tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post9093173031171606189..comments2024-03-24T11:01:27.668-04:00Comments on Resource Insights: The seductive message of "Who Killed the Electric Car?"Kurt Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05330759091950742285noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-29128164679278174192008-02-28T13:43:00.000-05:002008-02-28T13:43:00.000-05:00Watched "Who Killed the Electric Car" recently (gr...Watched "Who Killed the Electric Car" recently (great documentary), then i heard that GM and Tesla are making another run at the electric car (yay for progress!) hopefully development of this technology can go on unhindered by the corporations that depend on oil consumption.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-23054945227229717512007-08-06T15:47:00.000-04:002007-08-06T15:47:00.000-04:00The statement that the manufactureof a car consume...The statement that the manufacture<BR/>of a car consumes about half the<BR/>energy a car will ever use <BR/>is contradicted by the report:<BR/><BR/>http://www.ilea.org/lcas/taharaetal2001.html<BR/><BR/>which indicates that the manufacturing step accounts for only<BR/>about 10% of the net energy. This<BR/>is a big discrepancy. Do you have<BR/>a reference for the 50% number?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-57819142413785856472007-08-04T18:20:00.000-04:002007-08-04T18:20:00.000-04:00I appreciate this message. I judge the electrifica...I appreciate this message. I judge the electrification of urban transportation IS the future (if we have one), but also skeptical about messages that too easily point to scapegoats.<BR/><BR/>I admit I hadn't read before that half the energy of a car comes from production/(maintenance?) than fuel, depressing if true.<BR/><BR/>And your questioning our assumption that the future can support one car per person in the world, or even the U.S., is vital to me.<BR/><BR/>And now that electricity is 1/4 the price of gasoline (per unit energy), there ought to be a clear economic push for electrification, although I expect the cost of electricity will go up also with demand - which I ultimately support since all energy is underpriced for hidden costs.<BR/><BR/>Lastly, just noting to myself that I've never bought an American car, and seems like I never will until they get a clue.Ares Olympushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09726811306826601686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-28998457765438205592007-08-04T17:50:00.000-04:002007-08-04T17:50:00.000-04:00This is an important topic, Kurt. I come from a ba...This is an important topic, Kurt. I come from a background both as a transit advocate (<A HREF="http://friends4expo.org" REL="nofollow">Friends 4 Expo Transit</A> for light rail west of downtown Los Angeles) and supporter of plug-in hybrids (<A HREF="http://lavisions.blogspot.com/2007/04/plug-in-hybrids.html" REL="nofollow">my blog summary</A>). I've also talked with Alan Drake about his <A HREF="http://www.aspo-usa.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=168&Itemid=91" REL="nofollow">rail electrification</A> proposals.<BR/><BR/>This all leads me to seek a comparison of <B>passenger miles per kWh</B>, both operating and capital costs, of electric autos vs. electric transit (light rail or electric trolleybus). <BR/><BR/>I favor both, for using electricity as the most sustainable energy option. Both will also require large capital investment. I suspect that electric transit will be more efficient in urban areas, but electric autos elsewhere.<BR/><BR/>For Anon, I'm optimistic about the <B>off-peak charging</B> possibilities of EVs and PHEVs, plus their "vehicle-to-grid" capabilites for storage.Darrell Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05228624730015505271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-54021191686420342212007-08-04T08:59:00.000-04:002007-08-04T08:59:00.000-04:00Kurt, please consider that the slick Hollywood fil...Kurt, please consider that the slick Hollywood film, "Who Killed the Electric Car?" is primarily a propaganda piece by the never sleeping Israel Lobby and its anti-arab peak oil agenda. <BR/>How can you miss the glaring appearance of two major Israel Firsters, Frank Gaffney and James Woolsey, wailing about freeing ourselves from our dependence on arab oil.<BR/>Miss this at your peril.gerald speziohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16029178948781659971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-36837280482483344062007-08-04T04:32:00.000-04:002007-08-04T04:32:00.000-04:00There probably won't be plug-in hybrid or electric...There probably won't be plug-in hybrid or electric cars. Our electrical grid can barely hold up in the heat of summer in most cities. Imagine that plus a few hundred million plug-in cars.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-2235321066611077662007-08-03T21:38:00.000-04:002007-08-03T21:38:00.000-04:00Kurt, This is a very good article and I too e...Kurt, <BR/> This is a very good article and I too enjoyed the movie who killed the electric car. <BR/><BR/>The movie motivated me to buy a Prius hybrid, while it may not be a true EV it is very good on gas. After driving the Prius for a while I really wanted a full EV, but there are none that the average preson can buy easily. I did the next best thing, I built my own EV. <BR/><BR/>You can see my EV at www.zevutah.com. I now have over 1,000 miles on this electric motorcycle and it has never left me stranded yet.<BR/><BR/>I have also built a small solar charging station on my workshop. My solar system would never power the entire house, but it is enough to "fuel" my motorcycle. When the sun does not shine, the electricity that I buy for my house is 100% wind power. <BR/><BR/>The motorcycle and the solar system were built in less than 6 months time. So there is time to solve the peak oil problem and the global warming problem, if we start right NOW !!!zevutahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04717152508110150738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-15481754489883923642007-08-03T18:13:00.000-04:002007-08-03T18:13:00.000-04:00One of the big things electric car advocates seem ...One of the big things electric car advocates seem to miss is the rising price of copper. Electric cars carry a lot of it. That makes them costly to make, and costly to keep. What good is an electric car if the only way to keep possession of it is to hire a chauffeur with a pistol to guard it at all times?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com