LA’s Mountains Make Another Case For Electric Cars

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Since Americans have been tasked with the ultra hardest thing they have ever had to accomplish in their entire lives — staying home to flatten the curve — smog that has been hanging around our largest cities has cleared up drastically. I have never been to Los Angeles, so I can’t imagine what it’s like seeing the city’s level of smog, but apparently it is amazing people there that they can now so easily see the mountains instead.

In the tweet below, Jerry Avenaim was stunned to find out that the LA he has been living in for almost 40 years has mountains nestled behind the city skyline.

The before and after photos are striking. It’s amazing what staying home and not contributing to pollution can do in just a month’s time. It’s not just LA, of course. In India, some residents have been able to see the Himalayas from their homes for the first time in decades — many for the first time in their entire lives. These majestic mountains are also typically hidden by the smog created by our pollution.

Tesla Oracle replied to Jerry, “Polluted skies hid the best of nature. No gas cars from now on!” — to which Jerry confirmed that he just ordered a Tesla. Clear skies over LA — so clear that you can see the mountains nearby — are a clear reason why we all need to switch to EVs.

The type of Tesla that Jerry ordered is a Model 3. Whether you choose a Tesla or another brand is irrelevant. The idea here is that we should support mother nature. Also, it seems there’s no beating the value for the money with a Model 3 or Model Y.

There’s another possible “key contributor” to deaths from COVID-19, according to The Guardian, and that is air pollution. The article highlights an analysis of coronavirus deaths across Italy, Spain, France, and Germany and says that 78% of those deaths occurred in the 5 regions that were the most polluted. The research looked at levels of nitrogen dioxide, which is mostly produced by diesel vehicles, and also looked at weather conditions that could keep dirty air from dispersing away from the city.

The case for EVs and the value of driving electric has been put into clear focus by the coronavirus itself. People are seeing the result of pollution. Those who believe that it was all just hype — that their cars didn’t really cause all of that smog — are seeing a crystal clear difference even in the air they breathe. The real question is, however, are they going to ignore this evidence as they have with all other types of evidence? Will they try to go back to business as usual and ignore the coughs in their chests from the toxic air they are breathing when the money is rolling in again? That remains to be seen.

The case has been made by many researchers, scientists, and advocates for our planet. Now the case has been made also by the coronavirus. Will the deaths of those who have fallen to this deadly virus matter, though? Yes, we know they matter to their loved ones, but will the message that many have been trying to scream at deaf ears finally get through? That message being: “Stop killing this planet!” Let’s hope so. For now, many will marvel in wonder at the views of the mountains that seemed to have suddenly appeared. Let’s hope this inspires us to make the world cleaner.


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Johnna Crider

Johnna owns less than one share of $TSLA currently and supports Tesla's mission. She also gardens, collects interesting minerals and can be found on TikTok

Johnna Crider has 1996 posts and counting. See all posts by Johnna Crider