One of my favorite topics as an engineer. I used to read Popular Science and Science Digest in the 80's and every once in a while there would be a blurb about the electric car and how wonderful they are if we could only get these battery thingies to have comparable capacity to a gasoline motor.
You might consider adding this guy to your blog roll. He is a libertarian oriented baby boomer who writes about cars and has for a long time.
I'm waiting for the first car fire/explosion due to that battery pack. You think I'm joking don't you?
That's already happened with the Tesla - apparently several times. Eric Peters (thanks, Lab Guy, for pointing the readership here towards his blog) covered this a month ago here:
Regarding the environmental cost of making lithium batteries, Bjorn Lomborg came up with that in 2013. More or less, to get 100 mile range with an electric car, you about double the environmental cost of making a car vs. the cost of a gasoline powered vehicle. Now if you're thinking of a Tesla, I'm guessing you go not from 15000 pounds of carbon emissions to 30,000, but rather to about 45000 to 60000.
And given that half of electric power, and almost all nighttime power, is generated using coal, good luck getting an environmental benefit from it. It's really, really ugly. And if we need to use worse sources of lithium than Bolivia to get more lithium, those numbers will probably only get worse.
I blame Trekkies for getting lithium with the hope of powering their spaceships. :^)
I'm waiting for the first car fire/explosion due to that battery pack. You think I'm joking don't you?
ReplyDeleteBTW, isn't that a laptop that you're doing your videos from? Aaron: ''blah, blah, blah... HOLY SHIT!!!!''.
Now picture that being your car. Pleasant dreams...
Somehow, they'll blame "big oil".
ReplyDeleteHilarious. And this doesn't even take into consideration the fact that all those spent batteries are going to be an environmental nightmare.
ReplyDeleteGotta love it when progs step on their own landmines...
Imagine regular cars needed a $5000 transmission replacement every 6-7 years... really eats into those "savings".
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite topics as an engineer. I used to read Popular Science and Science Digest in the 80's and every once in a while there would be a blurb about the electric car and how wonderful they are if we could only get these battery thingies to have comparable capacity to a gasoline motor.
ReplyDeleteYou might consider adding this guy to your blog roll. He is a libertarian oriented baby boomer who writes about cars and has for a long time.
http://ericpetersautos.com/tag/tesla/
I'll bet it takes a lot of energy and toxic waste to make those batteries.
ReplyDeleteYIH11:20 PM
ReplyDeleteI'm waiting for the first car fire/explosion due to that battery pack. You think I'm joking don't you?
That's already happened with the Tesla - apparently several times. Eric Peters (thanks, Lab Guy, for pointing the readership here towards his blog) covered this a month ago here:
http://ericpetersautos.com/2016/08/17/tesla-all-fired-up/
Tesla, the Ford Pinto of electric cars and a lot costlier.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the environmental cost of making lithium batteries, Bjorn Lomborg came up with that in 2013. More or less, to get 100 mile range with an electric car, you about double the environmental cost of making a car vs. the cost of a gasoline powered vehicle. Now if you're thinking of a Tesla, I'm guessing you go not from 15000 pounds of carbon emissions to 30,000, but rather to about 45000 to 60000.
ReplyDeleteHere's the Wall Street Journal article about it.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324128504578346913994914472
And given that half of electric power, and almost all nighttime power, is generated using coal, good luck getting an environmental benefit from it. It's really, really ugly. And if we need to use worse sources of lithium than Bolivia to get more lithium, those numbers will probably only get worse.
I blame Trekkies for getting lithium with the hope of powering their spaceships. :^)