Are EVs the way forward?

[The Flying Scotsman]

Does anyone really believe that electric vehicles are the way forward?
As it stands you couldn’t give me one for free. Let alone fork out £40k+ for one.
Apparently there’s only a handful of companies in the UK will insure them.
They are also the reason everyone’s insurance has gone through the roof.
They like to go on fire and the slightest bump they are written off as they can’t guarantee the battery is safe after.
Thats all on top of the infrastructure simply not being in place to make them viable.
The fact the mining for the rare materials used in their construction makes their carbon footprints larger than our dirty diesel vans just seems to be lost on the woke brigade buying them.

 

[Bav]

Does anyone really believe that electric vehicles are the way forward?
As it stands you couldn’t give me one for free. Let alone fork out £40k+ for one.
Apparently there’s only a handful of companies in the UK will insure them.
They are also the reason everyone’s insurance has gone through the roof.
They like to go on fire and the slightest bump they are written off as they can’t guarantee the battery is safe after.
Thats all on top of the infrastructure simply not being in place to make them viable.
The fact the mining for the rare materials used in their construction makes their carbon footprints larger than our dirty diesel vans just seems to be lost on the woke brigade buying them.

It doesn't even matter about the lack of an adequate charging infrastructure - if we could magically conjure that up tomorrow, there's still no way we'd have the power-generation capacity to supply it... and that's before we go all-in on the renewables-only madness.

Going all-EV and all-renewables is a clear existential threat to western (so-called) democracies.

 

[Scruffy]

Does anyone really believe that electric vehicles are the way forward?
As it stands you couldn’t give me one for free. Let alone fork out £40k+ for one.
Apparently there’s only a handful of companies in the UK will insure them.
They are also the reason everyone’s insurance has gone through the roof.
They like to go on fire and the slightest bump they are written off as they can’t guarantee the battery is safe after.
Thats all on top of the infrastructure simply not being in place to make them viable.
The fact the mining for the rare materials used in their construction makes their carbon footprints larger than our dirty diesel vans just seems to be lost on the woke brigade buying them.

Do you want some tin foil for your hat?

Yes, Ev's aren't the answer, but we can't keep on burning fossil fuels and expect Mother Earth, and our privileged way of life to continue without some kick back.

 

[The Flying Scotsman]

Do you want some tin foil for your hat?

Yes, Ev's aren't the answer, but we can't keep on burning fossil fuels and expect Mother Earth, and our privileged way of life to continue without some kick back.

If you actually look at the science this whole movement towards reducing our CO2 levels just doesn’t add up.
If you look at the UKs whole CO2’s output and compare that to the amount of CO2 given off by a volcano naturally it becomes apparent our CO2 output is inconsequential.
These many active volcanos have been spewing out CO2 for a millennia.
But of course we’ve ruined the earth in 150 years by burning coal ?

 

[Bav]

Do you want some tin foil for your hat?

Harsh! Some hyperbole, maybe, but hardly conspiratorial stuff from @The Flying Scotsman.

 

[The Flying Scotsman]

Harsh! Some hyperbole, maybe, but hardly conspiratorial stuff from @The Flying Scotsman.

It’s funny how anyone who goes about with their own eyes open and makes their own decisions on what’s going on as opposed to the sheeple who blindly lap up what they are spoon fed immediately gets assigned a tin foil hat.

 

[Bav]

It’s funny how anyone who goes about with their own eyes open and makes their own decisions on what’s going on as opposed to the sheeple who blindly lap up what they are spoon fed immediately gets assigned a tin foil hat.

It's a conspiracy to silence dissent...

Of course, I jest, and we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that you and @Scruffy (and I) agree with your substantive point that EVs aren't the answer.

 

[Sackmycook]

I disagree. EV's are the answer just not at the current offerings and prices....

 

[Bav]

I disagree. EV's are the answer just not at the current offerings and prices....

They're part of the answer, depending on your circumstances and use case.

I speculate that hybrids will feature heavily in the ultimate answer (if only for emission-free driving in urban environments), but full EV for everyone, everywhere, all the time, is not the answer.

 

[dubber36]

I don't really care what the future of propulsion is. I'll be dead long before all the diesel runs out.

 

[z1ts]

I'll be dead long before all the diesel runs out.

The funny thing is, that everyone who posts on this forum is almost certainly going to be dead before crude oil runs out!!!!

 

[z1ts]

I speculate that hybrids will feature heavily in the ultimate answer

Conversely I speculate that Hydrogen will feature heavily in the ultimate answer

(Wonder if either of us will be around to see our respective speculations be proved right or wrong!!!)

 

[Bav]

Conversely I speculate that Hydrogen will feature heavily in the ultimate answer

(Wonder if either of us will be around to see our respective speculations be proved right or wrong!!!)

I agree re hydrogen. My speculation is based on a mix of solutions - horses for courses.

The ultimate panacea to humanity's energy problems is nuclear fusion. The irony is that the trillions being wasted on renewables and the EV-only route is detracting from R&D in fusion.

 

[drinfinity]

Maybe we need a separate thread on energy sources.

I once thought H2 would be the answer, but I don’t think it is, based on the data.

Electricity generation in the UK is pulling twice the power from renewables compared to fossil fuels. Those of us that like the charts on the Renogy app can look at the National Grid version live, here. National Grid: Live

This proportion is increasing, and the power delivery infrastructure is being built.

Putting this into battery EVs is the most efficient way to turn that energy into motive power.

Using Hydrogen is interesting as it could have a high power density at point of use, which is most critical in aircraft. However, if use use electricity to generate it, losses in production and the engine make it much less efficient and more expensive than battery EV. If you make it by steam stripping hydrocarbons, that’s an even less efficient way to turn carbon into power, as you still have to deal with the CO2.

Much more details from actual experts (rather than me as a van driving chemist) https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(24)00341-6

 

[The Flying Scotsman]

The funny thing is, that everyone who posts on this forum is almost certainly going to be dead before crude oil runs out!!!!

The thing is is that oil renews itself.
So it will never really run out.

 

[The Flying Scotsman]

I agree re hydrogen. My speculation is based on a mix of solutions - horses for courses.

The ultimate panacea to humanity's energy problems is nuclear fusion. The irony is that the trillions being wasted on renewables and the EV-only route is detracting from R&D in fusion.

There been a couple of different scientists who have designed power stations that sit on top of volcanoes
3 of these stations positioned on top of volcanoes around the world is enough to power the whole world for free indefinitely.
Providing the whole world with free electricity is the only way we can stop countries polluting the environment.
But there’s no money to be made in that. So that’s not happening.
Also there’s been 2 other different people who have invented engines that run on water. Any water pond water dirty water they ran on any water at all.
But of course there’s no money to be made in that and oil would be worthless so that was swept under the carpet also and the guys who invented these engines disappeared.
Greed will always prevent this world’s progress.

 

[Sasquatch]

There is one teensy weensy problem with building things on top of active volcanoes though...

 

[Bav]

There been a couple of different scientists who have designed power stations that sit on top of volcanoes
3 of these stations positioned on top of volcanoes around the world is enough to power the whole world for free indefinitely.
Providing the whole world with free electricity is the only way we can stop countries polluting the environment.
But there’s no money to be made in that. So that’s not happening.
Also there’s been 2 other different people who have invented engines that run on water. Any water pond water dirty water they ran on any water at all.
But of course there’s no money to be made in that and oil would be worthless so that was swept under the carpet also and the guys who invented these engines disappeared.
Greed will always prevent this world’s progress.

Nuclear fusion has to be the aim though. With an inexhaustible fuel source and the most harmful 'emission' being a radioactive hydrogen isotope with a half-life of a few years, it will solve all of humanity's energy issues, both here on planet Earth and wherever else in the cosmos we choose to explore and colonise.

 

[RobertO2023]

The thread has gone off at a tangent!! What is the world’s most valuable commodity? Water - the elixir off life.

 

[Bav]

The thread has gone off at a tangent!!

Resolved - hopefully to everyone's satisfaction.