Fun Stuff > CHATTER
the Chevy Volt (and other "plug-in" cars)
RedLion:
The thing is there's so many different kinds of alternative energy vying for attention nowadays. In a way that's good, because we're going to need to diversify and use as many as we can to break away from oil, but it also makes it hard for companies and consumers to decide on what technologies to back and to buy, and it seems like every time a green technology gets a foothold, a new, better one comes along and kind of renders that older one nul..
Chesire Cat:
Yeah who wants their car to run on Betamax?
ViolentDove:
--- Quote from: Verergoca on 21 Aug 2008, 03:25 ---Paul, that still depends on the source of said biodiesel. Soy, palmoil and others, yes, do take growing capacity away from the food industry. What i personally am more interested in, is the use of algea to get there. (Even though, they have kind of written that method off for basically everything that isnt near the equator, as you do need a fair bit load of sun to make that worthwhile)
Also, i have the feeling that there is a breaktrhough in energyproduction coming up relatively soon. We do live in interesting times :)
--- End quote ---
Yeah, algal "bio-reactors" were what I was referring to as well (I posted briefly earlier in this thread about it). I know there are several companies moving from small pilot projects to pilot commercial-scale plants within the next few years, including one within Australia that is decidedly south of the equator.
Nodaisho:
--- Quote from: pwhodges on 21 Aug 2008, 01:27 ---The trouble with biodiesel is that you are taking growing capacity away from the food supply, so you end up with higher food prices. If I lived in a poor country I'd rather eat than drive when the chips are down.
--- End quote ---
I disagree, where my father grew up, they used to grow sugar beets. Now, they sell their water rights to Denver, because it is more profitable. Now, assuming they could get their rights back, and that it wouldn't cause Denver to suddenly run out of water, there are thousands of acres of former farmland good for sugar beets out there, and that works just fine for biodiesel. I am sure there is much more farmland out there that currently isn't being used because there is just too much work for too little profit.
Is it cold in here?:
One of the best things about electric motors is the low-rpm torque. The Prius uses the high torque from the electric motor to enable using the low-torque but efficient Atkinson cycle in its gas engine.
Using electric cars just moves the pollution from the car to the power plant, but that's still a good thing. The power plant's pollution controls don't have to be light enough to carry around, they don't have to be small enough to carry around, they can be maintained by full-time people, and the pollution that does come out isn't right next to pedestrians. Plus you can upgrade the pollution controls on the power plant: with cars you have to wait for a replacement cycle. The average car on the road is over eight years old.
If GM's serious this time I welcome them.
There's another electric with an onboard charger, the Aptera. If you want conventional styling, though, skip it.
I can't find a cite for this, but I've seen claims that even if you generate the electricity from coal, an electric car causes less CO2 production than a gasoline car. It's not a crazy claim. A stationary power plant is more efficient than a gas engine, and the electric car recycles energy when it brakes, so it's using less energy to run as well as getting the energy generated more efficiently.
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