I think you meant Australians

We lifted all the tariffs on the US as a “gesture of goodwill” to Big Daddy Trump and yet keep these stupid tariffs on China that are crushing our lumber and agriculture industries into dust out west, in order to protect some token auto industry jobs building gas-guzzling American cars. Feels like we’re already the 51st state and Trump is just going to make it official.

You don’t know me. I spend an hour each day walking my dog, I get plenty of exercise.

The comment I’m responding to said:

but still glosses over the fact that nobody has said that you should sell your car and do everything by bike.

In this scenario I have both a car and a bike on hand. The car’s been paid for. The insurance is being paid for regardless of whether I’m using it at any given moment. So the only expense is gas.

“That’s still more expensive than driving a bike!” You might respond. To which I counter: is your personal time and effort worthless? How much is an extra hour of your time spent pedalling a bike worth to you? It’s worth a lot more to me than the cost of the gas I’d spend making the trip an hour quicker.

the point is making choices that are good for the environment and good for both mental and physical health.

The point is people making choices for me.

You go ahead and ride a bike around if you want to. Don’t make the choice for me. You don’t know me, you don’t know my circumstances and priorities and preferences.

And glossing over the weather with “wear a raincoat” or “wear warm clothing”, too. People are aware this is the canada@lemmy.ca community, yes? A lot of Canadian cities get weather where it’s downright deadly to be outside for extended periods.

If you enjoy biking and you can make it work for you in your personal circumstances, sure, by all means go ahead and bike. But don’t car-shame those who don’t.

My bad, I thought they were.

Hopped into a Uber drivers car in Miami and remember thinking what type of Tesla is this? Had BYD written on the steering wheel. I guess in hindsight the car was imported privately.

The threat of Chinese EVs is absolutely necessary to support for any non traitorous Canadian.

No one has firm plans to make EVs in Canada. The threat can at very least get “best offers” of investment and commitments to Canada that might be better for Canadian economy, even if it helps destroy climate. Cannibalism was always going to be preferred over human sustainability.

Canada benefits from investment. If every other company in the world is too afraid of Trump to invest in Canada, then Canada needs China. The end. Obviously, a trade deal would include an investment deal.

Canada is a giant global auto market equal to UK for 7th place. Measured in over priced vehicles too. Significant boost to Canadian standard of living to have access to better value EVs, which are already better value cars than ICE engine alternatives. Quieter, faster, power your home in emergency, urban life quality for non drivers.

When Canada removed DST, not only did we get zero in return from US government, the tech companies that avoided the tax didn’t even show any gratitude with data center or other investments in Canada. ONLY flirting with non US colonies can Canada get any investments (or genuine defense commitments) from US and its colonies.

The rural parts of Canada would like to have a word. A bike ain’t gonna cut it unless your young and single and living in a city.

I lived in Northern Canada for most of my life. -40 to -50 without a wind chill was normal. We put on warm clothes to go outside for extended periods.

I will car shame anyone in a major city with a vehicle. Mass transit exists.

I had a bike living in the rural parts of Canada, and used it to get everywhere within the 50-100 kms I needed to go.

Canada is a large car market. More importantly, vehicles manufactured here will eventually be exported to the US when their policy corrects.

And we will not round up your works in chains like they are doing in the US at the moment (eg. Hyundai).

How about instead of riding a bike you walk? Or are the evil capitalists attacking sidewalks now too?

It is absolutely your choice on how you decide to live, and you can find an extra three hours in a day to use transit, bike, or walk. Start by cutting out any screen time over an hour in a day and you will likely find an extra 5.

Take care.

Well bully for you. My time, safety, and comfort are worth a couple of dollars’ of gasoline to me.

Your refusal to understand or accept that other people have different priorities and circumstances than you do doesn’t help you win any debates.

Canada does not have the technical knowledge to build EVs.

It’s true that we have expertise in machining. We do have cheaper metal sources, and lithium and rare earth resources that could be used to leverage Chinese automation for batteries, motors, gigapresses, and then use Canadian assembly workers to finish the cars.

The future is about engineering and design, and Canadian sustainability means avoiding anchoring ourselves to dead ender energy and processes.

Ford was saying yesterday “We need to protect the $46B government has invested in EV transition”. First, that is an absurd subsidy level, but to your point, it was always meant as a grift, because “real Canadians” don’t know how to make EVs.

With Chinese (or any other if they are volunteering) investment, in long term, it is technology transfer to Canadians. We’re too stupid to do anything disruptive/progressive is the path to staying stupid and falling behind.

“No one has firm plans to make EVs in Canada” - Not true, Canada had and still has Lion Electric for example. All Canadian schools should get their buses there. It’s a great place for adoption to start. They also had/have trucks. Lack of support from Canada is shameful.

I am not here to debate you or anyone else. If you wish to choose to use something for your convenience that damages the environment, costs more than its worth, and pretend like you are safe behind the wheel that is absolutely your choice.

Just know you are being judged because you are a huge part of the problem, and seemingly joyfully so.

Take care.

someone on a bike was struck by a car and killed just a few blocks away from me this very morning

It’s is bike’s fault. Not culture’s fault.

And even then a lot of cities aren’t set up to make bike travel easy.

Years ago, in the before times, the office I worked at was within biking distance of my house and I routinely biked there. It was nice. Then they moved the office downtown and it was either a half-hour commute by car, an hour long commute by bus, and I-don’t-know-how-long-by-bike-because-fuck-that-epic-journey commute by bike. I bussed a lot, but that meant I was wasting an hour of my time each day. I wasn’t fond of that. I hadn’t entirely settled on which approach was better overall before Covid hit and I never went back to that office again by either route.

There happens to be a grocery store within biking distance of my house. I drive a car there anyway, because even living solo I still like to get several weeks worth of groceries when I go shopping. No way am I hauling cargo like that on a bike even if I had a trailer for it.

I am not here to debate you or anyone else.

<Proceeds to make a comment full of criticisms of positions you disagree with and insulting those who hold them>

Yeah, good job at not-debating.

There was a big bet/hope on Honda battery facility. AFAIK, its on hold for perpetuity until Trump doesn’t scare Honda anymore, which won’t happen, because any future president/US politician will like that Honda is a sycophant to it. Lion counts a little bit, busses actually very important emissions sources, but it’s relatively small part of Canadian transportation.