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EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

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Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems fine as long as they pay to clean up their mess, which means that their costs will be higher which they pass on.

The next time I see a farmer I'll pass along that it is "fine" that he continue growing the food people eat. He will appreciate having permission so to do.

I don't think you understand what I was saying "fine" too.

But people need to pay for the damage they inflict on the world. Nobody is so "special" or snowflake that they get exempted. Farmers are adults, they can be treated like any other adult in our society.

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When gas cars were first around, people carried extra gas around with them. Eventually we built gas stations, but somehow cars still got a toehold even without those gas stations pre-existing. There are very very very few places without electricity in the world. Are there some places where emergency conditions make travel inconvenient or uncertain? Sure, but these rare situations are narrowing daily. If that was the…

>> There are very very very few places without electricity in the world. Today. Right now. This is happening. Not Africa or Antarctica. In Canada. In a national park during a busy long weekend. https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/be-prepared-officials-warn-of-po... " Should the situation worsen, Richard Ireland, Jasper's mayor, recommended residents and visitors to the park ensure their essential electric devices remain full…

Yes that is a story, but what is its relevance to what I am writing?

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#153

I have owned a Tesla, and I leased my wife a Bolt a while back. She's convinced, I'm convinced, but with the lease coming to an end next year we probably will not replace the Bolt with another EV. Why? Prices. I was ready to buy a Mach E, but then Ford raised the price something like 6 grand while simultaneously losing the $7500 tax credit. That effectively bumps the price of the car into a territory I don't think ma…

I suspect you might have been misinformed, as the Mach-E is actually one of the few current vehicles[1] that will be able to keep the $7500 tax credit for the rest of the year, before the new rules around sourcing requirements and income limits kick in on Jan 1st.

[1]: https://www.forbes.com/wheels/news/federal-ev-tax-credits-en...

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#154

I have owned a Tesla, and I leased my wife a Bolt a while back. She's convinced, I'm convinced, but with the lease coming to an end next year we probably will not replace the Bolt with another EV. Why? Prices. I was ready to buy a Mach E, but then Ford raised the price something like 6 grand while simultaneously losing the $7500 tax credit. That effectively bumps the price of the car into a territory I don't think ma…

My Bolt is coming to the end of the lease soon. We're dropping back to a single ICE vehicle because we don't drive that much. I considered:

- keep the Bolt and buy it for $24k + tax. Car is barely worth that and the subsidized chargers I've been using at work are starting to fill up, causing hassles. Current CA grid insufficiency is also not encouraging.

- get a new BEV or PHEV. I don't drive enough to make either of these make economic sense. I can pick up a newer, pre-owned ICE vehicle and save a ton over non-ICE and never spend anywhere close to the difference on gas.

EV drivetrains are fun and I love them but I can't justify the luxury at this point.

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems fine as long as they pay to clean up their mess, which means that their costs will be higher which they pass on.

There are better optimisations for emissions than chasing farmers and miners.

Such as?

I'm generally anti-carbon tax because it's the solution to the problem that is obvious, simple, and wrong. But when there are no other solutions, charging for cleanup is the way to go.

Farmers and miners pay for their costs. They can continue to do so and pass their costs on. Some farmers, at least in the US, we massively subsidize to a ridiculous extent in a make-work program for massive amounts of soy and corn. But this is an economic choice that is relatively recent in the history of the US, and we can decide at any moment to improve the efficiency of the economy by making externalized costs internal.

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only logical choice. Some people particularly in the Midwest and South won’t switch until they absolutely have to, TCO be damned.

You might be surprised. I have some hyper conservative folks in my extended family, and a couple of them have switched to EVs. Definitely goes against their tribal ideology, but money talks. When you drive a lot, it doesn't take much math to make you realize driving a pickup (or any regular ICE car for that matter) is an overpriced way to signal virtue. Just get a flag.

It goes beyond money savings. People actually enjoy their Teslas, even if you don't care about the environment or money savings. You can't beat their acceleration. They are fun cars to drive.

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Bike infrastructure can be used for walking. Please, no more of this. Bicycles should be on their own dedicated right of way, mixing them with cars is dangerous for cyclists, but mixing bikes with pedestrians is dangerous for pedestrians. Multi-use paths are fine for recreation, but they are not transit infrastructure and should not be treated as such.

As both a cyclist and pedestrian, I definitely prefer bikes off the sidewalk. Even conscientious cyclists who call “on your left” or whatever routinely underestimate the necessary reaction time and overestimate how far their voice will carry. Even if they get both of those right, they’ve frequently terrified my pup by just being faster and louder and larger than anything on foot she’s ever met. I’ve had to return hom…

> I don’t feel as strongly about separated bike infrastructure, mainly because my experience with it is that it’s more dangerous than riding in auto lanes, and that it creates an illusion of separation that both heightens that danger and heightens the dangerous attitudes of drivers trying to navigate it.

That's why I specifically said "dedicated infrastructure", painted bicycle gutters are NOT proper bicycle infrastructure either. Bicycles should be at grade with pedestrians, but on dedicated cycling pathways so there's no conflict between the medium-speed traffic from bikes and the low-speed pedestrian traffic (even though they may often run parallel with each other).

Ultimately I call it "bike infrastructure", but really it's better to think about it this way - we have three different speed classes that need dedicated rights of way to make sure everyone is safe.

High speed / automobiles - It's not just cars and trucks, motorcycles and high end electric scooters belong here as well (I don't share space with bikes when I'm going 40MPH on my eScooter, it's unsafe for cyclists and dangerous for me as well - so I take normal travel lanes because I'm going the speed of traffic anyway).

Medium speed / bikes / eBikes / lower end electric scooters / EUCs / etc - Things that have a top speed of 20-30MPH generally speaking. Doesn't need wide lanes, and ideally should have more direct routes with fewer stops to conserve momentum.

Low speed / pedestrians / mobility scooters / etc - Obvious, you're going 5-6MPH max here even if you're out taking a run.

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#158
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you don't mind a super-aerodynamic lightweight three-wheeler, Aptera has a strong commitment to right-to-repair. They're making parts and manuals available to anyone. https://aptera.us/right-to-repair-commitment-feat-rich-rebui... https://cleantechnica.com/2021/11/19/a-recent-aptera-video-g... They also get significantly more miles/kWh than most electrics, so the charging problem's easier.

I’m thinking the problem there isn’t repair, but that it looks like vapor ware. It looks quite a bit like an Elio which took peoples’ money, but never delivered a car.

They're by all accounts currently building out the factory to start (slowly) making cars towards the end of the year. It remains to be seen what quality the car will actually be, given the design constraints it's under and all the problems that come with a first-time carmaker, but it's probably not just vaporware.

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rain isn't really a problem with the appropriate clothing. (Speaking as someone that rides year round for transportation in Wisconsin.) The only problem I've had is downpours can soak your shoes but I just have an extra pair of shoes at work and at home.

Rain is definitely a problem for a vehicle which depends on lateral tilt to turn and which depends on inertia to stay upright. Speaking as someone who has ridden many years round in Seattle, where the roads lean along with the hills even where the hills aren’t that steep. Those turns are a mistake or an unexpected cross vehicle away from a crash on our driest days, but the rain really amplifies that danger.

Rain wouldn't be such a problem if we had dedicated biking infrastructure ala The Netherlands. We need to rethink the design of our cities to move away from this car-dependent box we've put ourselves in, because just adopting EVs isn't enough.

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

speaking of doomsday, I can stock up on fuel with reasonable effort (storage tank, fuel stabilizer). But you can't easily build your own battery farm

Interesting perspective. Another view: solar panels on your roof, using your car battery for your house nighttime needs means that during doomsday your energy intensive lifestyle doesn't have to change at all.

Ah yes, the roof of my building where I'm on a middle floor. I'll start lobbying the board to install solar for just me to use.

The problem with a lot of this is that the more "responsible" you're already living, the less reasonable the next "responsible" thing is to do. Going solar/off grid is only really possible if you live on a lot of land where you're the only resident, which is otherwise generally not recommended. If you live in dense housing, you probably don't have solar, let alone a way to charge an EV. I park my current car 100-500 feet from the nearest outlet that I own. There's essentially no world I could buy an EV and not have to charge it for hours outside of my home.

The efficient future is here, but it's for the rich who did all the garbage NIMBY stuff that made it necessary for everyone else to have to live "efficiently" to make up for their gluttonous use of land/power over the past decades.

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