Adventures in an all electric vehicle.

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

How exactly does that reduce the amount of CO2 going into the atmosphere? Replacing fossil fuel with biomass derived fuel?

The synthetic fuel I'm thinking of is the recent innovation which is made from base components...they construct a liquid hydrocarbon fuel from hydrogen (in water) and carbon (from the atmosphere)...it's quite ingenious....plus a lot of electricity (from renewables hopefully).

Sadly it isn't yet industrial scale...does seem to be quite a neat solution given that existing ICE engines can use it I believe.

Stick that synthetic fuel in a PHEV and I reckon it's job done...say 40 mile electric range for clean city use and then zero carbon liquid fuel for long distance.

 

[m_c]

Just a thought, all the poultry farms I work on have mains failure diesel powered generators. How will we get round power cuts without diesel?

Microsoft are already using hydrogen fuel cells at some of their datacentres, so other options already exist.

 

[premmington]

Microsoft are already using hydrogen fuel cells at some of their datacentres, so other options already exist.

Thats interesting!

 

[GRW]

The synthetic fuel I'm thinking of is the recent innovation which is made from base components...they construct a liquid hydrocarbon fuel from hydrogen (in water) and carbon (from the atmosphere)...it's quite ingenious....plus a lot of electricity (from renewables hopefully).

Sadly it isn't yet industrial scale...does seem to be quite a neat solution given that existing ICE engines can use it I believe.

Stick that synthetic fuel in a PHEV and I reckon it's job done...say 40 mile electric range for clean city use and then zero carbon liquid fuel for long distance.

Unfortunately I think that (like most legislation seems to be now - & especially any "initiative" hitched to the "Green" wagon) - its primary purpose is hidden behind the stated one.

An EV takes something like 70+% more raw materials (especially the more limited and hard to extract minerals) to manufacture, with a corresponding hike in "carbon footprint" over its ICE counterpart. So there us a huge deficit that the EV needs to "make up" from the moment it rolls into a showroom.
Then, the sleight of hand Green trick the EV largely pulls off - isn't to be all that Green in use either - because it simply hides its energy & emissions somewhere else where it isn't immediately visible (no tailpipe, see!).

Objectively I cannot see how forcing everyone out of their ICE's into EV's (at least as they are), and for the forseeable without massive improvement & heavy infrastructure investment (more environmental impact as well) actually addresses or achieves anything regarding "saving the planet". In short, as the "Green" initiative it's sold to us & justified as.... it makes no sense......

However, getting people to adopt new more expensive vehicles that cannot be maintained and used practically indefinitely (like older ICE's can be) and killing off / legislating /outlawing any EV alternative...... does guarantee an increased turnover of new vehicles, along of course with the associated Revenue generated in perpetuity.

So, the EV gives the consumer a more complex, controlled, limited, shorter-life, disposable (but not actually recyclable!) Product, that ultimately must INCREASE the amount of vehicles manufactured & sold massively for an equivalent level of use versus an ICE.
That doesn't sound like a "carbon neutral, planet-saving initiative to me.... it sounds like a scam.

Capitalism at its best folks! Our economies and financial structure & society are utterly dependent upon consumerism (the secret is in the name). "Make do & mend" or genuine reductions, cutbacks in consumption by the populace just doesn't raise the tax revenue, fill the coffers, sustain the vast national debt etc etc etc.
The trick that EV's (& many other so-called "green" legislation) tries to pull off (& the success & wide acceptance of such pretty thin fabrications without question or challenge is what's worrying) is to actually INCREASE consumption & INCREASE environmental impact at the same time..... but make it look & feel to the consumer like they are actually helping the environment at the same time.

If it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck, swims like a duck & quacks like a duck - then it's a duck.
(Unless of course, its a Goverment Initiative Green Duck - then its guaranteed to be something else more cynical & sinister entirely )

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I reckon in a few years you'll jump in your EV and the car will ask you to justify why you can't use public transport for your journey before it will even start!

...or you'll have to pay with a card for the miles you want to do

 

[brewdexta]

And it will be like the temple of doom, poison darts and a large stone ball rolling down on you.

The last few posts have been the funniest pessimistic drivel I've read for ages!

 

[bricol]

And it will be like the temple of doom, poison darts and a large stone ball rolling down on you.

The last few posts have been the funniest pessimistic drivel I've read for ages!

I can't decide if I don't think about things enough, don't follow/watch enough conspiracy programs or whether I just take a common sense view on life . . .

 

[500e]

I worry where the electric is coming from to run all these units Cars, Lorry's, Busses, MC, and home heating in houses that were not built to retain heat.
Not to mention aircraft ships trains etc.

No coal /gas stations, wood pellets from the other side of the Atlantic and not as Environmentally friendly as we are led to believe
Discuss

 

[cheb]

I worry where the electric is coming from to run all these units Cars, Lorry's, Busses, MC, and home heating in houses that were not built to retain heat.
Not to mention aircraft ships trains etc.

No coal /gas stations, wood pellets from the other side of the Atlantic and not as Environmentally friendly as we are led to believe
Discuss

Again?
Or againagain?
Or againagainagain?

Repeat ad tedium.

 

[500e]

No real answer then

 

[My Old Landy]

I think these threads make me thankful my life has become simple. I don't worry about this stuff anymore. The world will continue without me so while I am here I might as well enjoy it rather than worry about it. If I get upset about it my blood pressure will rise and I will probably expire. That won't help anyone. If we all end up with EVs then whoopie, if not, we will have to use whatever is available. Moaning or worrying just doesn't help!

 

[cheb]

No real answer then

To what? Your post, or the problem?

 

[500e]

Comes down to the same in the long run.

 

[cheb]

But the problem won't be locked by a mod.

 

[minimutly]

Will the uk being all EV save the planet? No, I think not.
Will the whole world being EV save the planet?? Don't know is my answer, but if it were to happen, there would be some massive holes in the ground I suspect. Ulitimately though, this is the question, if it were to become reallity (is this possible, is there enough leccy in the world?), would (will) global warming be reversed?

 

[DAPPH]

It occurred to me ages ago.... that how long will it be (if it hasn't already) - that the home insurance industry start liadong premiums (or excluding cover/liability for) homes with adjoining garages where the homeowner has an EV or Hybrid vehicle?
Insurer's never miss a trick.

Massive EV Battery advances have taken place including temperature sensing in cells and making them go open circuit if the temp exceeds the safety level . Perhaps the insurance actuaries already know this .. we have just renewed the house insurance . £ 6 more than last year . No questions about either of our EV's or the charging set up ( so far )

 

[DAPPH]

Will the uk being all EV save the planet? No, I think not.
Will the whole world being EV save the planet?? Don't know is my answer, but if it were to happen, there would be some massive holes in the ground I suspect. Ulitimately though, this is the question, if it were to become reallity (is this possible, is there enough leccy in the world?), would (will) global warming be reversed?

Does lithium have to be deep hole excavated ? I under stood it is derived from salt water containing it and can be pumped to the surface from bore holes then evaporated off for treatment , or from natural salt pan deposits .

 

[DAPPH]

All this blaming the government of the day for the twisty difficult roads is a bit of a red herring . Our roads system developed as tracks through scrubland and around bogs & marshes etc. thousands of years ago , people built their housing along these roads for many reasons .

We do have a fair few decent roads not all are rubbish ..... just the drivers ?

The nice strait roads in Holland , Germany etc. usually came about as a result of regeneration from land drainage and prewar plans by Hitler & postwar developments . . That said in some of the more mountainous regions roads s have to follow the geography and access over rocks & rivers that were not divertible . One on European driving holiday towing the shed we were diverted off a road that had had 10 km of land slide , down onto a bulldozed 2 inch gravel river bed where there was a good 10 inches of water, a strange experience watching fish in the water & well worth it . Every now and then we had to follow the markers past girt big house sized boulders .

I recall the old saying " The old English drunkard and his rolling road made Great Britain what it is to day " as a criticism in a book I read donkey's years ago

 

[minimutly]

All this blaming the government of the day for the twisty difficult roads is a bit of a red herring . Our roads system developed as tracks through scrubland and around bogs & marshes etc. thousands of years ago , people built their housing along these roads for many reasons .

We do have a fair few decent roads not all are rubbish ..... just the drivers ?

The nice strait roads in Holland , Germany etc. usually came about as a result of regeneration from land drainage and prewar plans by Hitler & postwar developments . . That said in some of the more mountainous regions roads s have to follow the geography and access over rocks & rivers that were not divertible . One on European driving holiday towing the shed we were diverted off a road that had had 10 km of land slide , down onto a bulldozed 2 inch gravel river bed where there was a good 10 inches of water, a strange experience watching fish in the water & well worth it . Every now and then we had to follow the markers past girt big house sized boulders .

I recall the old saying " The old English drunkard and his rolling road made Great Britain what it is to day " as a criticism in a book I read donkey's years ago

Absolutely correct. Except that we are still building roads with blind bends, dips etc. And where we aren’t, we then plant trees to make sure someone gets killed there in 20 yrs or so...
I have made myself a promise - when I retire I will be out at night on my black motorbike, with a hammer and a bag of copper nails, each night, poisoning every tree that our useless effing councillors and road planners have planted along our A roads - kill each and every one...

 

[GRW]

Just a thought, all the poultry farms I work on have mains failure diesel powered generators. How will we get round power cuts without diesel?

Not an issue for a very long time I suspect. The EV-Tractor is I think not really viable.

While the UK might cope better with EV's than many countries as its a small rock with a lot of infrastructure - much larger nations with big rural expanses & a lot less infrastructure (Esp. Poorer countries) aren't going to widely adopt the EV (at least not if/until they get a lot closer to the ICE for ease of use, AND very affordable).