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by aksjfd from phoenix

Last Post 9 days, 10 hours Ago


Gas vs. Batteries
Jun 30, 2008 | 4:31 PM
Category: News
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After writing a bunch of posts on why I believe that off-shore drilling is just a ruse and a political trick McCain is using in order to be put in office, I decided to give a viable solution that makes a lot more sense than keeping any dependance on oil. Some of this may actually surprise you as much as it did me. I couldn't believe the US was so far behind, but then again, I did live in Europe for 2 months and found this to be true on many levels, but that's another story.

 

A few weeks ago, I watched an interview about electric powered cars and discussed it with my bf, the robotics engineer. He explained, as did this ed. show, that we don't yet have the technology to make batteries strong enough for this technology to work. The person who figures that out is going to be "..a very rich man." Currently, the Asians own this market and are able to run a car for 40 minutes on a single charge. As McCain understands this and has offered a $300 million prize for developing a better automobile battery. Obviously this was an incredibly stupid business move as this race is already on. And the race is in Asia, not the US.

 

It seems crazy to believe that the up and coming technology isn't being invested in heavily and is largley ignored by the masses. Would you believe that the US doesn't really make batteries? I remembered that the woman they interviewed expressed her desire to have batteries for whatever she was involved with made in the US, but couldn't find a company in the US to make them. Well, I can't find that transcript but here is something I did find to collaborate her story: "The fact that the U.S. has little battery cell production is a major hurdle for domestic electric vehicle makers, he noted, as it makes purchasing cells costly, and limits the diversity of the supply." (earth2tech.com by Katie Fehrenbacher).

 

Having said that, I'd like to know if you still think that offshore drilling that, at the earliest, won't be online for 4 years is a better place to hedge our bets or battery powered cars that get their charge from solar, wind, hydro and geo-thermal power?

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Member Comments Total Comments: 7
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KenOfAZ read my blog view my photos
Jul 1, 2008 | 1:08 AM

I recently watched the video WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR. It is laced a little bit with liberal tree hugging jiberish. But for the most part, it is true. We HAVE the technology to make a good electric car. We had it over ten years ago. I'm sure by now we could build one much better than we built ten years ago. And batteries can be reverse engineered.
I think the big oil companies bought off GM and others so they wouldn't continue making electric cars.
We have millions of gas using vehicles on the road, so switching to electric cars is fantastic, but wont solve the whole problem. We ALSO need to drill our own oil on our own turf and add electric cars too. If we start having most new cars electric, in thirty years, our demand for oil will be way down, but we will always need oil. Why not our own oil?
aksjfd read my blog view my photos
Jul 1, 2008 | 12:34 PM

Ken--so are saying that you think it more prudent to invest millions into oil rather than the alternative energies?

Also, the need for oil is going to decrease even more as plastics are no longer going to need oil either.
KenOfAZ read my blog view my photos
Jul 1, 2008 | 4:26 PM

I'm saying our stupid government should lift the ban on Alaska and off shore drilling so US companies can can spend their money (not government money)to drill our own oil. And I think the government should require a small percent of vehicles to be produced that run on electric if they want to sell gas powered vehicles. That percentage would slowly increase to the point that 50% of the vhicles sold would be electric in about 20 years. If we find that in 20 years technology has improved that a higher percent of vehicles should be electric, go for it. I think heavy duty trucks will be gas or diesel for a long time to come. So 100% will not work for a long time.
BOB54 read my blog
Jul 1, 2008 | 6:43 PM

Solar, wind, and geo-thermal power will never be developed because the utility companies will NEVER allow anything to be developed that will loosen the grip they have around our throats.
Hydro? The tree humpers are already pushing to have hydro-electric dams, like Glen Canyon, torn down.
Batteries? No battery lasts forever. What do you do with millions of "dead" batteries? No matter what is done, the tree humpers are going to get their panties in a wad.
Accelerate the developement of better batteries and electric vehicles. But in the mean time, go with the sure thing. Billions of gallons of OUR oil, in OUR country, that could not only free us from Middle East dependancy, but could provide millions of good paying jobs for LEGAL Americans.
aksjfd read my blog view my photos
Jul 1, 2008 | 7:39 PM

Ken---why do you think that oil companies are going to invest in this when it doesn't make economic sense for them?

Bob--Research First Solar. In just a couple of years, they went from trading at $12 per share to $350 per share. Also, my bf is on the front lines of solar and I can tell you that what you are saying isn't true at all. THere is a lot of money to be made in solar. SOme people will have solar farms in the future and may sell thier energy to places like Las Vegas.

There is a country that is run completely by alternative energy. Research Germany's solar industry. Europe is making great strides in this field. Great strides. THere is a special floating around on Discovery and/or National Geographic about what they are doing.

Batteries are not the same as they used to be. You are imagining the kind of batteries you are used to, but those aren't the batteries of the future. These new batteries can be as small as a child's pinky finger. Heck, laptops will soon use a battery that lasts a full year without ever needing to be charged. Look it up.
aksjfd read my blog view my photos
Jul 1, 2008 | 7:40 PM

And...we can't accelerate batteries in the US because no one really makes them here. They are going to start, but it will take some time.
KenOfAZ read my blog view my photos
Jul 2, 2008 | 12:33 AM

abaze wrote:
Ken---why do you think that oil companies are going to invest in this when it doesn't make economic sense for them?
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The oil companies will only invest in drilling in Alaska and off shore. They just need our idiot government to get out of their way.


The car manufacturers will invest into electric cars if they want to sell any cars at all.
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aksjfd

Save the lives of your friends and family, vote for universal health care and a free world market of pharmeceuticals. Vote Democrat on Nov. 4. Save the lives of mothers who experience complications in their last trimester; that they may have the choice to continue their life caring for the children they already have rather than die during child birth. Vote Democrat on Nov. 4. Save the psyches and perhaps lives of rape victims that they cannot be raped of their choice to preserve what little of thier body they feel they have left. Vote Democrat on Nov. 4

Member Since: 4/11/2008


 

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