The Nissan Leaf has just been announced. While this electric vehicle is an extremely welcome step toward reducing our dependence on vehicles powered directly by fossil fuels, it is far too easy for us to ignore the complex web of energy and resources which are required to manufacture, transport and use the Leaf. We do the same thing with other items we consume, whether it be disposable shavers or a sophisticated piece of electronics. In each case, energy and resources are used in the mining operations, metal resources are extracted from the earth, the metals are refined, fossil fuels are extracted, petrochemicals are created, other materials are extracted and manufactured, transportation is required at each and every stage, and the list goes on…

For the Leaf, not only do a lot of energy and resources go into the manufacture of each electric vehicle, but it doesn’t end there. The energy used to power it isn’t “zero.” Yes, zero at the tailpipe, but the electric grid still has to supply the energy (from fossil fuels, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, solar, etc…). And the batteries used to store the energy are not easily disposed (like any other batteries we use on a much smaller scale, they have to be treated as hazardous waste). And after 10 years or more, the vehicle is finished, and on we go to better technology and fancier bells and whistles.

This isn’t to take the wind from Nissan’s sails, but the problem of energy and resource consumption and waste on our planet is systemic. Our collective aspirations and our technological world combine to create a “consumption spiral.” We are gradually becoming more aware of the problem, and many of us have accepted that the path we find ourselves on is unsustainable. We cannot keep on using up finite energy and other non-renewable resources. These will diminish, and then there will be no more. Buying into the concept that electric vehicles (or recycling newspapers or changing our light bulbs or using extra home insulation) are going to solve the problem is an easy way to sidestep the reality and perhaps delay the inevitable just a little bit.

The truth is that in order to stay on this planet, what is required is total waste reclamation and zero emissions, from ALL sources, not just those we see at the final product.

That being said, “way to go Nissan!!” Now, what’s the next step?