- As the unstoppable electric-vehicle revolution screeches to a halt we also note an internal audit by Canada’s Department of Natural Resources, which has long since mistaken itself for a twin Ministry of Climate Change, finding that the plan to spend public money to build a network of EV charging stations has half succeeded. They spent all the money, but instead of building the targeted 33,500 stations there are only 12,010 so far. (So yes, nearly $100,000 per, a lot for a non-gas station surely.) The report doesn’t seem to draw the obvious lesson, saying instead ““There is a legitimate and necessary role for the federal government in the area of zero emission vehicle infrastructure. Findings suggest the federal government’s involvement in the development and funding of electric vehicle infrastructure is necessary to address market failures.” “Market failure” here meaning no one wants them. Unlike, say, gas stations which spread through good old consumer demand. But what mechanism is in place, we ask, to address government failures? More government failures?
- And speaking of EVs and government failure, Blacklock’s Reporter informs us that in Canada, whose governments generally think they’re cutting edge when they’re trailing edge, “Road safety regulations have failed to keep pace with hazards posed by weighty electric vehicles, says the Department of Transport. Large batteries add tonnes to the weight of a motor vehicle representing a ‘key factor’ in collisions, said a report. ‘Electrification of motor vehicles was flagged as a key factor influencing road safety and the motor vehicle industry,’ said the report Evaluation Of Road Safety Programs. Added weight of electric vehicles had made regulations obsolete, it said. ‘The significant weight of electric vehicle batteries creates unique safety considerations,’ said Evaluation. ‘Electric vehicles can outweigh similarly sized gas-powered cars by hundreds of pounds, creating safety risks in a collision with a lighter vehicle. Their increased weight also means some heavier models may fall outside of Transport Canada’s testing standards altogether.’” But the government is far-sighted. Really it is. It says so itself.
- The airline we’ve cited several times as inviting people to fly to warmer places, even in summer, just invited us to “Cozy up to exploring Edmonton this winter”. Which in the interest of fair play we are obliged to report and admit it calls their judgement sharply into question.
- Speaking of cold places, we note Scientific American peddling “Science behind Record-Breaking Everest Blizzard That Trapped Hundreds/ A blizzard that trapped hundreds of trekkers on Mount Everest was truly ‘off the charts,’ experts explain”. Indeed. And you just know you’re going to get bad statistical practices blaming “climate change”. Which you do. In that “Possibly exacerbating the issue, [“Kent Moore, a professor of atmospheric physics at the University of Toronto Mississauga”] says, was the fact that the surface of the Bay of Bengal is currently two degrees Celsius warmer than its historical monthly average. Warmer water evaporates more readily, providing more vapor that could then condense into snow. Heavier precipitation events are expected to increase as the climate warms, Moore says.” Of course they are. But if it’s so predictable, why didn’t they predict it? As for the bad statistical practice, “‘It’s off the charts in terms of the six-year record we have from the weather stations on Everest,’ says Tom Matthews, a climate scientist at King’s College London, who co-led the expedition to the highest weather station on earth at Everest in 2019.” What git uses six years’ worth of data for long-term climate studies?
- Not a great time for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Not only did he break with Donald Trump and strike a bold independent course in company with all the other cool kids and recognize a non-existent Palestinian state only to have Trump bring a Mideast peace deal, but as we noted last week his vaunted GFANZ (Global Financial Alliance for Net Zero) just folded like a cheap lawn chair. As Catherine Swift observes of its demise after just four years, “For years, we were told by Liberal governments that ‘the environment and the economy go hand in hand.’” Evidently not… but in Ottawa they still think they do, making one wonder whether Carney’s vaunted sophisticated international knowledge is all it’s cracked up to be.
- Or his basic understanding of climate orthodoxy. Having scorned the primitive Trump on Israel’s survival and the loathsomeness of Hamas, Carney was barely wheels-down from flying to Washington, after flying to the UK, after flying to New York on his return from Mexico, is jetting off to Sharm el-Sheikh (yes, the site of the COP28 conference we were told was vital at the time but a search party couldn’t find its achievements now): “The Prime Minister will depart for Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to attend the signing of a Middle East peace plan. Closed to media”. Say, isn’t that the same Mark Carney convinced we should all reduce our own carbon foot- and wingprint, making by Wikipedia’s count 10 trips to 13 countries in just seven months?
- Meanwhile Reuters whimpers “EU Parliament plans to cut back sustainability law further”. It seems everyone is noticing that aggressively unrealistic climate and other laws are crushing the economy without saving the environment… except journalists, activists and the Canadian government. In this case “The European Union’s corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD) was adopted last year and requires companies to fix human rights and environmental issues within their supply chains, or face fines of 5% of global turnover.” Yeah. Or leave Europe.
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22 Oct 2025 | News Roundup
The extra weight of EVs is not really the issue. The problem is that the centre of mass is much lower than a conventional vehicle because the heavy battery is in the floor. Guard rails and crumple zones are designed for vehicles with a higher centre of mass .
"In the interest of fair play" 😂
Seems to me their judgement is just fine, advertising travel destinations according to the upcoming season by showcasing winter-friendly activities.
Whoever is buying tickets to Edmonton in the winter is who's judgement is the real concern.
Philip, the extra weight of EVs poses a number of issues. First, greater momentum makes impacts more destructive. Second, the extra weight creates a higher volume of brake dust, which is a genuine urban blight. Third, tires must be made sturdier, adding cost and increasing tire waste.