Irony would be the car still kills the planet. I think this is technically coincidence. But I'm in no way an expert and could be entirely wrong. Just commenting to see if anyone definitively has the answer.
Edit: to be clear, I'm discussing the difference between irony and coincidence. My bad.
They’re significantly less damaging to the environment but the lithium mining is awful and the resources to generate electric currently are pretty damning. But all things considered, even with those they are significantly more eco friendly so if we could focus on green electric generation EV’s would be extremely more friendly.
But a real solution to green transportation involves cutting out vehicles for personal use. Using public transportation like buses and stuff (which can be electric too) would cut down on transportation emissions significantly. Intercity travel is tough because of the distance. Trains are an option, but honestly they aren’t fast enough for most people when you’re traveling hundreds of miles. I think electric cars are still the better option there. Them moving trucks to electric is a big help too. Tractor trailers aren’t as inefficient as many people think. They use exhaust fluid to curb tons of emissions. But they do an extreme amount of driving so it still has a significant impact.
More solar, wind, or hydro electric would make us a very green planet that costs a lot of money and not much interest from people with the money to do it. It’s a solved problem, but no one wants to implement the solution
Trains can go faster, but have a stricter schedule. Cars are extremely convenient. You can leave when you want. Want to be in a city at 8 am? It’s a hour away by car so leave by 7. However the only train getting there before 8 leaves at 6. But it takes 20 minutes to get to the station. Or, if we go super green, it take 45 since your walking. You need to leave at 5
It’s similar with a bus, but more manageable when most stops have buses stopping every 15-30 minutes. So for a bus you may need to leave at 6:30 or whatever to make it on time.
I’m gonna reveal more than I’d like to, but I think geographies play a big role here. I’m in America. Rail sucks. It’d take massive investment to make them remotely viable for regular intercity transportation.
I live in Johnstown PA. I frequently travel to Pittsburgh PA because Johnstown is a shit city and offers nothing. But shit cities are were most of the focus is needed. Many people around here don’t understand how much of a difference that would make because what we have now is abhorrent. I need to walk over a mile to my nearest bus stop down a hill with a 10% grade and no sidewalks to be safe on. And that’s if it shows up. Half the time our buses are broke down and non-functional. Of course no one wants to invest more in it when they don’t see the use of it.
But I punched in a train ticket to Pittsburgh. It only leaves 1 time per day at 3:45 PM. It requires a bus connection. It takes 2 hours and 25 minutes. It costs $45 per person. It takes me an hour to drive to Pittsburgh and with my EV that is within a full charge so I can charge at home where I will never notice the cost
Trains are economical, but are not faster for intercity travel. Maybe in Europe but cities are more progressed there and have the funding to do quick travel. In the United States trains are not going to become viable for a very long time unless your on a subway and staying in the same city.
The rubber tires on your car are still not recyclable and will practically never break down. Also since electric cars are generally heavier you’re doing more damage to road infrastructure than necessary. Cars are not sustainable.
But that would imply every bad thing is ironic. I think it's when you have reason to believe the exact opposite should happen. You have no reason to believe a tree will never fall. But if you're obsessed about tree falling on car safety, you'd then have that expectation. That's why most things in the song Ironic are actually coincidences, but a song dedicated to irony being wrong about irony is actually ironic.