| Author | Message | ||
     Aesquire |
From the view of someone who wants to use Climate Change, or Galactic Black Holes, as an excuse to set themselves up as Kings, there is indeed a crisis. It's not selling anymore to not-idiots. The streets of Manhattan and Singapore and Amsterdam aren't under water. Deaths from severe weather are down. Literally None of the Dire Predictions came true. Zip. Like it has been a scam to get rich all along. Unfortunately there are lots of idiots. And now decades of Agitation Propaganda poured on in schools and in Media. And by clumping all the fringe groups, like Animal Rights, Radical Evangelical Diet Nazis, and ( insert your choice here ), into a Taqiyya ( by Any Lie Necessary ) & Revolutionary ( by Any Means Necessary ) culture, you get a distillation of evil intolerance with Massive Self Righteousness Affirmation. And they spawn murder attempts on Judges, mass murder in schools and stores, and desecration and destruction of history. 1984 is becoming optimistic. So when the New Climate Taxes & Restrictions make life harder, it's a Feature. And the WEF big meeting in Davos this spring unveiled the Agenda of total monitoring of individuals and a Scoring system to facilitate total control/punishment/guidance using Informant Apps and Big Data. Or in basic terms, your phone and your car and your computer will track your movements, purchases, and everything you say, report it to the richest monsters on the planet's servers, so they can most efficiently run everyone's life as they see fit. You, know, for the Children. | ||
| Hootowl |
https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/texas-power-gr id-under-threat-of-rolling-blackouts Come on, FOX. This is at best an opinion piece. They’ve made an article from one Austin resident’s opinion, based on his belief that 100 degrees in Texas in June heralds the end of the world, I’m guessing “he ain’t from around here”. It is routinely above 95 daily and commonly 100 for several days at a time. California transplant, I’m thinking. | ||
| Tpehak |
If is too much rain this year here in Seattle. | ||
| Zane |
Let that fool come to Arizona. It's going to be in th 110 range today. Even I am running the A/C today | ||
| Aesquire |
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2022/06/is- it-immoral-to-drive-an-electric-vehicle.php | ||
| Hootowl |
All good and valid points except fossil fuel being more efficient (in cars). That’s wrong. An ICE engine is at best 40% efficient, and most of them are below 30. Well below. EVs are massively more efficient from well/mine to wheel. Don’t forget about the mining required to produce the steel and aluminum for engines and transmissions, as well as the rare earth metals in the catalytic converters. Everything takes raw materials. 100% agree on free market principles; no one should be forced to buy or subsidize anything. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/06/09/what-global -warming-australia-endures-record-breaking-cold/ EVs more efficient at turning coal to miles? Sure. It depends a bit on the power plants, some are paragons of co-generation where the steam is used multiple times until it's warm water, other older ones are better than a 1972 Ford big block, but not as good overall as my Toyota direct injection 2.5 litre. ( which, tuned for economy, has a pitiful displacement/power ratio with 167hp, compared to a performance car, like 200hp from a 2 litre turbo 4 in a VW GTI... But I point out 100hp per litre was Formula race car hyper power just recently ) As to rare earth elements, since my friend's catalytic converter was sawed off her car in her city parking lot last month, there's ounces of Platinum group metals at most in a standard IC car, vs. Many Pounds of other metals in an Electric. ( both use some Cobalt, etc. in wiper & power window/door/hatch motors, so we're talking the big difference in Drive Motors & Batteries ) Aluminum is far more energy suck than steel. So a Tesla with it's Lovely Castings for a frame is far worse than a Dodge Hellcat, including the engine. I'll grant the Tesla does better at turning coal to speed, Probably, they're impressive! I could have picked the outlier Audi with Aluminum frame, which lacks the "advantage" of a 1941 Ford ( or 99%+ of the available cars today ) in using more energy efficient steel. ( to produce, not push! ) But that is a rich guy toy. ( with biodegradable wiring insulation ) The Big Downside of Electric is the rare earth elements, Cobalt, and Lithium mining horrors. Iron ore & Bauxite are a heavily mechanized & well developed mining industry. Michigan and Jamaica don't use slave labor and have clean up your mess rules. I can mountain bike in the parkland left behind in an American Iron Mine. The lakes of toxic radioactive waste that loom over some Chinese towns, where the liquid crud crust dries into poisonous dust that blows all over, and accumulates in giant Mounds of crusty goo, are a toxic time bomb. Sure 90% of that is due to the Chinese dictatorship's greed and the willful blindness of Western companies. And Elon & his buddy running the battery recycling business are working to get around that. There's a bootstrap issue with their plan. The plan is to use recycled materials for 90%+ of new battery production, and they might get there! Yea! But first! They need millions of batteries made from freshly mined materials to recycle. Hopefully they can be up to speed before the inevitable war with China when they'll cut us off. Pointing out that Joe*, in paying back the massive bribes the CCP gives him, approved the CCP near monopoly on Cobalt and other mining, is irrelevant to a discussion on efficiency. More relevant in a discussion on Treason and Evil. So skip it. I'd argue that Just in material costs in human suffering, making the cars, Electric is pretty bad compared to Old IC cars. But I'm not guilt tripping or denying my own part, here! My Toyota Hybrid has 3 big electric motors! ( we'll assume rough equality for all cars in the little ones, like wipers, coolant, & AC systems ) And while mine uses Nickel instead of Lithium cells, the plug in version, ( like my Mom's Prius Prime ) use Lithium chemistry cells. So you're not going to get a bs argument from me on how many child slaves die in Africa per car. I might be fractions of a boy less murderous!  That would be sarcasm, if not true. Don't get me wrong, I like Teslas, but you don't get to brag about using less mined in misery materials in your car vs. a Chevy Tahoe. Speed, computing power, space age grooviness, yes. I'm a little envious, and I seldom indulge. ( although the Porche Cayenne towing a nice trailer with a top line John Deere utility tractor ( with backhoe! ) that passed me the other day... I got a twinge! ) And as to efficiency in turning coal to speed? My Mom's car runs on Nuclear and Niagara Falls, mostly. That's darn efficient. But where coal and gas are "supplemented" by expensive wind and solar, the efficiency isn't as good, and perversely the more wind and solar in the network, the worse it gets. You're still better than a Dodge Viper in the BTU - mile ratio. It might be fun to run a ( completely unfair & silly ) competition between our cars. Starting with discharged batteries ( not dead, just as low as our computers prefer ) and 10 gallons of gasoline total, we'd use my Harbor Freight portable generator to charge the Tesla, ( and put 5 gallons in my Rav-4 ) and see how many miles range each gets on a circuit of mixed expressway and country and suburban roads. Sure, that's an enormous handicap with the lousy efficiency of a portable gasoline generator, but might make a cool car magazine article. | ||
| Hootowl |
That would only prove that harbor freight generators aren’t very efficient. | ||
| Hootowl |
Fact is, my cost per mile was half that of an economy car when gas was $2.50 per gallon. Now it’s 4x less. And it’s not an economy car. Tesla also closely monitors its metal suppliers and does not purchase metal from child labor markets. Other manufactures might. Tesla is, as with most things, way out in front on this. | ||
| Hootowl |
I know the plan is to make gas so expensive that people will switch to electric. That’s not my point. Even when gas was reasonable, it was still cheaper to drive electric. And zero maintenance for a cherry on top. To each his own. Or whatever pronoun you prefer. I know electric will not work for everyone, but it will for most. You have to think differently about how you fuel up. Don’t count time at fueling stations equally. Almost 100% of the time, that time spent is zero for an EV driver. They leave the house all topped up every morning. So don’t get hung up on charge time; that only applies to road trips. I think a lot of people would be excited about EVs if the left weren’t sabotaging the country in their attempt to force people into them. Pretty f’d up, but typical for their narrow thinking. | ||
| Aesquire |
Cost to operate per mile? That's a subject where you're comparing federally subsidized apples and oranges. If electricity prices double again, ( as mine have doubled in the last year ) the electric car still is a bargain... To run. Sure gasoline prices doubled ( and worse for diesel ) since the Insurrection/Coup, so I'd expect to keep a similar price delta. But not necessarily. I'm looking at England, who is "ahead" of us in Cancel Culture, Authoritarian regime excess, and Energy Cost Theft. By going heavy on Unreliable Alternative Energy and Imported Natural Gas, the electric bills have jacked up incredibly. It's going to be a sign of Serious Deliberate Mistake if the Harbor Freight ( or even Honda ) gasoline generator costs the same as grid power! Tesla may source it's materials to not be obviously produced by "the exploited", it's a world market. Did they really get them from American mines? https://www.visualcapitalist.com/rare-earth-elemen ts-where-in-the-world-are-they/ https://www.indexmundi.com/minerals/?product=cobal t# And the other companies, ( TESLA is the rebel outlier in many things ) especially the onrushing Chinese car companies, don't worry about it. That all just shows that buying Chinese products are buying blood diamonds? I'm not sure. I'm not sure the little kite sewing loft I bought my latest toy from isn't owned by the CCP People's Liberation Army.  Some business there isn't slave labor and owned by the Party through cut outs. Hard to tell when the regime is Fundamentally Dishonest. See also Joe*. The point of the article you so object to, isn't your out of pocket per mile in isolation. Not even mentioned. And I know from my own experience with my Mom's car, that it's a great bargain in that narrow definition! It's the hidden costs. The raw materials and the subsidies, mostly, they complain about. Like I said, I'm NOT guilt tripping anyone. All my modern battery toys use Lithium. My car uses a cheaper/older battery based on a different power use algorithm. And it's interesting, intellectually, to speculate on how to compare the Electric vs. Hybrid. Do we use the dashboard range meters to determine the Start Race State? Say, if both are at 20 miles remaining? | ||
| Hootowl |
All those “hidden” costs are revealed the the purchase price. Tesla sources Lithium from Australia. They are also attempting to open a Lithium mine in the US. They’re getting pushback from the same leftists who want to force everyone to buy an electric car. But hey, logic doesn't matter to those folks. | ||
| Aesquire |
All those “hidden” costs are revealed the the purchase price. I disagree on this part, agree on the rest. Some object, for different reasons, but the big companies get lot$ of incentive in tax breaks & grants. That's not on the invoice. Don't want to pick on Tesla, or Toyota, as any company would take tax credits for participating/doing what they would anyway to make profits, if the government offered incentives to accomplish some goal. In this case, it was originally "advance/push electric & more fuel efficient tech in cars" which is not a stupid thing. That it mutated or is mutating into a coercive religious cause, or political power grab, or payback for "some politician" getting millions in bribes, doesn't change that origin. Just soils it in retrospect. R&D on batteries and motor controls is expensive. The government spends lots more money on stupid things, and things I don't like. Helping to fund research with tax breaks is arguably a good thing. ( if you agree with the need, the ethics, the legality... ) For every Solyndra we can hope for a Tesla, a company that makes a product people want. re:logic... Yeah, NIMBY and ignorance and denial. btw, I tried a buddy's mountain bike with a bottom bracket electric motor kit. Dang! I'll have to take pictures. or just look up Bafang mid drive kit. Mid drive is definitely the way to go over rear hub motors. Let's you use the existing rear gearing. It has a thumb throttle, but primary mode is you just pedal, and it adds power. There's definitely a learning curve, items like coasting to a near stop then making a sharp turn and the pedal stroke being amplified takes adjustment. Gear & power level choice, and so forth. Not too different than learning to use the gears on a mountain bike. or motorcycle. You can just pedal lightly and go quite fast with little effort. Really nifty. | ||
| Hootowl |
Those vehicle tax credits are only good for X number of vehicles. Tesla has already sold X vehicles. And those were consumer tax credits. Sticker price does not reflect that. If you mean tax incentives, well, most companies get tax incentives, including oil companies. The ecofascists complain about it constantly. | ||
| Aesquire |
Yep, so do the "right wing" pundits. Might be about different programs or on principles. I'd have to be hypocritical to complain too much, about government programs, I used the Cash for Clunkers program. Btw, thanks, everyone, again, for helping buy my VW.  ( traded in a rusted out Caravan when the floor under the driver's seat collapsed. It was worthless as a normal trade in, and the Obama administration got a less efficient machine off the road. ) If I ever build the garage, I'd consider a Tesla. It'd be the Primary grocery getter, the most economical, daily driver. I still need a van for hauling everything, that wouldn't change. Heard about a "tesla kit" for light trucks, like F-150s, replacing the V8. Didn't get a brand name or details. I think I want one. I keep shopping for the "car of my youth/dream car" by preference a 2nd gen shorty Dodge van, slant six 4 speed on the floor. ( my '76 had 3 on the tree ) Those are a bit rare. But a 4th, last, gen van are available, usually conversion vans, for reasonable prices. Converted to a ( ideally Tesla! ) battery powered vehicle, it'd be ideal for me. Or a big block. | ||
| Hootowl |
Several shops do conversions, and I think a couple have packaged everything you need under one SKU. It’s not cheap, though. EV West is one, but I don’t think they make an F150 kit. Ford does https://www.evwest.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=40 | ||
| Aesquire |
https://www.foxbusiness.com/energy/battery-shortag e-affecting-u-s-energy-fossil-fuels I repeat... Using light weight expensive batteries in a fixed mass storage installation is STUPID, clinically insane, and Bad Engineering. and almost certainly corruption. Spending far too much tax money on a project usually means the politicians got massive bribes and their relatives got jobs they don't have to show up for. Contracts given to relatives who don't actually have a company, just a fake one, so they can skim the loot by subcontracting the work. From an engineering view, this is much like using an airplane engine for a fixed generator. A lighly built, underpowered for the displacement, engine that has a cooling system designed to work at high air speed. So you need a substantial percentage of shaft horse power diverted to cooling fans & ducting. ( the propeller on most modern airplanes primarily moves the plane, the innermost part is inefficient as a cooling fan, it's ram air from moving that does the job. Most , nearly all, light planes will overheat if you run the engine past half throttle for long while parked. ) You're much better off with a liquid cooled engine. And you're still stupid if you use Big block car engines. Far better to use a locomotive diesel, or better, a specialized design to run at constant speed where weight is a low priority and reliability a top one. Ditto batteries. I'm not slamming Tesla, their "wall" battery pack might be perfect for my needs, keeping the lights, heat, and refrigerator going during my frequent power failures. And if a town or territory wants to buy a mega-battery installation, they're in the battery business, and hey! Profit! But it's a stupid choice to buy the Ferarri beating technology to keep the lights on when you've made the stupid choice to switch to power that only works when it's nice out, during the day, if the wind is blowing, but not too much. I've been doing Wind Depending sports for over half a century. Sailing, soaring, kites, etc. I've spent far more time waiting for the winds to change than actually flying. There are only a few places on the planet the wind is dependable power, like the California coast where they put up all those ( now mostly dead ) bird killers. And here's the other problem with coastal wind farms, that "reliable" air flow is generally time dependent. It uses the sun heated air to pull the cool ocean air inland, then the flow reverses when the land cools faster in early evening. So even there, it's on & off. There are long periods of stalled air twice a day. I know. I've sat there waiting. And ditto at my local hills. The wind dies as evening approaches, and reverses. | ||
| Aesquire |
There's a somewhat rare weather, or more accurately, micrometeorology phenomenon, locally called Wonder Winds. https://www.nwcg.gov/publications/pms425-1/convect ive-winds "Upslope" winds tend to focus thermals along the ridge tops, which is also where ridge lift is created, thermals born in valley fields ( and parking lots ) are blown towards the ridge by general winds as well. "Wonder winds" happen as the upslope breeze in a valley, stops, reverses, and the cool air sinks down the slopes, ( this is common ) then slides under the warm air in the valley, which rises in a huge calm mass, ( the rare thing ) offering a unique opportunity. If your timing is nearly perfect. A hang glider or paraglider prefers a head wind for take off. Zero wind launches are possible. But a tail wind is dangerous If not impossible. So if you are perched on the edge of the top of the valley, ( a typical glider launch site ) as evening begins, the very local breeze dies, then reverses. If you take off in a very narrow ( Less than minute ) time window, you can safely perform a zero wind take off for a sled run down to the valley floor. If the conditions are "just right" as you fly out over the valley, the lifting air mass can lift you with it. A several mile wide mass of very smooth lift. I've been a thousand feet over the ridge in glass smooth air, miles out over the valley, flying hands off, then burning the "free energy" gained in wing overs and steep, speed maneuvers to land before it gets dark. ( to avoid violating FAA rules ) No, I'm not going to admit to Federal Rules Violations. But I know from experience that there are LONG periods of still air that doesn't spin a wind generator, and the only lift is from chimneys. | ||
| Hootowl |
I don’t understand it either. Sodium is cheap and plentiful. Both first family metals. The chemistry can’t that different. | ||
| Hootowl |
https://cen.acs.org/business/inorganic-chemicals/S odium-comes-battery-world/100/i19 | ||
| Aesquire |
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10 900691/Randy-NEANDERTHAL-blame-gene-caused-million -people-die-Covid.html I have "issues" with this sensationalist article. Not going to point by point rebut. Otoh, it's an interesting idea. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10907853/ Google-engineer-claims-new-AI-robot-FEELINGS-Blake -Lemoine-says-LaMDA-device-sentient.html Turing test? Or gullible human? Re: Sodium chemistry batteries. Energy density can be measured in mass or volume. If you have a multicopter drone or a car, mass may be most important. What you have to lift, or push, is a weight problem. Battery weight hugely affects payload ( a very obvious word. Excess lift beyond the empty aircraft weight is what you get Paid for ) and range. ( heavier cars take more power to accelerate ) Volume isn't irrelevant, taking one member's RC hobby as an example, the battery can't be a 2x2 foot cube and still fit in a plane or car model. And while "real" cars have less size constraints, I did notice that the difference in hatch back capacities between a Prius and Prius Prime ( plug in with much bigger battery ) meant that Dad's wheelchair could fit easy in the first, but had to be partially disassembled in the other. More than a vertical foot less "trunk" space. So the Sodium cells theoretically being larger ( in size ) for the same power ( maybe, so far, since they haven't been developed as much ) may be a good choice for a car, a great choice for a fixed ground installation ( like a load leveling power bank ) but not as good for a RC model or full sized airplane. Which isn't a Bad Thing. It's just another choice in the design process. Which is nice, imho. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-electric-car-is- bidens-golden-calf_4531163.html The basic physics says "If you convert from independently fueled vehicles to grid powered vehicles, you Must increase the capabilities of The Grid." It does not matter if the cars and trucks and motorcycles are currently ( pun intended ) powered by gasoline, diesel, wood, or solar panels on their, or your, roof. If you have to plug them in, the infrastructure behind that plug has to be bigger, and more robust. Period, fracking dot. Now, it's true, if you are wealthy, and can afford a big solar array, a wind generator, or a hydroelectric power plant, you don't need to plug into the grid. Good for you. You're an owner of substantial property, almost certainly not in a City, ( unless you're Donald Trump rich ) and have the disposable income to buy expensive stuff. For the rest of the planet, you have to buy power. And while I hear politicians talk about "hardening the infrastructure" and " preventing the next major failure", that hasn't been actual programs visible to the commoners. Yes, we even have a member that has been busy in building more power connectivity and infrastructure, but since the current Occupants @ https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1600-Pennsylvan ia-Ave-NW-Washington-DC-20500/84074482_zpid/ have leaked/announced that the grid will Fail, ( per the standard policy of declaring emergencies they create as someone else's fault and/or a great triumph for their wisdom & an excuse to rule without limits in a State of Emergency ) because of their energy policies, real people have a serious potential for vast areas to not have a functioning transportation system, in the dark, without heating or cooling. You know, like California has increasingly experienced. ( But without the excuse of decades of insane brush/forest management failures ) So, get or maintain your bicycles. That technology, at least, won't be suddenly reverted to 19th century capabilities. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2022/06/heres-the-hyb rid-that-cadillac-hopes-will-win-the-24-hours-of-l e-mans/ Cool. Re: Pessimistic rant above. Since it's the same crew of dishonest people that told us that Donald Trump was a Putin Puppet ( and who fits that label best? ) and the greatest threat to Democracy is election fraud prevention, who announced the prediction that there will be blackouts this summer... Then I could be foolish to believe them. Have a great week. | ||
| Ratbuell |
butbutbut...electricity comes from that outlet in the wall! I know it does, because when I plug in a lamp, or a TV...it just....WORKS. Right? (smh...) | ||
| Aesquire |
You're right! There's power in the magic symbol on that wall socket! Unfortunately, as many Europeans can tell you, their magic symbol has twice the Electricity! For pity's sake, don't tell the Government! If they knew they could double the energy by changing all the sockets!!!... https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2022/06/dem s-want-to-ban-telling-the-truth.php | ||
| Aesquire |
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2022/06/six -major-problems-with-green-transition.php Hoot! Good thing you're not charging your car in Germany, that uses megatons of poor quality coal to make electricity. ( and, occasionally, wind & solar ) How is the juice that runs your car made? My Mom's uses nuclear, hydroelectric, ( mostly Niagara falls ) and natural gas, ( they shut down the coal powered plant decades ago ), with some from garbage. Occasionally wind and solar kicks in a bit, but less than half the time, & not much. Back to Germany. Once upon a time, when there were Battleships, the Germans would test their new ships with British coal. Much cleaner burning anthracite hard stuff with much higher energy per ton. Both ton of coal, and tons of CO2 rich smoke. Better than the soft bituminous stuff mined in Germany. Unfortunately For German ships in WW1&2 English coal wasn't an option for Germany. One nice thing about German coal electric power plants is I've seen sailplane pilots plan cross country flights from power plant to power plant. Farm land can make nice thermals, especially black, freshly plowed fields, but woods generally smother vertical temperature driven lift. A glider pilot plans for sink over woods and lakes. ( And my local terrain has lots of both ) Urban areas generate massive amounts of heat and often rising air. But the Authorities deeply frown on flying a glider over heavily populated areas, and often they lie under airport traffic zones that one is literally forbidden from flying through. For good reason! ( I've scratched for lift and landed out, avoiding controlled airspace ) So... I doubt Hoot's Tesla is as bad as my VW diesel, for CO2 production. Depending on how his electricity is generated. I would buy that a German Tesla is worse. I'm of the OPINION that a hybrid is the best of both worlds for convenience and capabilities. ( between gasoline IC & Electric cars ) I don't know if it's the Worst of both in terms of overall pollution. | ||
| Hootowl |
“How is the juice that runs your car made?” Answered before, but here it is again. Texas runs a web site, powertochoose.org. All residential electricity retailers post their plans there. All you have to do is sort by price and sign up. I sorted by price, and signed up. Retailers also state what percentage of their power is from renewables. This plan happened to be 100% renewable. But, like I’ve said figuratively a thousand times, I don’t care. Most Texas power comes from natural gas, which is just fine. And I am aware that the magnetic field that coerced some electrons into getting me to the store very likely came from a gas fired power plant, the grid being what it is. | ||
| Aesquire |
So, long term stored solar. or newer solar, or hydro, which is also solar. Pretty much anything except Fission is Solar, some steps removed. Uranium & Thorium are interstellar travelers forged in the hearts of Super Novae, and caught in the spinning dust cloud we now call home. So you could argue, Star Power, but not Solar. ( Since our Sun is named Sol ) Really it's rhetorical, since the pundit who wrote the thing above is complaining about the German policy, which is basically ignore reality and count on the Russians to not give a damn about the Green Party Insanity that the KGB blessed Germany with, on purpose. Unfortunately... Vladimir has decided that he must retake the lands lost to his former Empire's rule. AKA the lands his Old Empire Conquered and ruled with an iron fist, and fenced with extra land mines to keep the prisoners from escaping. Feel free to blame a Bush or Clinton or whoever for not working harder to integrate the disintegrating Empire capitol into the EU. And feel even freer to blame the EU, who, while fellow travelers in the Bold Road To Religious Dictatorship, are really the same people who consider Russians as primitive uncultured peons. Like they think of us. but all that is for another thread. i do wonder about the energy cost to make the big aluminum castings Tesla uses vs. the steel sheets used by most car makers. But I'm too thrilled to see the complex and clever parts that I don't care. | ||
| Hootowl |
“Green Party Insanity that the KGB blessed Germany with, on purpose” Ironic, isn’t it? Regarding the casting, it is apparently cheaper overall or they wouldn’t be doing it. Tesla plans to outmanufacture its competitors, not have better tech in the cars. They know their tech advantage will be brief. |
