I wish Leon Musk would have just come up with SpaceX. Buying an electric car which requires a 1000 lbs battery consisting of cobalt, much of it mined at the lower level of the supply chain in the Peoples Republic of the Congo, is more than a point of interest. It’s like buying a cotton shirt with slave labor which originated in the southern United States in the middle of the 19th century. Another irony is these huge batteries need a lot of graphite. Guess how we get that? It only comes in volume from coal mines. These are just a couple inconvenient facts you don’t hear in the main stream media. A modern internal combustion engine (ICE) when it’s entire resource cycle is considered, is much easier on the environment and with much less CO2 emissions than an electronic vehicle (EV). About the only thing coming out of a modern day ICE car is CO2. And you can recycle most of an ICE car when done with it, but the 1000 lbs battery can’t currently be economically recycled. Where do those leeching toxic things go? EVs, like wind turbines and solar panels are, from a physics stand point, a dead end, a long expensive detour to to the end of a cul-de-sac. The green wall. And just another point; CO2 is not a poison, allowing the marketplace to move to more dense energies coal - natural gas - nuclear, will emit far less CO2 than forcing the use of renewables, and forcing people people to use or purchase EVs. Wind turbines, solar panels, and electric cars will probably go down as the biggest boondoggles of the 21st., century. The math does not work.
Amen, Brother! To say absolutely nothing about the totalitarian government we have forcing technologies down our throats way before their time, from "renewables", to light bulbs, to appliances that don't work, to elections that are corrupt. What say we take our country back?
My husband rented one in Texas, got stranded because he couldn’t get to a charger. Most tow companies won’t tow them because they get damaged so easily. He missed meeting while he spent days trying to get picked up. It was a nightmare. He used to always comment on how cool they were when we passed one in our gas powered oversized SUV, not any more, silence would be golden if only I could stop laughing when that happens.
I've driven an EV almost every day for the last 10 years: two leases and one owned outright. They are great commuter cars, since you know exactly where you are going and how far the battery will take you. With my current EV I can make a 250-mile round trip on a single charge, but this takes real planning. As an engineer (and private pilot-in-training) I'm comfortable with that level of planning; but I wouldn't recommend (for example) my wife make that trip.
The convenience of not having to regularly go to the gas station is great. And when electricity prices were around 15 ¢/kWh, the EV was quite a bit cheaper to drive than our gas-powered car. Now that my electric rate in California has gone up to 35 ¢/kWh, that benefit is becoming less compelling (even with the higher gas prices). And that points out part of the problem with EVs: I have zero options as to where I get my electricity from. California is shutting down the last of its nuclear reactors, which almost guarantees more scarcity and even higher prices. At least with gas, there is some nominal competition.
Another question is battery lifetime. My EV just had a factory recall so I ended up incidentally with a brand-new battery; but time will tell how long it holds up. As with any new technology, there's a bit of uncertainty (which I'm willing to tolerate).
There's also the question of resale value-- which drops much more precipitously with EVs. This also doesn't really bother me as I'm not planning on selling anytime soon.
Up until recently I really liked EVs and was willing to play along while the technology and the industry settled down. The one thing that has recently started turning me against EVs are all the bans and mandates that appeared out of nowhere. No new gas-powered cars allowed in 2030, everyone has to get an EV, etc. etc. It's clear to anybody that the true purpose of these mandates isn't really to "save the environment"; which means there is some ulterior motive that is driving this. The mandates have got me very worried that EVs are ultimately NOT going to be our my best interest.
So my wife continues drives her gas-powered car; and I think having that available to the family is essential. I would not rely on an EV as the sole transportation option; and I'm very seriously reconsidering whether my next vehicle will be an EV.
Shouldn't really be considered, at least outside of the free market, until improvements are made to the completely mobile power source. And who says that electricity is the best way to do that?
I wish Leon Musk would have just come up with SpaceX. Buying an electric car which requires a 1000 lbs battery consisting of cobalt, much of it mined at the lower level of the supply chain in the Peoples Republic of the Congo, is more than a point of interest. It’s like buying a cotton shirt with slave labor which originated in the southern United States in the middle of the 19th century. Another irony is these huge batteries need a lot of graphite. Guess how we get that? It only comes in volume from coal mines. These are just a couple inconvenient facts you don’t hear in the main stream media. A modern internal combustion engine (ICE) when it’s entire resource cycle is considered, is much easier on the environment and with much less CO2 emissions than an electronic vehicle (EV). About the only thing coming out of a modern day ICE car is CO2. And you can recycle most of an ICE car when done with it, but the 1000 lbs battery can’t currently be economically recycled. Where do those leeching toxic things go? EVs, like wind turbines and solar panels are, from a physics stand point, a dead end, a long expensive detour to to the end of a cul-de-sac. The green wall. And just another point; CO2 is not a poison, allowing the marketplace to move to more dense energies coal - natural gas - nuclear, will emit far less CO2 than forcing the use of renewables, and forcing people people to use or purchase EVs. Wind turbines, solar panels, and electric cars will probably go down as the biggest boondoggles of the 21st., century. The math does not work.
Totally agree. Well said. Thank you!
Amen, Brother! To say absolutely nothing about the totalitarian government we have forcing technologies down our throats way before their time, from "renewables", to light bulbs, to appliances that don't work, to elections that are corrupt. What say we take our country back?
My husband rented one in Texas, got stranded because he couldn’t get to a charger. Most tow companies won’t tow them because they get damaged so easily. He missed meeting while he spent days trying to get picked up. It was a nightmare. He used to always comment on how cool they were when we passed one in our gas powered oversized SUV, not any more, silence would be golden if only I could stop laughing when that happens.
I've driven an EV almost every day for the last 10 years: two leases and one owned outright. They are great commuter cars, since you know exactly where you are going and how far the battery will take you. With my current EV I can make a 250-mile round trip on a single charge, but this takes real planning. As an engineer (and private pilot-in-training) I'm comfortable with that level of planning; but I wouldn't recommend (for example) my wife make that trip.
The convenience of not having to regularly go to the gas station is great. And when electricity prices were around 15 ¢/kWh, the EV was quite a bit cheaper to drive than our gas-powered car. Now that my electric rate in California has gone up to 35 ¢/kWh, that benefit is becoming less compelling (even with the higher gas prices). And that points out part of the problem with EVs: I have zero options as to where I get my electricity from. California is shutting down the last of its nuclear reactors, which almost guarantees more scarcity and even higher prices. At least with gas, there is some nominal competition.
Another question is battery lifetime. My EV just had a factory recall so I ended up incidentally with a brand-new battery; but time will tell how long it holds up. As with any new technology, there's a bit of uncertainty (which I'm willing to tolerate).
There's also the question of resale value-- which drops much more precipitously with EVs. This also doesn't really bother me as I'm not planning on selling anytime soon.
Up until recently I really liked EVs and was willing to play along while the technology and the industry settled down. The one thing that has recently started turning me against EVs are all the bans and mandates that appeared out of nowhere. No new gas-powered cars allowed in 2030, everyone has to get an EV, etc. etc. It's clear to anybody that the true purpose of these mandates isn't really to "save the environment"; which means there is some ulterior motive that is driving this. The mandates have got me very worried that EVs are ultimately NOT going to be our my best interest.
So my wife continues drives her gas-powered car; and I think having that available to the family is essential. I would not rely on an EV as the sole transportation option; and I'm very seriously reconsidering whether my next vehicle will be an EV.
I do Plan to RENT an EV
BUT EV issues bar one from buying should be:
Battery fires
Range
Insurance
Maintenace
Replace battery units
Cant use in Winter
NO AAA Road service
No National charging network
Best bet is EV for Local use around home
NOT Long trips
Need Nuclear for energy alone
EVs are NOT good for the environment. That is a complete lie and fabrication. I'm surprised to see you endorse it.
Shouldn't really be considered, at least outside of the free market, until improvements are made to the completely mobile power source. And who says that electricity is the best way to do that?