. Just think of the smartphone industries... its not good.

And then there’s the power grid. It’s no secret that our grid is already struggling to keep up. If we suddenly have everyone and their neighbor adopting electric vehicles or other power-hungry products, it’s going to put ridiculous strain on a system that’s already barely holding up. This could lead to power shortages or even grid failures, especially if people go for the cheap, low-quality options that don’t hold up over time.

The bottom line? We can't afford to rush this transition. A sloppy, cowboy approach to rolling out new technologies is more likely to cause problems than solve them. We need to make sure that the infrastructure, the way we extract resources, and the quality of these products are all up to par. If we don't, we will end up causing more harm than good. We need to slow down innovation if it means dumping some eco tragedy on the younger generations to inherit. Switching everyone to EVs is not an eco friendly solution in its current format.

 

[CLOUD 500]

The thing is people want cheap things. Take for example clothes, no one wants to pay $300 for a pair of pants if it can be had for $100. Interesting you mention the power grid which is a very important consideration, yet government is shoving EV cars down our throats and forcing car manufacturers to produce more EV vehicles and reduce the amount of IC vehicles being produced. And do not forget government's and corporations greed for rapidly increasing population will also further increase the demands on the power grid, that is no secret. The targets set by the government are unrealistic which is more proof that government intervening is making things worse. I agree with you that the transition must be slowed down, but what to do? Left-wing governments are forcing this on everyone.

These things should be left to the free market, they will find the best solution. Look at the horse drawn carriage, the IC engine replaced them all and no government forced rules were needed, the free market came up with a better product and it caught on. Believe it or not but during the early 20th century the electric trolley bus and even electric cars were out first. The first electric car was built during the 1840s and the first practical electric car was made in 1890 and the performance was impressive for the time. Electric trolley buses dominated the public transit landscape throughout much of the early 20th century till the late 50s. So what happened? The free market came up with a far better product, the IC engine more specifically the Ford Model T. It was much cheaper, had much longer range, did not rely on electric grids, and could be refueled within minutes. It was not really till WW2 that the IC engine really caught on and especially when the electric started motor was invented, it meant the doom of electric cars. The infrastructure used for refueling started from buying motor fuel, naptha, and benzene from hardware stores and pharmacies (which came from the byproduct of kerosene production) until government prohibited stores from selling gas at the pharmacies and hardware stores and the dedicated gas station was invented. In the 60s, IC buses rapidly replaced all electric trolley buses due to massive advantages. Montreal had electric trolley buses up to the late 50s and then all were removed. So the point of the history lesson? Is that government never forced IC engines, the free market came up with a better product and it caught on.

I believe that when free market comes up with an EV that is better and cheaper then the IC engine then only then will it really catch on and infrastructure will be built. Government should stay out of it. And your last sentence is golden, EVs are far from an eco friendly solution, it takes diesel to mine the materials to build the batteries and a lot of cheap foreign labor is used to mine the minerals.