Plug-Ins!! Yes or No

[ABikerSailor]

Interestingly enough, scientists have come out with a new battery that puts out 10 times more power than Lithium Ion batteries.

It's sheets of paper, coated with carbon and silver nanotubes. Apparently, not only will it store 10 times more power, but it will also be lighter.

You know..........we could have had this technology up and running 10 years ago............

 

[MaggieMae]

I've been giving this some thought and come to the conclusion that regardless of all the scientific debate over the causes of climate change, be it man made or not man made, to regulate on one set of conslusions seems to be an effort that would enrich only a few rather than benefit everyone. Having said all that our nation needs to be able to secure a energy futire that is free of the need to depend upon nations that do not have our interests at heart and most of the time use the very monies that are paid them by us to finanace terrorist operations against this nation. So consider, each time you go to the gas pump you are in a small way helping fund the very people that have set out to kill Americans the world over including here. Another issue that our nation has faced for a number of years is the loss of jobs to foreign nations due to several reasons, among them cheaper labor, less restrictive environmental policies, and lower tax burdens. So rather than focus on the why's of the science,as a nation it would seem to me to be the prudent thing to focus on what is the best way to secure our energy future. In my mind that future should begin in applying all the new technologies and make them available and produce them in this nation. Take Plug-In Hybrids fir instance. Toyota has annoced it's intention to build and sell by 2011 a plug-in hybrid that will get upwards of 135 milies a gallon. If you apply technologies such as these, along with an upgraded energy grid that includes, solar, wond, nuclear, natural gas, domestic oil, clean coal, geo-thermal, and many others. Then you have not only created jobs and long term ones, you have created a Stimulus that will secure a bright future for our children and grandchildren.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnvSnbS-2iE&feature=related

Yup. And the USA needs to take the lead and create a situation where the rest of the world will need (and buy) our technology, not the other way around. If we don't get there first, we'll be required to again buy our energy from foreign sources.

 

[Skull Pilot]

That is the general direction we need to go.
Unfortunately it will not really happen because of greed, spoiled Americans, etc.

We will be pissing and moaning about $15/gal gas in 2020.

And whining how Cap and chrade has raised our electric bills on our non energy efficient houses.

The government doesn't want you to conserve energy or anything else for that matter.

What would happen to their sacred revenues if all of a sudden everyone used 30% less gas, oil and electricity?

Right now enough people are trying to conserve energy that the powers that tax are shitting their pants.

So now they come up with "Carbon Dioxide is a dangerous pollutant" and are scheming to tax everything produced, transported and consumed via cap and tax.

Don't kid yourself into thinking you'll somehow be saving money in the long run because you will be paying more no matter how much you conserve, guaranteed.

 

[MaggieMae]

You know....a country that was BEHIND us, is now AHEAD of us in many ways.

Brazil.

10 years ago they stated that they wanted to be energy independent in 10 years. They converted over to hybrids, made bio fuel out of sugar cane and did a whole lot of other things.

They are now energy independent, owing NOTHING to outside interests for energy.

Why can't we be that way?

The Brazilians grow their own sugar both for consumption and energy. (I don't know how much is exported, if any). The US would have to start by analyzing the true cost effectiveness of eliminating subsidies for our sugar industry and ending imports of sugar to us by places like Mexico under existing trade agreements. So, once again, right off the bat, we've got a HUGE political mess to address before anything like Brazil's model could be in place.

 

[MaggieMae]

400lbs battery. What do you do with one when it dies?

Put it on the front lawn, of course!

[Good question.]

 

[Meister]

I voted no, has anyone seen Pelosi, Reid, Gore, or Palin drive a hybrid?
If the price of gas is 15.00 a gallon, so be it, it's my choice.

 

[Meister]

400lbs battery. What do you do with one when it dies?

Put it on the front lawn, of course!

[Good question.]

I thought they only did that stuff on farms

 

[MaggieMae]

Back to the topic, I don't want to derail the thread.

We can have our own thread on the advantages and disadvantages of old vs. new vehicles.

You could always dredge this one back up. Lots of good discussion when I was shopping for a car.

[thread=93870]buying-a-used-car-any-advice.html[/thread]

 

[MaggieMae]

...and how much will the disposal cost be, not to mention the battery cost? You tried to move a 400lbs. battery from a car?

I'm sure by the time we reach that point, there will be shops that specialize in that. More "new" jobs all as a result of less reliance on oil. Yay!!

 

[Navy1960]

You know, I really don't believe that a requirement for auto companies to build a specific fleet percentage for plug-ins is unconstitutional under the commerce clause and is wholly consistant with congressional power to regulate interstate commerce. Further, I do not believe, that by doing so, that innovation will preclude those wish to have that 1968 Galaxie 500 in the back yard, like me, from having it and getting the parts for it or fuel. In fact, what I do think is that it's a numbers game, and if the number of basic transportation automobiles, trucks etc. fleet average mpg, is to rise dramatically that would free domestic oil production and cause domestic fuel cost to go down. Personally, I think we can have both, and regulation for new cars and trucks is not a bad thing at all. In fact there are several companies that will even retro-fit cars like my old battlewagon to get up to 100 mpg. I am not for regulating the choice of the individual in fact, I do believe that by Govt. engaging in promoting technologies that will help this nation end its need to beg Middle Eastern Oil Barons as well as that little Dictator down south would result in many benefits for everyone , including more choices not less.

 

[uscitizen]

You know, I really don't believe that a requirement for auto companies to build a specific fleet percentage for plug-ins is unconstitutional under the commerce clause and is wholly consistant with congressional power to regulate interstate commerce. Further, I do not believe, that by doing so, that innovation will preclude those wish to have that 1968 Galaxie 500 in the back yard, like me, from having it and getting the parts for it or fuel. In fact, what I do think is that it's a numbers game, and if the number of basic transportation automobiles, trucks etc. fleet average mpg, is to rise dramatically that would free domestic oil production and cause domestic fuel cost to go down. Personally, I think we can have both, and regulation for new cars and trucks is not a bad thing at all. In fact there are several companies that will even retro-fit cars like my old battlewagon to get up to 100 mpg. I am not for regulating the choice of the individual in fact, I do believe that by Govt. engaging in promoting technologies that will help this nation end its need to beg Middle Eastern Oil Barons as well as that little Dictator down south would result in many benefits for everyone , including more choices not less.

No way can you get 100 mpg out of that old galaxy. Physics says it is not possible.
Of course if you only measure mileage while driving down a mountain you could do it.

 

[Navy1960]

You know, I really don't believe that a requirement for auto companies to build a specific fleet percentage for plug-ins is unconstitutional under the commerce clause and is wholly consistant with congressional power to regulate interstate commerce. Further, I do not believe, that by doing so, that innovation will preclude those wish to have that 1968 Galaxie 500 in the back yard, like me, from having it and getting the parts for it or fuel. In fact, what I do think is that it's a numbers game, and if the number of basic transportation automobiles, trucks etc. fleet average mpg, is to rise dramatically that would free domestic oil production and cause domestic fuel cost to go down. Personally, I think we can have both, and regulation for new cars and trucks is not a bad thing at all. In fact there are several companies that will even retro-fit cars like my old battlewagon to get up to 100 mpg. I am not for regulating the choice of the individual in fact, I do believe that by Govt. engaging in promoting technologies that will help this nation end its need to beg Middle Eastern Oil Barons as well as that little Dictator down south would result in many benefits for everyone , including more choices not less.

No way can you get 100 mpg out of that old galaxy. Physics says it is not possible.
Of course if you only measure mileage while driving down a mountain you could do it.

Rock star Neil Young is among those competing. He plans to drive his 1959 Lincoln Continental Mark IV, which has been modified to increase fuel efficiency from 10 mph to more than 100 mpg. Young's development of the car is one of several projects the singer has engaged in to raise awareness about social, political, and environmental issues.

The Linc Volt is a hybrid vehicle that runs on gasoline or biofuels and uses a hydrogen generator to improve mileage. The car is about 20 feet long and weighs about 2.5 tons. Its fuel system is under development, with help from H-Line Conversions and UQM Technologies.

100 MPG Equals $10 Million For X Prize Contestants -- InformationWeek

 

[uscitizen]

Each watt of electricity from the grid has a MPG figure as well. And so does hydrogen used in fuel cells.

 

[Navy1960]

My personal opinion is that Hydrogen is a pie in the sky technology that even though it has a lot of potential it has many draw backs not the least of which is implementation. I'm of the opinion that our nation needs to develop an energy policy that takes ALL of our resources into consideration with the goal that we provide our own energy needs, and keeping that in mind, I'm of the opinion that plug-ins in association with nuclear, natural gas (which we have large qauntities of), clean coal (which we also have large quantities of), solar, wind, geo-thermal, domestic oil, is the best way to get there. When we as a nation no longer send almost 750 Billion dollars a year offshore to purchase foreign energy then we can all realize those benefits. All the global warming issues aside, I'm also of the opinion that all those technologies can be implemented in an envrionmentally friendly way. What I also don't believe is that mandates to the citizens of this nation solve any of those issues, because what they generally do is regulate based on a single source of beliefs and do not take possibility into consideration and limit discovery and I'm all for that.

 

[Mr.Fitnah]

My personal opinion is that Hydrogen is a pie in the sky technology that even though it has a lot of potential it has many draw backs not the least of which is implementation. I'm of the opinion that our nation needs to develop an energy policy that takes ALL of our resources into consideration with the goal that we provide our own energy needs, and keeping that in mind, I'm of the opinion that plug-ins in association with nuclear, natural gas (which we have large qauntities of), clean coal (which we also have large quantities of), solar, wind, geo-thermal, domestic oil, is the best way to get there. When we as a nation no longer send almost 750 Billion dollars a year offshore to purchase foreign energy then we can all realize those benefits. All the global warming issues aside, I'm also of the opinion that all those technologies can be implemented in an envrionmentally friendly way. What I also don't believe is that mandates to the citizens of this nation solve any of those issues, because what they generally do is regulate based on a single source of beliefs and do not take possibility into consideration and limit discovery and I'm all for that.

Hydrogen is pie in the sky because of how they want to produce it, with natural gas and coal.
If you produced in with wind farms and electrolysis it makes sense .
Wind farms to make grid power is a waste of time if you require a predictable amount of power.

 

[blastoff]

Plug-ins? Is that a new designation for strap-ons?

 

[uscitizen]

Flashplayer 10

 

[uscitizen]

Plug-ins? Is that a new designation for strap-ons?

Naah a name for Tigers groupie ho's.