Vic
Elite Member
- Jun 12, 2001
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Originally posted by: Zebo
Originally posted by: Vic
Originally posted by: Queasy
Originally posted by: Genx87
Not sure what a long term solution is. Possible electric but I think Hybrids are a good cross over technology for the next few decades.
The Volt looks like a good concept. 40-60 miles on battery then a gas engine fires up for anything longer. That way you can get longevity out of the car if you need it while being able to drive around the city without expending any gasoline.
Using Hybrids as cross-overs will work even better when we start seeing plug-in Hybrids.
Agreed. The next generation after plug-in hybrids will be primarily powered by the electric motor, with only a small displacement (~600cc) ICE to keep the batteries charged up during longer trips.
These are very close to reality. Once the battery tech is finally there, EV will take off like an explosion. Not just for environmental or oil cost reasons, but because EV is quite frankly superior to ICE in every way.
You think oil is in short supply that's nothing compared peak uranium to make the energy and lithium to carry it. Then there is the small matter of building 10,000 Nuclear power plants to get the energy we get from oil. And wind, hydro and solar covering the earth is not a physical option to yield 10 terawatts of power.
EV = fad & for rich and famous.
WTF? Where do you get your information? Talk about FUD.
We don't need 10,000 nuclear power plants, nor was I proposing that we completely wean ourselves off fossil fuels. The primary argument for EV's is that power plants and electric motors are very efficient while the ICE in your car is not. We're talking several orders more efficient, where a typical EV can get the fossil fuel equivalent of ~150 mpg.
The only reason EV is a "fad & for rich and famous" right now is because the technology is still lacking and very expensive. But so were ICE cars once too, with the similar arguments used against them then as you're using against EV now.
Oh, and BTW, the earth constantly receives 174 petawatts (174,000 terawatts) from the sun at all times. In fact, the sun already provides ALL of the energy on earth except for volcanic and geothermal. Fossil fuels themselves are just stored sunshine. Getting that 10 TW solely from solar power (which includes wind and hydro BTW) would not be that difficult. And IF we can't do that, then humanity is fscked anyway, because all other energy sources will eventually run out.