Burning coal to power electric cars and...

[Cal Weldon]

having to deal with dead batteries at the end of their cycle. Is it really the right way to go?

[dave_gerecke]

Ah yes, and yet another observation about the realities of technology. Too bad that the people who really need to read what Cal observed probably never will.
I have had discussions about this subject off and on with people for 15 years, and always come back to these sorts of issues. One also has to consider the amount of energy lost by long distance power transmission, among other things..
The real problem is decisions being made by ignorant and uneducated people about topics. They make the decisions based upon emotion and information that is incomplete or biased.
I don't say that electric cars aren't a possibility, just that we need to consider all of the ramifications. The reason we have the issues we do now is that people didn't examine things thorough enough in the past to consider how it will affect mankind.

Peace,

Dave

[Eva]

The engines in conventional cars tend to get only 10% to 30% fuel energy efficiencies and they go happily spreading the toxic waste from combustion everywhere in the world. 80% of the energy in the fuel is typically wasted as heat, noise and incomplete combustion.

I can't see the fact of having the toxic waste from combustion produced in a more concentrate and controlled way as disadvantageous, at least there are more chances of managing it properly that way. I couldn't regard doubling or triplying the energy efficiency as disadvantageous either.

Also, electrical cars use regenerative braking (like electrical trains), something that combustion engines will never do. Kinetic energy is recovered when braking, rather than wasted as heat, so the amount of energy required for city use and being continuously stopping at trafic lights is considerably reduced.

Battery technology and disposal remains a problem, though.

[maxro]

That's why I ride a bike. What about this pickle? Incandescent prohibition is slated for Canada in 2012.

[7n7is]

mass starvation?

http://www.dcexaminer.com/opinion/Sk...1970s_too.html

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I take an electric train to and from work everyday and walk to and from the subway station most of the time. Its mostly powered by coal and nuclear power.

[Eva]

- Earth population grows every year.
- The amount of energy used by each Earth citizen increases every year too.
- Some natural resources, particularly fossil fuels and metals, are being happily expent but not replenished in any way.
- Earth does obviously not grow! So there must be an optimum population figure for its size (which was probably exceeded a long time ago). Then why do we insist in growing?

Some people may argue that the reservoir of natural resources is huge... Like a stupid kid who was given $1 million by his rich father and he thinks that he is never going to run out of money... Naive one.

[Geek]

Originally posted by Eva

- Earth does obviously not grow! So there must be an optimum population figure for its size (which was probably exceeded a long time ago). Then why do we insist in growing?

I trutly believe that if we didn't waste brains, money and resources on futile pursuits, like war, we could very well have already colonized another planet.

[SY]

The energy budget to get people and equipment to another planet is astounding. Even with fabulously efficient rockets, we're tossing rocks out of a very deep gravity well. This does not even consider the level of supplies needed to sustain colonization until planets can be terraformed (oh, yes, and the terraforming equipment has to be sent as well).

[Cal Weldon]

Geez, I guess burning coal is a boring topic.

[Bas Horneman]

Funny to read this topic. Because as I was driving to work this morning. Stuck in traffic. And thinking: Electricity generated by a Nuclear powerplant "refilling" electric cars would go a long way lowering carbon emmissions.