Rowan Atkinson, the star of Mr. Bean, feels deceived by electric cars.

Rowan Atkinson: Electric Vehicles are not the Environmental Panacea They Claim to Be

“Electric vehicles may be a bit soulless, but they’re wonderful mechanisms: fast, quiet and, until recently, very cheap to run. But increasingly, I feel a little duped. When you start to drill into the facts, electric motoring doesn’t seem to be quite the environmental panacea it is claimed to be,”

Rowan Atkinson, best known for his role as Mr. Bean, has recently expressed his concerns about the environmental impact of electric vehicles. In an op-ed for the Guardian, he detailed how he has “enjoyed” his time with his electric vehicles but believes they are not as environmentally friendly as advertised.

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The British actor brings up a proposal by the U.K. government to ban the sale of gas-powered cars by 2030 but cautions against such measures due to the current shortcomings of electric vehicles, including the batteries required to power them.

“The problem lies with the lithium-ion batteries fitted currently to nearly all electric vehicles: they’re absurdly heavy, many rare earth metals and huge amounts of energy are required to make them, and they only last about 10 years. It seems a perverse choice of hardware with which to lead the automobile’s fight against the climate crisis,”

Atkinson discusses how a future for hydrogen energy and a shift toward people keeping the same car for long periods of time can make electric vehicles environmentally friendly replacements for gas-powered cars.

He concludes by saying that electric propulsion will be of real, global environmental benefit one day, but that day has yet to dawn. When asked if others should get an electric car, he says they should if they drive “an old diesel and they do a lot of city centre motoring,” but otherwise to hold off.

• Electric vehicles are not as environmentally friendly as advertised
• Lithium-ion batteries are heavy, require rare earth metals, and only last about 10 years
• A shift toward hydrogen energy and keeping the same car for long periods of time can make electric vehicles environmentally friendly replacements for gas-powered cars

Atkinson’s concerns highlight the need for a wider range of options to be explored if we’re going to properly address the very serious environmental problems that our use of the motor car has created.

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