[Rap]

Is the congos labor pool so small that they must use children?

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[Cloud9...68]

So what's the alternative?  It's an undeniable fact that climate change is real, it's happening now, and it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better, even under the most pollyannish scenarios.  Should we just keep burning fossil fuels and pretend nothing is happening?  Ignore that smoldering trash can fire in the guest bedroom - it will probably go out on its own, and besides, it might not even spread to the rest of the house.  That pandemic thing?  No big deal - just go about your daily business and pretend it doesn't exist.  There's a high probably you'll survive it even if you get it (if it isn't a manufactured hoax anyway).

 

None of the alternatives to the status quo, including electric cars, is perfect, and all come with drawbacks and side effects, but doing nothing is nothing short of madness.

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[lbpesq]

As I get older and watch what's going on all around us, the more cynical I become about our collective ability to do anything about it. We live in a society where a frighteningly large segment willingly ascribes to the "don't believe what you see, just believe what we tell you" school of propaganda. If people can watch video of January 6 and still insist these were merely tourists peacefully touring the Capitol, or Antifa and BLM agents, they are not going to accept the reality of climate change until the ocean comes to visit their living room. And as long as rich white guys get to choose between extending our time on the planet after they die, versus making a few more million dollars in the 10-15 years they have left before they die, I see little hope for us.



Bill

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[Cloud9...68]

Bill,

 

Very good, if depressing, points.  But with climate change, I think most people (speaking as a former skeptic myself) generally believe it's real, and that it's a genuine threat to our quality of life on this planet in the not-too-distant future.  So I think we're past the large-scale denial phase.  It's become more of a matter of prioritization, where near-term problems always win out over longer-term ones, no matter how dire the latter may be.  

 

Two things really gripe me about the discourse these days.  1)  Complaining about/bad-mouthing the direction things are going without offering any alternatives, and 2)  The all-too pervasive, and intellectually very lazy, "I just don't trust [fill in the blank - the government, corporations, banks, markets, the media, etc.]" sentiment.  What evidence is there that these institutions are any less trustworthy today than in the past?  Are people today somehow more corrupt than they were in decades past?  Of course there are bad actors in all institutions, and we should do everything we can to root them out, but to just throw up your hands and lose all faith in the institutions that hold society together is asking for a tyrant (maybe one with orange hair...) to sweep in and take control of everything.

 

Sorry to be so heavy on a Monday, especially coming from someone who still, against all apparent evidence to the contrary, still insists there is no better time to be alive in the history of the world than right now.

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[lbpesq]

While I’ll admit to a fair degree of cynicism, that doesn’t mean I’m ready to give up.   One of my all-time favorite quotes is from the wonderful Frank Capra film, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” when Jimmy Stewart says that Claude Rains knows that “lost causes are the only ones worth fighting for”.  (I believe the quote may have originated with Clarence Darrow, but I heard it first from “Jefferson Smith”).

 

Bill

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[Cloud9...68]

Agreed.  By the way, my comments were by no means directed at you, or anyone else specifically - they're just general observations.

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[Chris Vais]

Interesting discussion between two customers of the winery I work at. It turns out the "range anxiety" among electric car owners is a real thing. It seems they had discovered that their Tesla's range isn't exactly as good as they were led to believe, if you run AC, or seat warmers or are driving over a road with hills and valleys, for example your range is diminished. One of the Tesla owners, while driving through the Santa Inez valley on a hot afternoon, was instructed by his Tesla that he needed to shut off the AC, drive with the windows open and not exceed 32 MPH in order to make the next charging station. Evidently, the only way you can make maximum range is on a cool day, driving on a level road at moderate speed.

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[Kim]

Chris - that might not really be different than a gas car.

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[Cloud9...68]

Electric cars actually do best in stop-and-go traffic, so pretty much the opposite of gas cars.  But the impact of temperature, how many accessories you run, etc. definitely impact range.  We still have a ways to go as far as charging infrastructure, but it will happen over time.

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[Chris Vais]

Kim

 

In terms of achieving maximum range, you may well be correct. The longest run on a tank of fuel with my 968 is 425 miles cruising at 75mph on I-5 in the Central Valley of California where the road is flat. I would think the biggest deterrent to achieving maximum range in a gasoline car would be the A/C. 

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[tejon007]

In my case, the largest impediment to achieving maximum range in the 968 is my right foot seems to be made out of lead...

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[Waylander]

Think if you had slowed that to 55mph you might have got close to 500 miles, even with the best leccy cars you would need to charge at least once

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[ds968]

   

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[Inkedupfatboy]

As far as electric cars go, what are they going to do when everyone in south Florida has an electric car and then a cat 5 hurricane hits and everyone is told they have to evacuate. You will have a half million electric cars stuck on I95 and I won't be able to get out.

 

There was a quote from BP a few years ago where they actually shifted the blame on carbon emissions from the corporate level to the individual and it stuck. How is it that I have to buy an electric car and drop my carbon footprint as if it's going to help the overall planet? Why is it the US that has to shoulder the burden and make everyone go EV? Because all our politicians are investing in solar power, lithium batteries, ev car makers, and the companies that make the charging products and they will own the land where the stations go.

 

Ever wonder why politicians are so rarely prosecuted for anything? because they are all lawyers! It's all inside trading too. Why in God's name would I buy an EV for 75K when that same money would fell my vehicle once a week for 20 years? Nope. Not doing it.

 

People are stupid. They don't realize that batteries don't make electricity, they just store it. The power that charges EV's needs to com from somewhere. CA just announced that as of 2035 no more dino fuel cars. As if I needed another reason not to visit or live in CA. Ridiculous.

 

As far as Harley goes, they tried to copyright the sound that the bikes make, but the courts turned them down. Don't kid yourself, they are going to chase the all mighty dollar just as fast and as hard as anyone else. They have a board of directors and shareholders who's only care is making money. So fi they have to make an electric bike, they will be and they want the prestige of doing it first. The demographic for who buys a Harley changes frequently.

 

As far as climate change goes, the earth will be fine. It's humans that are screwed.

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[ds968]

Or, driving from the Bay Area to Tahoe and back in the winter,  when on many weekends it’s a ten hour + trip ( as opposed to the typical four hours ) but much of that time is in the Tahoe area , spent basic almost  stationary and just idling on a one lane road with 6’-8’ snow banks on each side and several miles of bumper to bumper cars in front and behind you  .they always have avalanche control, which messes things up even more ...and if it wasn’t bad enough if you run out of gas and wait hours for a tow truck to somehow get to you ( the truck probably has to maneuver trough in the opposite direction , unless that’s blocked also ) and bring you some gas, so you can sit there idling for a few more hours , imagine if you’re the bozo ( or numerous bozos ) who runs out of electrical charge .. you have to be towed out of there , and good luck with that !   Count your blessings if you won’t get shot !   0.00000000001 % contribution to saving the planet sometime by the next century .. :glare:

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[Waylander]

The automobile owner is an easy target, very cheap to implement laws that make government money, millions of owners that are a captive taxable audience



No one mentions big industry or china coal fired power stations



And our no more Dino fueled cars come in 2030, no more gas boilers for heating from 2030 only mega expensive heat pumps

Our current inflation is at 11.1% average households electric bills to exceed 6000 dollars PA in 2023

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[Kim]

Its a shame that there seems to be so much negativity against ALL people buying an EV. If you drive a couple of hundred km a week or less you are correct - you won't recoup the capital cost in energy savings. So do as you wish if that is all that matters to you.

 

I drive 120,000 km per year, and not necessarily because I want to.  I also drive a hybrid now so I am getting the best fuel economy that is reasonably possible.  But I still used 6700 litres of fuel in 2021.  I just bought an EV today (2022 Ford Mach-e X) to pick up tomorrow.  By my records my "cost" will be reduced to about one third of what I spent last year.  With no carbon emissions FROM ME. 

 

Yes, there will need to be some somewhere to create the electricity that I will use. But that process is more efficient, or at least can be and will be, than burning fossil fuels. But I will also use no oil (60 litres gone) and replace brake pads less often.  Yeah, yeah, and i know the old argument about the cost to replace batteries and the "waste" that used ones create. I also know about muffler waste, engine parts waste, old engines waste, etc., What I really read into most of it is simply that we don't want to evolve. We are stuck on engine noise, 6-speeds, driving around at 80 km/h in 3rd gear just to 'feel the torque", and more.  And I did too, but those days are over.

 

Einstein said that we cannot expect to solve problems using only the technology used to create them.  I hope that as EVs are more common this will prompt better efforts in renewable energy generation, battery recycling, etc.

 

And, as the comment goes "the earth will be fine. It's humans that are screwed." sadly, I and a few billion others are in that group, as are my progeny and theirs.  If you aren't part of the solution (even if you can't see beyond the present to envisage the future), you are part of the problem.

 

I am no engineer, Elon Musk, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.  I am just a biologist who likes to think, ask questions and not fall into the game of not wanting change.

 

​The rant is over. I think that some people need to wake up and smell the roses, or at least just get out of the way.

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[Cloud9...68]

Kim,

 

Thanks for being a voice of reason - everything you say is spot on.  There is often irrational resistance to change and to the introduction of new technologies.  I remember when emission controls started being added to cars, and the moans of protest that this would be the end of performance.  And it was, for awhile, until human ingenuity kicked in, and fast forward a few decades, we have the most powerful cars ever produced, with a fraction of the emissions of the fondly remembered "muscle cars".  Heck, I bet there were plenty of naysayers when cars first started being produced, with endless recitations of the countless advantages of the horse-and buggy over those noisy, smelly car-thingies.  Technology always wins out.  And as far as these goofy conspiracy theories of the evil corporate titans plotting (between biting the heads off of puppies) to confiscate all of our money by forcing us all into electric cars while somehow raking in obscene profits by cornering the market on everything associated with the changeover, all I can say is, where is the face-palm imogi?  You guys read too many Tom Clancy novels.

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[Inkedupfatboy]

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/chevy-...y-invoice/

 

I don't care what logic people use. I am almost 60 and I have no intention on ever buying a hybrid or EV. I don't like them, I don't care to own one.

 

In fact my train of thought is to buy an old vehicle and restore it to drive. I can spend less on the vehicle and the restoration than on a new one.

I hate all the stupid electronics in the new vehicles. I paid 50K for a 2016 silverado and it's been the biggest piece of garbage I have ever owned. It has half the mileage that my ridgeline had when I traded it and it's had 5X more service needs in only 120K miles.

My wife won't get rid of the 2007 Element either. No backup cam, no lane warnings, no self park, nothing extra to break. My truck has had to have the AC condenser & compressor replaced, the torque converter was replaced by the dealer because it shifts like crap. They didn't change the filters so it cost me 4K to have the tranny rebuilt. The infotainment system has never worked right. It constantly tells me the back up camera, the trailer wiring and other things need serviced, yet it won't throw a code. The screens get out of sync, the stereo stops playing at random for minutes at a time. On third set of brakes and 3rd set of tires. Bah, there is no way I would trust a modern EV made buy any of these so called geniuses. Not now, not ever.

 

I tried to buy my out the lease on my mother's Sentra. Nissan corporate says I could buy the car for the Residual balance, the $300 lease buyout fee, sales tax, and title work. I talked to 4 dealers and they won't sell it without adding a dealer fee which Nissan corporate won't let them do. I tried to just trade it for a new car and pay cash, and they won't sell a car without selling it for $5K over sticker price. F-That. I sold the car back to another dealer for 6K. Never lease a car. Car dealers are scumbags. They will not let you buy out a lease anymore because they can't make anything on it.

 

There is probably not another new car in my future. So I am not going to worry about it. I just had emergency back surgery and after being home for one night, I woke up the next day and folded. I passed out. Long story short, I was in the ICU that day and had a heart cath for a Peripheral Thrombectomy done and the took over 40 blood clots out of my lungs. I didn't convert out of a-fib until the procedure was almost done. I am still trying to learn how to walk right and build my muscles back up after being in the hospital for nearly 3 weeks.

 

I am in a different frame of mind about all this crap that everyone is so torqued about.I hate it all.  I don't care about politics, I don't care about inflation, I don't care to be around most people anymore. Most nowadays are just selfish, entitled small minded people who thrive on drama. Politicians are even worse than normal people. I don't have time for it. I almost died 4 times in one day. All this after surviving stage 4 cancer 16 years ago. I am over it. If I want a big gas guzzler that gets 4 MPG, then that's what I am going to buy, not some electric glorified golf cart that I have to pay Florida Power and Light to charge and that I can't even get into. If I want to drive from Florida  to PA, I can do it in 4 or 5 stops for gas. Can't do that with an EV.

 

I don't use the internet on my phone, I don't use google, I won't have an Alexa or a Ring doorbell, or anything that is connected to the internet of things. This is the closest thing I have to social media and I only post here 4 or 5 times a year. No facebook, no instagram, no tic tok, nothing. I am becoming a Luddite and happy for it because it frustrates everyone who lives their life on their phones. I am going back to a clam-shell when the galaxy 7 finally dies. Nope, I am not ever spending $1,000 for a phone again. I am not letting big tech track me any more than I have to. My life is no one's business but my own. I don't want ads on my phone 5 minutes after I tell my wife I have to pick up cat litter. Creepy.

 

It's not a Tom Clancy novel. Look at who these people behind the new green deal are invested in. Obama started this way back with the cash for clunkers bit, to get as many old cars off the streets and out of bone yards. They crushed them and sold all the steel to China. These people who think they rule us and not representing us are raking in billions. How is a single parent, working two jobs to support a kid or two going to afford an EV? Why are they forcing us into buying them. CA just banned non EV's in less than 15 years. How did that ever get passed? There is plenty of oil in the ground only the senile idiot in the white house won't let them drill it here. Everyone is so excited that gas is dropping, but it should never have hit $5 a gallon to begin with. It would be crazy cheap is they let the oil co's drill here.

 

You think they are not working against us? Why did they raise the reporting threshold on selling things online before you have to declare the income on ebay and other sites from $20K a year down to $600 a year?  Because they have to pay for all the money that bozo Joe has spent in his first years in office. They treat us like we are an ATM machine. They want to know where and when you spend every dollar. They are eventually going to outlaw cash. It used to take 20 minutes to open a checking account. Now it takes 4 hours. Thank you Patriot Act. We gave away so much freedom for a tiny bit of protection.

 

Nope. Nope. Nope.

You like 'em, you buy 'em. I am not drinking the Kool-Aid.

 

There's the end of this rant...And if anyone is offended or doesn't want me to post anymore, just let me know. I can stop anytime.

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[Rap]

I welcome your opinion. We should be able to express our opinions here as long as they stay within the bounds of decency.

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