Time is running out (California folk)

[Boswell]

"Oh... I guess you are right and I'm wrong..." said nobody on the internet... EVER...

Isn't that the truth.

I wonder if the reason we don't see more of the super sub-compact vehicles is also about safety standards and not just fuel efficiency.

 

[verbotenwhisky]

Isn't that the truth.

I wonder if the reason we don't see more of the super sub-compact vehicles is also about safety standards and not just fuel efficiency.

Mass rules, he with the most mass wins.... To many big things running down the road. I owned a motor cycle in the mid 80's which I bought while working out of town, when I returned to Houston it only took 1 time in traffic for me to decide it would get me killed.

 

[682bear]

Isn't that the truth.

I wonder if the reason we don't see more of the super sub-compact vehicles is also about safety standards and not just fuel efficiency.

That is a very big reason...

-Bear

 

[woodchucker]

That small truck would do the job needed by a lot of people. Unfortunately, for it to pass the “emissions “ of the USA, it probably would be lucky to get 25 MPG. I always find it amusing how high MPG some vehicles use to get in the 70’s and 80’s and then think about how much technology has evolved in the last 40 years, and wonder why does it seem we have gone backwards. Just because the actual exhaust might be a bit cleaner, if we only get 10 MPG vs a vehicle that could get 20 MPG, how is that better when we still have to drive X miles daily?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Remember the Honda CRX I think it was... 60mpg... but they said it couldn't pass the emissions. At 60mpg it's doubling most other cars still.
I had a honda accord lxi and I was getting 33mpg in 1987 on the highway, higher than the rating and generally at 80mph up to VT and back everyweek.

 

[jbaccell]

Except for the lawn mower all of my power yard tools are electric. If the lawn mower dies, I'll probably go electric there too, but since it is a Honda and only 10 years old, I imagine it will still be going in 2045. I have a fairly small lawn so battery wed wacker and (eventually) lawn mower is fine.

I do have some gas chainsaws, but they are a hold over from when we lived in the mountains and burned 3-5 cords of wood each winter. They are a nuisance to use for most of my current yard needs. I get the Stihl out, once or twice every couple of years.
For limbing the trees or the occasional large tree branch coming down, my 12" cordless Ryobi does fine. No making up small batches of 2 stroke mix, 50% of which ends up sitting around until it goes bad.




This is my biggest gripe with the push to all electric. It is just not thought out, it is the typical "we have to do something, and this is something".

Electric cars as small light commuters are great, but I've read several articles now that shows how the push to make large cars with ranges comparing to IC cars is missing the point.

The battery in a Tesla ranges from 1000-1700 lbs. The new electric Ford F150 has a battery weighing 1800lbs, that is half the weight of my Subaru Forester. Compare that to a Nissan Leaf, whose battery weighs in at 650lbs, and the current generation has a range of 150-200 miles.

This has impacts on cost where development of small practical electric commuters is being sidelined for more profitable luxury EVs. Crash safety, big heavy vehicles are more dangerous to other cars on the road. The simply not very efficient. All that weight requires additional power to operate, costs more and results in additional wear on both the car and the roads. There is also the additional hazard of lithium being a flammable metal, and very difficult to control. People thought VW Beetles were bad in a fire.

Of course part of this is the same logic that has people commuting solo in large SUVs.


Again a comparison between an IC and an EV. A Tesla Model 3 (the smallest Tesla, and not a particularly big car) weighs 4000lbs. A Hybrid Toyota Corolla is about the same size but only weighs 1900lbs. In an accident the Model 3 is like getting hit by a pickup truck, not a small car.


This all in on battery power is sidelining research on other potential clean technology. Hybrids are now well developed, significantly cleaner than pure IC cars, but they are no longer good enough since they still burn something.


This ban on small engines is similar. Sure battery tools work for many, but there are places where small gas or diesel engines just can't be replace yet. I'm still waiting to see how they intend to replace IC generators with electric since you typically need them where you have no electricity...

When hurricane Sandy hit, we were out of power for 10 days. Many downed trees blocking roads including my own driveway. What good would battery operated equipment be in those situations? You can't charge them when the batteries die unless you have an IC generator which I did/do and that saved our bacon. All battery/electric is not the panacea they proclaim it to be but the lemmings are buying into the hysteria of climate change.

On the way to work this morning I was listening to some idiot talking about NYC requiring commercial buildings to begin replacing boilers and move towards carbon neutral footprint. The interviewer asked what would replace a boiler and of course, the talking head said electric tied to the grid was the answer. I wanted to punch the radio and ask the moron if he knew how electricity is generated... It seems so many people including a lot of younger people are jumping on the electric bandwagon but have no idea that most electric is generated by burning fossil fuels. You know, you just plug things into the wall and the electricity magically appears.

 

[Shotgun]

When hurricane Sandy hit, we were out of power for 10 days. Many downed trees blocking roads including my own driveway. What good would battery operated equipment be in those situations? You can't charge them when the batteries die unless you have an IC generator which I did/do and that saved our bacon.

My yard tools are in an unpowered shed about 40yds behind my house. I charge the batteries with a $100 solar panel set that I got from Harbor Freight years ago. The panels act as a rain cover over the door to the shed.

One of the reasons to push everyone and everything onto the grid is the centralization of power. They want to be able to shut you down "for the greater good". Whenever someone says or implies something like that, circle the wagons and get your weapons ready to protect your women and children. Solar and wind offered a lot of promise to decentralize power generation. Instead, we have the same mega corporations razing farms and forests to put up solar panels (that they control) with government subsidies (we paid for it), or standing up huge windmills that require so much concrete for the base, that the windmill will never be able to avoid as much CO2 as it produced. These are the same people that fly their private jets to the COP meetings so that they can decide that cow burps are too much for the planet, and all us little people should subsist on cricket powder.

You don't have to comply. Do the math, then do what makes sense for your situation. If you're going to put up a shed, barn, gazebo, greenhouse, car port, chicken coop, etc, it won't cost any more to cover it with solar panels than what you'd pay for plywood and shingles. It may not produce as much as a generator, but you'll be able to use it for "free" even when not recovering from a hurricane. For a gas generator of the power I get from my modest set of panels and associated components, it would have cost me about the same $2k. But, I'm heating my office to a comfortable temp and running my computers today for free, while the rest of the house is left to cool. And, I don't have a generator out back slowly rusting to death. I'm not saving the planet. I am saving money and my independence. In the case of a rolling blackout. . . Meh. . . I wouldn't even notice. And I also got a roof for that greenhouse the wife wanted (which means I get tomatoes that don't taste like grade-school paste).

The leftist tell you that we have to replace all power generation with centralized solar or we're all going to die in 12 years. The conservatives tell you that solar panels and windmills are the spawn of hell and should be avoided by everyone. Neither have done the math for my (or your) situation, so neither deserve any credence at all. You should give electric equipment a shot if you get the chance. You'll love the convenience. If it doesn't work (and you live in Cali), you might want to consider voting for people that aren't silly busybodies while your driving to another state to buy equipment that can do the job.

 

[RJSakowski]

There are already groups that are moving to block the mining of that lithium because of the environmental impacts...

They would rather import lithium from third world countries that do nothing to lessen the environmental impact of mining than to mine here where we do.

-Bear

Back here in Wisconsin, we have this thing called the ATC high voltage transmission line intended to bring electricity generated in the upper plains states to more populated areas. The concept was proposed about three years ago along proposed routes. One of the routes proposed would run about a half mile from me. Almost immediately, there was an uproar from concerned citizens. Why do we need this transmission line; it's not going to provide power to me?

People totally ignore the fact that demand for electric power is increasing, not decreasing. A switch to electric for transportation will only stress the the grid further. People want all the conveniences but have a "not in my back yard" mentality. They want more ecologically friendly power. Coal is bad, but they don't want nuclear. Solar voltaic is unsightly and takes up valuable real estate. High temperature solar kills birds. Wind generators kill birds and trash scenic vistas. Tear down those hydroelectric dams and revert back to wild rivers.

There are only three sources of energy available. Solar (including wind and biofuel), nuclear, and geothermal. Take your pick. Or stop using energy. The problem is we have over 8 billion people on the planet. Those living in third world countries want to improve their standard of living and who can blame them? The energy crunch will only get worse and compromises will have to be made.

If I were king, I would be push development of the technology for nuclear fusion. Nuclear fission is a stopgap solution, largely because the available fuel supply is limited but it would bridge the gap.. Another solution that has only been exploited in limited fashion is geothermal. We have a number of spots in the US where the Earth's crust is thin enough to make heat energy extraction feasible on a scale large enough to power the entire country. A plus from this approach is it will reduce the pressure on these hot spots and help to prevent events as is going on in Iceland now.

Or we could convert to using dilithium crystals. They will provide us with a virtually limitless supply of energy. Since they can only me mine on exoplanets, far outside our solar system, the environmental impact will be negligible. Maybe a project for Elon?

 

[woodchucker]

Back here in Wisconsin, we have this thing called the ATC high voltage transmission line intended to bring electricity generated in the upper plains states to more populated areas. The concept was proposed about three years ago along proposed routes. One of the routes proposed would run about a half mile from me. Almost immediately, there was an uproar from concerned citizens. Why do we need this transmission line; it's not going to provide power to me?

People totally ignore the fact that demand for electric power is increasing, not decreasing. A switch to electric for transportation will only stress the the grid further. People want all the conveniences but have a "not in my back yard" mentality. They want more ecologically friendly power. Coal is bad, but they don't want nuclear. Solar voltaic is unsightly and takes up valuable real estate. High temperature solar kills birds. Wind generators kill birds and trash scenic vistas. Tear down those hydroelectric dams and revert back to wild rivers.

There are only three sources of energy available. Solar (including wind and biofuel), nuclear, and geothermal. Take your pick. Or stop using energy. The problem is we have over 8 billion people on the planet. Those living in third world countries want to improve their standard of living and who can blame them? The energy crunch will only get worse and compromises will have to be made.

If I were king, I would be push development of the technology for nuclear fusion. Nuclear fission is a stopgap solution, largely because the available fuel supply is limited but it would bridge the gap.. Another solution that has only been exploited in limited fashion is geothermal. We have a number of spots in the US where the Earth's crust is thin enough to make heat energy extraction feasible on a scale large enough to power the entire country. A plus from this approach is it will reduce the pressure on these hot spots and help to prevent events as is going on in Iceland now.

Or we could convert to using dilithium crystals. They will provide us with a virtually limitless supply of energy. Since they can only me mine on exoplanets, far outside our solar system, the environmental impact will be negligible. Maybe a project for Elon?

In Iceland all the shops and most homes are geothermally heated from the magma underneath. They also use it for electricity, and are the highest smelting operations of Aluminum due to the near free cost of electricity and heat.

My son installed GeoThermal for both heating, air conditioning and water heating in Connecticut.

 

[skogkatt007]

The science is settled. Mini hydro electric urinals and flatulence powered wind turbines will save our world.

Harnessing the power of the legume since 1967.

 

[woodchucker]

The science is settled. Mini hydro electric urinals and flatulence powered wind turbines will save our world.

Harnessing the power of the legume since 1967.

well at least we would have a use for all the ass holes in the world rather than just being a one way portal of .....