20 February, 2024

Carl Nasman Washington DC Hello and it's wonderful to be back with you for the latest edition of Future Earth. I've done my fair share of travelling over the past few weeks, and all that time on the road got me thinking about the cars we use. The vehicles we drive around in are growing – not just in sheer numbers but also in size. And that goes for electric vehicles too. The trend for SUVs of all types is placing an ever greater strain on the environment, so it's worth asking – do we need these super-sized cars at all? Also this week, Borneo's all-women peatland firefighting squad, and how can we get politicians to keep their green promises?   CLIMATE CONVERSATION Why big cars are a climate problem Cars are growing wider by about 1cm (0.4in) every two years. Credit: Getty Images It's great to be back! I'm well-rested and recharged, and I promise we have lots of fantastic climate change coverage lined up for you in the coming months.   Now, speaking of charging… let's talk electric vehicles.   If there's one stereotype about Americans that often holds true, it's that our cars are huge. Take Chevrolet's 2024 Suburban SUV for example. It can hold nine passengers and at 18ft (5.5m) long, it's about half the length of a London double-decker bus.   And cars are only getting bigger. The average car is growing wider at a rate of 1cm (0.4in) every two years, as Adrienne Bernhard recently explored. The popularity of SUVs has "offset some of the fleetwide benefits" of moving away from petrol-powered vehicles, a report by the US Environmental Protection Agency warns. As cars get larger, their environmental impacts grow too. Credit: Getty Images The mentality of "bigger is better" is also increasingly taking hold when it comes to electric vehicles around the world. (Read more about how EV manufacturers are eyeing the SUV market.) In fact, for the first time in 2022 electric SUVs made up more than half of all electric car sales, according to the International Energy Agency.   Larger cars often make drivers feel safer on the road, but pose a serious risk to pedestrians and cyclists.   And when it comes to the environment, bigger isn't always better either. Their batteries are two to three times larger than those small cars, which can help alleviate range anxiety. But the larger batteries in electric SUVs also require the mining of more raw materials like cobalt, lithium and nickel, which has a high environmental impact. They also require more electricity to recharge. You can read our story on the manufacturers choosing to shed weight from their cars to squeeze more miles from their batteries. Small wins Overall, studies show EVs are still a better choice for the planet. "EVs are an overall net win emissions-wise, even if the grid on which it relies is powered by fossil fuels," Laura LoSciuto, leader of the Battery Circular Economy Initiative at the Rocky Mountain Institute in Colorado, recently told Adrienne Bernhard for BBC Future Planet.   But it's probably worth rethinking if you really need to drive an electric SUV.   The typical US driver goes about 37 miles (60km) per day on average, according to the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration – easily within the range of smaller electric cars.   On a recent Sunday, I participated in another American tradition: watching the Super Bowl. My friend picked me up in a car that would be very at home on European roads: a small two-door, four-seat electric vehicle.   There was plenty of room for the two of us, his 10-year-old kid, his dog and four pizzas. And despite my team (the 49ers) losing, it was a win for the climate.   You can read Adrienne Bernhard's full story on the inexorable growth of the car here. NUMBER OF THE WEEK 45kg The amount of blubber a polar bear can eat in a single sitting. But many bears are losing weight in the long ice-free summer months, a new study has found. TAKE A MOMENT How wildfire smoke changes your body The health impacts from climate-change-fuelled wildfires are truly global. Here's what you can do to protect yourself. Read more CLIMATE QUIZ Which lab-created hybrid food could be a sustainable and affordable source of protein, according to its makers' hopes? A. Meat-rice B. Fish-bread C. Poultry-pasta Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer. THE BIG PICTURE How the Power of Mama fight fires The Power of Mama patrol the forest on motorbikes, searching for undetected fires. Credit: Victor Fidelis Sentosa. When Siti Nuraini joined Borneo's all-women firefighting squad, the Power of Mama, she faced more than a little pushback. "We were laughed at for wearing uniforms and joining patrols," she tells BBC Future Planet. "The men in the village would mock us and say things like: 'Women patrolling? Seriously? Why would women patrol, don't you have better things to do?'" Soon, they knew better than to laugh. Today, Power of Mama has extinguished countless peatland fires in Ketapang district, West Kalimantan, in the Indonesian part of Borneo. As they do so, they're carving out a new role for women in the area's conservative rural society. Read the Mamas' full story on BBC Future Planet. BEFORE YOU GO • One of the worst methane leaks ever recorded occurred at a well in Kazakhstan's Karaturun East oil field. The news comes ahead of a new satellite launch in March to detect oil and gas methane leaks. • "Zombie fires" from Canada's wildfire season in 2023 are still smouldering. • Beavers, bison and jaguars can help ecosystems stressed by climate change and human development - but reintroducing these beasts is no mean feat.