The lease on our 2015 Toyota Corolla recently expired. Which required us to get a new car, either a purchase or a lease. We have decided to try and live a more sustainable lifestyle. This includes using less fossil fuel, using less plastic, consuming less, reusing more. We have always been big recyclers, but recycling is the last resort of a sustainable lifestyle. There is a reason recycle is the last R, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Future posts will likely go into this in more depth, but for now, I'm talking about the new car.
In Newfoundland there are very few options for EVs. If you want to buy a new fully electric car, no dealerships (to my knowledge) sell them. There is good reason for that, there is virtually no infrastructure for EV charging. Checking a site like https://plugshare.com you can see that there are few opportunities for charging. Below is a screenshot of charging stations as of January 3, 2020.
Only 33 in the whole province. And in case you can't see the scale in the lower right, the island of Newfoundland is big. It is about 410 km just to visit my father, just over 900 km to drive from the capital to Port-aux-Basques (to the ferry). And of those 33 chargers, there are 0 level 3 chargers (or super chargers, or whatever branding is used that make long distance driving practical). So with only level 1 chargers (~ 8km range per hour of charging) or level 2 chargers (~ 30km range per hour of charge), an EV is really impractical if you will be driving all around the island. So what other options are there?
Two Cars? Could have a gas car, and an EV.
One Car, but don't leave the city? Sure, that's an option but we need to leave the city...
A Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (PHEV) will fill the gap.
So that is what we decided to do. If you want to purchase a new PHEV, there are a few options from traditional manufacturers but we are a Toyota household, so we went with the new Prius Prime, which was just offered in the province for the first time this year (we ordered the second one from the dealership). If you are looking for a used EV, you have more options: https://evnet.ca/ You can also order directly from Tesla: https://www.tesla.com/en_ca :)
So far, we have driven over 1400 km, and still have over half of the original tank of gas left. We are averaging 1.4L per 100km after a month and a half of driving.
Of course, the car was a little more expensive, and we have to pay for electricity, but we are generating far fewer emissions. And once Muskrat Falls comes online, the electricity will all come from renewable resources, which will also help reduce the carbon footprint of our transportation.
Recycling should be last resort — don’t forget the two other Rs: https://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-recycling-should-be-last-resort-dont-forget-the-two-other-rs
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