The problem with EV's

I was listening to talk radio yesterday, and the guy they were interviewing was obviously an oil-man. The same arguments were quoted as always, EV's catch fire, EV's can't go the distance, EV sales have fallen since Musk did his Nazi salute, but the one thing that never comes up is why we are forcing the move to EV's, and that is to save the planet. The ICE people only look at themselves, their personal situation, and could care less about the planet they live on, or their children's children's children.. No thought about what happens when Earth can no longer sustain humanities growing population.
We are all seeing the effects of global warming, and how it is accelerating.
Oil has got to go, it is a huge target and I am very happy some countries are pushing for its adoption, even if there is massive pushback from those that do not care one bit about this planet.
Keep the zero emission targets.

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swirlie · 31-35

The adoption of EV's isn't quite that simple, James. In Canada for example, we are too far north to make EV's a viable option because the average winter temperatures are too low. This causes the EV's range to drop off dramatically when the temp falls below the freezing mark and then gets worse the lower you go below freezing 32*F/ 0*C.

Fully electric vehicles were designed to be operated at temperatures of 59*F/15*C at 'standard' barometric pressure which is what ALL data is based on from every EV manufacturer. Nobody provides range data on a -30* day because that information would tank the industry faster than Musk himself can do!

In Scandinavian countries for example, the winter temps are very low of course but the distances are short no matter where you go in Scandinavia. There are also a lot of recharging stations everywhere you look which are solar powered, especially in remote areas!

Therefore, this isn't just about appeasing the oil-man, this is about approaching a problem that is too early in EV's infancy to bring all cars in line with EV technology at this time.

What grossly lags behind EV technology is the infrastructure that must support EV technology, to recharge all these EV's which simply are not in place yet.

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@swirlie the US has needed improvement to the electrical grid for years. My EV has a heat pump to prewarm.the battery. Yes, there is a significant decrease in range, but which is worse, more pollution in the air from ICE producing more health problems or searching for some way to improve the environment? We can put our heads in the sand and ignore the problem!

swirlie · 31-35

@samueltyler2
As it stands right now sam, before the very first EV came off any assembly line anywhere in the world, Canada was supplying every State in the USA with Canadian nuclear-generated electricity and sending it south of the Canada-US border, with the exception of the State of Texas.

What this means is, the US was completely unable to supply it's own electricity needs to itself, let alone expect all the oil-fired cars to suddenly convert to EV technology and be recharged from a household electrical circuit.

I am talking about EV infrastructure as being limited to only EV recharging stations located at strategic places along our road networks; I am not talking about EV infrastructure as being inclusive of basic electricity needs for the day to day running of the country itself.

So far, your US government has done nothing to upgrade the US electrical grid for home consumption since Canada is over-supplying that need and so far, the Canadian government has done next to nothing on the other hand, to have EV recharging stations co-located with gas stations across Canada for example.

None of that recharging infrastructure can be found without going a long way out of your way off the beaten path to get your EV recharged anywhere in Canada.

In the northern USA from the Canada/US border to about 200 miles further south, all re-charging stations that were originally commissioned at the beginning of the Tesla rollout several years ago, are now de-commissioned because of lack of use and the taking-up of valuable space.

Today, we're back to where we were 5 years ago because the cars are now arriving off the assembly line but the infrastructure to re-charge them are being dismantled at the same rate. That was my point.

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@swirlie POTUS ordered the dismantling of offshore wind producing electricity which was reportedly almost 80% completed. Watching the news recently I feel as if I am watching a bad movie. Get a copy of the Opinion section of this weekends NY Times. There is an opinion pien e by Maureen Dowd, every intelligent person must read it.

swirlie · 31-35

@samueltyler2
This is the first time I've heard this. That's why watching the news is not good for our health.

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@swirlie you bet. The opinion piece is different, it goes into how one of TACO's goals. Is to literally rewrite history by destroying evidence of the truth.

swirlie · 31-35

@samueltyler2
Okay, but there was a lot of false history being taught to young Americans long before Donald Trump ever came along, so what "history" is now being destroyed that was fake in the first place, I wonder?

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@swirlie i don't want to get into an argument about that with you, get a copy of her article and read it!

swirlie · 31-35

@samueltyler2
This is not about arguing truth. This is about Trump destroying what everyone thinks is historical fact. My only question to you is this, how do we know it's historical fact and not just someone's opinion that got slotted into America's history books?

We don't know! That's the whole point.

IS Trump destroying anything, or is he just saying that he's going to?

I subscribe to the NY Times online version which I read every morning over coffee, so I'll start reading some 'opinion' pieces as you suggest. Thanks!

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@swirlie you sound like a MAGA when you pose that question. History is subject to some interpretation but the basic data are not!

swirlie · 31-35

@samueltyler2
...ahh! but I don't FEEL like a MAGA in that hollow place behind my belly button! ...or is that called a 'navel'?

[image/video - please log in to see this content]

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@swirlie what is that?

swirlie · 31-35

@samueltyler2
...the medical term is called "My Gut".... but I don't know what the layman's term for it is. I'll look it up in my Medical Encyclopedia if you want me to...

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@swirlie there is something that looks very strange in your right lower quadrant.

swirlie · 31-35

@samueltyler2

you sound like a MAGA when you pose that question.

The thing is sam, I'm trying to stay neutral in all of this. I'm a liberal by political stripe but anything that comes from conservative thinking could also come from liberal thinking. Not all things done by Republican are bad, but not all good things came out of the last Democrat Presidency under Joe either.

The thing is, Trump cannot dictate what the US auto makers will make. Trump is not a brilliant specimen of human existence, but I doubt very much that Trump is behind a reversal of the EV market in the USA, nor are the oil companies.

If anyone is deciding that fate, it will be the US auto manufacturers themselves because they hold all the cards, not Trump and not big oil. If the auto sector decided to end EV production for the US, they would have to do it collectively as an entire industry, which may occur if there simply isn't any money available to build the EV re-charging infrastructure which is so badly lacking.

When we keep in mind that the launch of EV's in the USA was done totally ass-backwards compared to more successful launches in Europe for example, it's very clear to see how the US auto industry put the cart before the horse... they built the car then decided later how it might get re-charged.

In Scandinavia, the entire re-charging infrastructure was built FIRST, before the very first EV rolled off the assembly line and was certified for use in Scandinavia.