Oil is dead

[AJC]

[MrIcky]

30 seconds into that video blog he said he was bat-shit crazy. No reason for me to waste 6+ minutes on anyone bat-shit crazy so I stopped watching.

I don't mean to be disrespectful, but is this supposed to be something I take seriously or is it supposed to be a joke? If it's supposed to be informative then link the source material or at least a recap from semi-respectable publication instead of some guy doing a video-blog from a basement.

[AJC]

The point is that we have the technology now to mass produce electric cars that will serve most peoples needs and what is the delay?

[FenwickHockey65]

Did you take a look at your last thread?

[MrIcky]

Originally Posted by AJC

The point is that we have the technology now to mass produce electric cars that will serve most peoples needs and what is the delay?

First of all, there have been lots of breakthroughs recently in battery technology (not surprising since money is being thrown at battery technology like crazy). However breakthroughs and readiness to 'mass produce' are not the same.

So the batteries that are probably effective enough to go pure electric are still expensive, large, and heavy (but that is improving all the time).

Secondly, even though the batteries are better now than ever, the recharge times still aren't good enough to satisfy most Americans. Although some cars are talking about 90% charges in just a couple of hours, if you intend to recharge anywhere other than home that means infrastructure that is common, fast (220-250 voltage conveniently located), and entertaining enough that you don't mind leaving your car plugged in while you go goof around for an hour or 2.

Right now, battery technology is good enough for a pure city car (meaning you still have to have a gas car for when you intend to leave town). This means that people have to be able to afford to not only own, but store and insure 'extra' cars in the worst most expensive areas to store and insure cars-> Cities.

I don't think you've thought this through. Although I think it's clear that the Government is pushing an electric transportation economy in the future, I think it would be clear to ANY observer that it isn't there yet. My crystal ball says electric is truly viable alternative in 2020.

[patriotpa]

Originally Posted by MrIcky

First of all, there have been lots of breakthroughs recently in battery technology (not surprising since money is being thrown at battery technology like crazy). However breakthroughs and readiness to 'mass produce' are not the same.

So the batteries that are probably effective enough to go pure electric are still expensive, large, and heavy (but that is improving all the time).

Secondly, even though the batteries are better now than ever, the recharge times still aren't good enough to satisfy most Americans. Although some cars are talking about 90% charges in just a couple of hours, if you intend to recharge anywhere other than home that means infrastructure that is common, fast (220-250 voltage conveniently located), and entertaining enough that you don't mind leaving your car plugged in while you go goof around for an hour or 2.

Right now, battery technology is good enough for a pure city car (meaning you still have to have a gas car for when you intend to leave town). This means that people have to be able to afford to not only own, but store and insure 'extra' cars in the worst most expensive areas to store and insure cars-> Cities.

I don't think you've thought this through. Although I think it's clear that the Government is pushing an electric transportation economy in the future, I think it would be clear to ANY observer that it isn't there yet. My crystal ball says electric is truly viable alternative in 2020.

I'll bet you're pretty close on your time estimate. Storage cell technology is the roadblock here. We don't have density high enough yet, and recharge time will remain an issue. Charge too fast on an exotic power cell and BOOM! Same thing with discharge. Too high a discharge rate and BOOM! All complete with nasty, highly lethal fumes and a fire that water won't quench, but will intensify. The company I work for deals with state of the art power cells for our products, and we have a few engineers who specialize in power systems. They have told me there needs to be a quantum leap in powercell technology.

[Captain Awesome]

Originally Posted by AJC

The point is that we have the technology now to mass produce electric cars that will serve most peoples needs and what is the delay?

AWESOME NEWS!

Now all we need is a technology that can mass produce electricity without burning fossil fuels.

Oh wait... we already have that but nobody wants to build the reactors.

Nevermind. Back to Oil and Coal!

[Super83Z]

Originally Posted by Captain Awesome

AWESOME NEWS!

Now all we need is a technology that can mass produce electricity without burning fossil fuels.

Oh wait... we already have that but nobody wants to build the reactors.

Nevermind. Back to Oil and Coal!

Yea the greenies never factor things in. They think electricity is made by magic and wind.

[Rallysport]

Originally Posted by Super83Z

Yea the greenies never factor things in. They think electricity is made by magic and wind.

good one!

[SleepWarz]

water, wind and solar power could sustain the planet. But everyone is too freakin cheap and would rather waste their money on garbage like liquor.

[AJC]

Originally Posted by Captain Awesome

AWESOME NEWS!

Now all we need is a technology that can mass produce electricity without burning fossil fuels.

Oh wait... we already have that but nobody wants to build the reactors.

Nevermind. Back to Oil and Coal!

Yes we currently do have the technology including the reactors + solar, wind and others but the US still wants to make the foreign oil countries rich "who hate us". When is the US going to wake up and be a leader again??

[UCF w00t]

Originally Posted by SleepWarz

water, wind and solar power could sustain the planet. But everyone is too freakin cheap and would rather waste their money on garbage like liquor.

Oh now it's on like Donkey Kong. You better watch your tone when discussing liquor......

[MrIcky]

Originally Posted by SleepWarz

water, wind and solar power could sustain the planet. But everyone is too freakin cheap and would rather waste their money on garbage like liquor.

Have you actually seen a major wind or solar power installation? This always pops out, but unless you've actually seen one you have no idea what a blight they are on the natural landscape. Acre upon acre of strut towers soaring into the sky or focusing panels and a huge phallic tower.

If by water you mean hydroelectric? Kills the salmon, dams are going away-not being put in. If by water you mean tidal? possibilities exist, expect outrage from anyone having to live near it.

If by water you mean fuel cells, it takes as much power to provide the hydrogen as you get out of the system. A fuel cell is nothing more than an open battery which produces electricity by consuming a reactant. All of the reactants take energy to produce, including Hydrogen. Although Hydrogen produces clean electricity- you have to either use electricity to get your hydrogen -OR- you use a fuel processor, which is much more efficient but it uses fossil fuels and produces Carbon Dioxide as a gas.

Here are the absolute facts as of 2009:

Nuclear, Natural Gas, and Hydroelectric are the 3 cheapest most efficient ways to get electricity. All 3 are now starting to be considered evil. So what's left is expensive and inefficient. IMHO wind power is pollution too, it's the ruination of thousands of acres of land to power hundreds of acres of city.

Saying that there is enough energy in Water, Solar, and Wind is meaningless without a plan to get it. There is enough ambient energy caused by the constant motion of molecules to power everything too, but I can't get to it so it doesn't matter. So hey, you could just let people like me do your research for you or you could do some research yourself and come back with something better than telling us we waste our money on alchohol.

[MrIcky]

Originally Posted by AJC

Yes we currently do have the technology including the reactors + solar, wind and others but the US still wants to make the foreign oil countries rich "who hate us". When is the US going to wake up and be a leader again??

Part Deux (explained yet again): Top trading partner for oil? Canada. By a lot.

Natural gas is PLENTIFUL and almost directly ready for burning with minimal processing. Top suppliers? Canada and the US. Greenies don't want that either- even though natural gas burns much cleaner than oil.