If they have good batteries and enough nuclear power, charging vehicles will take care of extra electricity produced during nights.
Win-win
Electric Buses Are Hurting the Oil Industry
221–230 of 342 posts
Re: Electric Buses Are Hurting the Oil Industry
#222Earlier quoted context omitted.
> In principle, the US government represents the will of the people. Unfortunately that's not really encoded in how you guys and gals do elections. From gerrymandering, to the stale two-horse race for party-approved candidates, to the emphasis on a single person (the "President") with roman senate undertones as opposed to collaborating MPs (and where are the coalition governments?), to legal lobbying, to the undue ro…
On the other hand, this probably allowed the US to become the superpower it is. I feel the US is the closest example in the modern world to capitalism unchecked - with both the pros and cons that entails.
>On the other hand, this probably allowed the US to become the superpower it is.
Corellation != causation.
I'd say the exhaustion of Europe in WWI and WWII (which the US only participated with its military, whereas the European citizenry had much more direct costs across the whole population (occupation, bombings, ethnic cleansing, brain drain, etc), the post-war influx of European scientists (half of the scientific developments in post-WWII US are from Jewish, German, and other immigrants), the collapse of European colonialism, and an internal 300+ million strong market to try stuff in, plus a strong military to force its market interests globally, were more of a factor in that.
Case in point, China is becoming "the superpower it is" without following the same model as the US of "unchecked capitalism", if anything the opposite.
>I feel the US is the closest example in the modern world to capitalism unchecked - with both the pros and cons that entails.
What pros? If anything, unchecked capitalism tends to also destroy the free market and democracy -- as unchecked capitalists gain political and social power over their puny fellow citizens and lesser businesses.
Re: Electric Buses Are Hurting the Oil Industry
#223Earlier quoted context omitted.
The engine noises I heard from the BMW i8 were ridiculous - not that they were bad but just because it seems so childish. It's like you're a 5-year-old sat on a chair making BROOM! BROOM! noises. An example is on this YouTube video [0]. First you can hear the electric acceleration, then the driver then slows down and switches on the engine noise. It even simulates the noise of gear changes... [0]: https://youtu.be/ye…
I think that sound is pretty cool! It also works as some kind of feedback.
You already do get a lower level of feedback from the noise of the electic motor. It doesn't make much noise but it does change in pitch as you go faster. Plus you have the speedometer and the colour of the dashboard changes colour I think as you speed up.
Re: Electric Buses Are Hurting the Oil Industry
#224Earlier quoted context omitted.
On the other hand, this probably allowed the US to become the superpower it is. I feel the US is the closest example in the modern world to capitalism unchecked - with both the pros and cons that entails.
>> I feel the US is the closest example in the modern world to capitalism unchecked - with both the pros and cons that entails. Please enlighten me which parts of the 'pros of capitalism' I'm missing out on as a non-US citizen, because I definitely don't see many, if any at all.
I guess it would be paying $1000 for a $50 medical procedure, because the unchecked health industry wants to make a profit, and can just ramp prices, enforce its dictums, and pay politicians uncheckedly.
Re: Electric Buses Are Hurting the Oil Industry
#225But, how are they making electricity? Coal?
Decoupling transport traction from point-of-use fuel source, and centralising what emissions do remain, are both net gains. There is some net total efficiency improvement in going from fuel-based to electric traction, even with coal-fired generation.
All told, the process moves toward fossil-free energy by multiple mechanisms.
Re: Electric Buses Are Hurting the Oil Industry
#226I have been of the opinion that the US government should have not pushed EV adoption by subsidizing moving all school buses to EV. The reasons are many but most important is having children used to the idea of EV as a good means for local travel, not having all those diesel buses spewing fumes on to people while loading and unloading at schools, and finally keeping school systems from financial issues incurred by ris…
Extraneous "not"?
"...should have not pushed EV adoption..."
Re: Electric Buses Are Hurting the Oil Industry
#227Earlier quoted context omitted.
> the US has stalled or moved backward, at least the Federal level. It has at the individual level too for most individuals. Try to get someone to consider flying less. Look at the size of vehicles on the road. How much meat we eat. Air conditioning to point of needing sweaters in the summer and heating to wearing shorts in the winter. All personal choices anyone can make, no legislation necessary. We can blame fossi…
I work in a bank. They keep it so cold inside in the summer that employees are forced to have space heaters in their offices to keep from shivering all day. All in hopes that a customer who comes in from the outside heat will feel comfortable for the less than 5 minutes that they are inside. The amount of waste is unreal and disgusting. I was laughed at the other day by a coworker because I commented on how much ener…
As long as the energy wasted is clean energy, I guess it should be fine? The sun is shining on Earth at all times and most of the energy is wasted.
Re: Electric Buses Are Hurting the Oil Industry
#228Earlier quoted context omitted.
While these are personal choices, there must be some incentive. If increased electricity bill from abusing "Air conditioning to point of needing sweaters in the summer and heating to wearing shorts in the winter" compared to conservative temperatures boils down to single digit percentage values (as non-USian I don't know what those values are) of all annual home upkeep expenses, it is difficult to rationalize saving.
> there must be some incentive My experience and observation say otherwise. I have no incentive not to litter when I know no one will fine me. Still I get up and walk trash to garbage cans. Even with all the litter around, most people still walk trash to garbage cans instead of littering. Most people don't shoplift even when they know they wouldn't get caught. Most people stop at red lights in the middle of the night…
Over many years, laws shape culture though.
With all problematic behaviours, citizens fall into three groups: 1) those who refrain out of a healthy sense of personal responsibility; 3) those who persist out of a pathological understanding of personal freedom, and then 2) those who refrain only because they fear personal consequences (ostracism, fines, jail time).
My suspicion is that a well-written, well-hated law can push a healthy chunk of people from pompous group 3 into reluctant group 2. As the next generation sees less of the problematic behaviour growing up, group 3 shrinks smaller and smaller over time.
That's how progressives ended slavery, got women to vote, made gay marriage mainstream, banned public smoking, and how we are now reining in the war on drugs; it's not clear why it shouldn't work to address energy decadence and meat overconsumption.
Re: Electric Buses Are Hurting the Oil Industry
#229Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not all central planning mean same end result. US gov did embrace suburban sprawl. Bottom-up planning example would be post-USSR where people converted community gardens into suburbs on their own. Without any central planning or viable infrastructure.
> US gov did embrace suburban sprawl. Yeah but they didn't directly design cities the way a top-down developer would do. They are some planned communities in US. I live next to one, and it is a different feel to it definitely. But it is not a common thing at all. At the federal level there are tax incentives and credits and subsidies and those affect everything but it is still very much a local "maximize my profit" k…
You say the planned community has a certain feel, you are swimming in an ocean of zoning.
Re: Electric Buses Are Hurting the Oil Industry
#230Earlier quoted context omitted.
While these are personal choices, there must be some incentive. If increased electricity bill from abusing "Air conditioning to point of needing sweaters in the summer and heating to wearing shorts in the winter" compared to conservative temperatures boils down to single digit percentage values (as non-USian I don't know what those values are) of all annual home upkeep expenses, it is difficult to rationalize saving.
And somewhat useless. Changing the temperature from 72 to 75 in my well-insulated house does take off a few kWh. But it seems a bit meaningless when the shop down the road is trying to get more people to come in by setting their thermostat at a chilly 65 and leaving the door open all day. Likewise in spending thousands to upgrade from an average 25 mpg car to a 35+ mpg car, only to drive down the road alongside coal-…
Just because others aren't doing anything, doesn't mean you shouldn't. Every bit helps, and unless there is a major shift in public opinion, or the government steps in, businesses will not change their behavior, i.e. doing what improves their bottom line.