I'm so excited about the Chevy Volt!

[boutons_deux]

Throw a few $B at fuel cell research, not the DoD

http://www.fuelcells.org/wp-content/...States2012.pdf

[boutons_deux]

One Big Step for Tesla, One Giant Leap for E.V.'s

The 2012 Model S, a versatile sedan that succeeds the company's two-seat Roadster, is simultaneously stylish, efficient, roomy, crazy fast, high-tech and all electric. It defies the notion that electric cars are range-limited conveyances.
While driving a Model S with the biggest available battery pack - 85 kilowatt-hours - on a restrained run through Northern California wine country, I was able to wring 300.1 miles from a single charge. The E.P.A.'s rating for equivalent gasoline miles per gallon
is 88 m.p.g.e. in town and 90 on the highway, with a 265-mile range.

On a more enthusiastic romp from my home base here to Santa Cruz and back, I sampled what the 362-horsepower electric drivetrain was designed to do: bolt. Tesla says the car can zip from zero to 60 in 5.6 seconds and tops out at 125 miles per hour, but it was the silent, near-instantaneous bursts from 35 to 65 along the Pacific on California Highway 1 that best demonstrated the S's otherworldly quality.

I managed to make that 207-mile round-trip with about 25 miles of battery charge remaining when I pulled into my driveway. I never gave a second's thought to range, batteries or kilowatt-hours. I just hauled amps. It's probably best for my driving record that I didn't test the performance version of the Model S, which raises the ante to 416 horsepower - and a 4.4-second dash from zero to 60 m.p.h.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/09/30...-evs.xml?rec=t

BigOil and Repugs will do everything they can to block govt support of EV companies. They will be, as usual, on the wrong side of history.

[CosmicCowboy]

One Big Step for Tesla, One Giant Leap for E.V.'s

The 2012 Model S, a versatile sedan that succeeds the company's two-seat Roadster, is simultaneously stylish, efficient, roomy, crazy fast, high-tech and all electric. It defies the notion that electric cars are range-limited conveyances.
While driving a Model S with the biggest available battery pack - 85 kilowatt-hours - on a restrained run through Northern California wine country, I was able to wring 300.1 miles from a single charge. The E.P.A.'s rating for equivalent gasoline miles per gallon
is 88 m.p.g.e. in town and 90 on the highway, with a 265-mile range.

On a more enthusiastic romp from my home base here to Santa Cruz and back, I sampled what the 362-horsepower electric drivetrain was designed to do: bolt. Tesla says the car can zip from zero to 60 in 5.6 seconds and tops out at 125 miles per hour, but it was the silent, near-instantaneous bursts from 35 to 65 along the Pacific on California Highway 1 that best demonstrated the S's otherworldly quality.

I managed to make that 207-mile round-trip with about 25 miles of battery charge remaining when I pulled into my driveway. I never gave a second's thought to range, batteries or kilowatt-hours. I just hauled amps. It's probably best for my driving record that I didn't test the performance version of the Model S, which raises the ante to 416 horsepower - and a 4.4-second dash from zero to 60 m.p.h.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/09/30...-evs.xml?rec=t

BigOil and Repugs will do everything they can to block govt support of EV companies. They will be, as usual, on the wrong side of history.

I don't think the oilcos are worried about an $85,000 electric rich mans toy. Besides, the oilcos will sell the natural gas used to generate the electricity used to charge the electric car.

[TeyshaBlue]

lol boutons.

Toyota kills electric car plans, says ‘capabilities of electric vehicles do not meet society’s needs’
Read more at http://venturebeat.com/2012/09/24/to...EYfMsj8ugYD.99

[boutons_deux]

I don't think the oilcos are worried about an $85,000 electric rich mans toy. Besides, the oilcos will sell the natural gas used to generate the electricity used to charge the electric car.

In the renowned, famous do entary Who Killed Roger Rabbit, GM killed light rail in LA county so people would have to buy more cars.

The oilcos have been and will forever pay Congress s to delay, or rollback, fuel efficiency standards.

EVs are coming, batteries are the current, but temporary holdup. DoD needs to be "fiscal cliffed" and the money switched to battery research.

[TeyshaBlue]

lol renowned, famous do entary.


http://bit.ly/VhqZWX

[boutons_deux]

Chevy Volt drivers top 100 million miles driven


Chevy Volt drivers have driven a combined total of more than 100,000,000 miles on electricity, as of last Friday


Which reflects the fact that Volt owners cover almost two-thirds of their total distance on electricity--higher than General Motors had expected, we imagine, when it launched the Volt in December 2010.
In fact, GM will soon release an app that lets Volt drivers compete on electric miles driven.

And the Volt electric-mile counter continues to rise. When this article was published--just two and a half days later--the total had already risen 1.2 percent.

Other electric-miles totals include 29 million-plus milesin the global fleet of about 2,500 Tesla Roadsters. No totals yet for the new Tesla Model S ... hmmmmmmm.

Then, courtesy of BMW electric-car advocate Tom Moloughney, we can add a total of 10 million miles (globally) in that company's fleet of 700 Mini E test cars.

The company's current electric-car test program, using the BMW ActiveE two-door sedan, is closing in on 4 million miles of its own.

And so forth.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In...All+Stories%29

[CosmicCowboy]

And most of that electricity was produced by burning coal. You sure you really want to celebrate?

[boutons_deux]

And most of that electricity was produced by burning coal. You sure you really want to celebrate?

Sure, why not?

[RandomGuy]

And most of that electricity was produced by burning coal. You sure you really want to celebrate?

Won't be true much longer, given the retirement of the older coal plants and their replacement with natgas plants.

If one is concerned about reducing emissions, the hard and fast CO2 per mile driven is a better measure of such things. If coal electricity pumps out less CO2 per mile than gasoline, you get a net reduction in emissions.

[Drachen]

Won't be true much longer, given the retirement of the older coal plants and their replacement with natgas plants.

If one is concerned about reducing emissions, the hard and fast CO2 per mile driven is a better measure of such things. If coal electricity pumps out less CO2 per mile than gasoline, you get a net reduction in emissions.

YOU BLlNDED ME WITH SCIENCE!

[boutons_deux]

Rich Countries Spend Five Times More On Fossil Fuel Subsidies Than Climate Aid



http://thinkprogress.org/climate/201...n-climate-aid/

[boutons_deux]

Carbon pollution up to 2 million pounds a second

The amount of heat-trapping pollution the world spewed rose again last year by 3 percent. So scientists say it's now unlikely that global warming can be limited to a couple of degrees,
Last year, all the world's nations combined pumped nearly 38.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the air from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, according to new international calculations on global emissions published Sunday in the journal Nature Climate Change. That's about a billion tons more than the previous year.

The total amounts to more than 2.4 million pounds (1.1 million kilograms) of carbon dioxide released into the air every second.

The 2011 figures for the biggest polluters:

1. China, up 10 percent to 10 billion tons.

2. United States, down 2 percent to 5.9 billion tons

3. India, up 7 percent to 2.5 billion tons.

4. Russia, up 3 percent to 1.8 billion tons.

5. Japan, up 0.4 percent to 1.3 billion tons.

6. Germany, down 4 percent to 0.8 billion tons.

7. Iran, up 2 percent to 0.7 billion tons.

8. South Korea, up 4 percent to 0.6 billion tons.

9. Canada, up 2 percent to 0.6 billion tons.

10. South Africa, up 2 percent to 0.6 billion tons.

http://mobile.sfgate.com/sfchron/db_41685/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=KC9W5c1I&full=true#d isplay

[RandomGuy]

YOU BLlNDED ME WITH SCIENCE!

How about excel tables? I am much better at blinding with those things.

http://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/

Fascinating.

Almost all the growth in energy usage in the last 10 years has been in natgas. (table 1.1.a)

Coal has about 30% of the overall energy mix, according the tables, although that includes heating and so forth. About 30-40% of electrical generation in the US.

Tables 1.4 and 1.5 are the kicker though. New planned coal plants are almost non-existent, almost all the slack is natgas for the next 5 years, with more coal being retired than built by a wide margin.

Given our natgas boom, we will likely see less upward pressure on electrical prices. How much, would require more analysis than I have time for.

[boutons_deux]

BigCoal is counting on new rail line and shipping terminals in upper N/W US coast to ship coal to Asia, as US demand plummets. People in the N/W don't want to coal dust polluting their region.

[boutons_deux]

duh, batteries, cheaper and lighter and more energy dense are the key. It's gonna happen

Toyota Plugs Away at the Next-Gen Electric-Car Battery

Toyota researchers are making steady progress in developing a battery that uses magnesium instead of lithium, and which could someday offer a cheaper and more energy-dense alternative.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news...c-car-battery/

No surprise if the Japs beat the USA.

[Sportcamper]

For a second year in a row, the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car tops our list of the vehicle owners who said they would definitely buy again. The Volt topped two models that fit the fun driving experience trait: the Chevrolet Corvette and Porsche 911. Other satisfying fuel-efficient models include the Toyota's Camry Hybrid, Prius, Prius C, and Prius V, and the all-electric Nissan Leaf.
http://autos.yahoo.com/news/car-owne...170000472.html

[boutons_deux]

Of 100 Million Miles Driven by Chevy Volts So Far, 2/3 Have Been in Electric Mode

VoltStats.net is a great source of info. It shows that many Volt owners drive more than 90% of their miles in 100% electric mode.

http://www.treehugger.com/cars/100-million-miles-driven-chevy-volts-so-far-23-have-been-electric-mode.html

[boutons_deux]

Better batteries from waste sulfur

A new chemical process can transform waste sulfur into a lightweight plastic that may improve batteries for electric cars, reports a University of Arizona-led team. The new plastic has other potential uses, including optical uses.


The team has successfully used the new plastic to make lithium-sulfur batteries.

"We've developed a new, simple and useful chemical process to convert sulfur into a useful plastic," lead researcher Jeffrey Pyun said.

Next-generation lithium-sulfur, or Li-S, batteries will be better for electric and hybrid cars and for military uses because they are more efficient, lighter and cheaper than those currently used, said Pyun, a UA associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry.

The new plastic has great promise as something that can be produced easily and inexpensively on an industrial scale, he said.

The team's discovery could provide a new use for the sulfur left over when oil and natural gas are refined into cleaner-burning fuels.

Although there are some industrial uses for sulfur, the amount generated from refining fossil fuels far outstrips the current need for the element. Some oil refineries, such as those in Ft. McMurray in Alberta, are ac ulating yellow mountains of waste sulfur.

"There's so much of it we don't know what to do with it," said Pyun. He calls the left-over sulfur "the garbage of transportation."

About one-half pound of sulfur is left over for every 19 gallons of gasoline produced from fossil fuels, calculated co-author Jared Griebel, a UA chemistry and biochemistry doctoral candidate.

The researchers have filed an international patent for their new chemical process and for the new polymeric electrode materials for Li-S batteries.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...-bbf041113.php

[boutons_deux]

The Fiat 500e electric car is coming to California this summer priced at $32,500

which after federal and state incentives could be as low as $20,500.


One innovative perk of buying a Fiat 500e is that it comes with what the company calls the "Fiat 500E Pass program". This gives you 12 days of alternative transportation each year for the first three years via a partnership with car rental company Enterprise. So if you need to take a trip that is longer than the Fiat 500e's 87 miles range, you can simply borrow another vehicle and then switch back to your EV when you come back.



http://www.treehugger.com/cars/fiat-...8Treehugger%29


Chrysler/Fiat with some innovation.

[Drachen]

The Fiat 500e electric car is coming to California this summer priced at $32,500

which after federal and state incentives could be as low as $20,500.


One innovative perk of buying a Fiat 500e is that it comes with what the company calls the "Fiat 500E Pass program". This gives you 12 days of alternative transportation each year for the first three years via a partnership with car rental company Enterprise. So if you need to take a trip that is longer than the Fiat 500e's 87 miles range, you can simply borrow another vehicle and then switch back to your EV when you come back.



http://www.treehugger.com/cars/fiat-...8Treehugger%29


Chrysler/Fiat with some innovation.

This is INCREDIBLY smart, but it still requires some education of the public. I talk to people all the time who are getting ready to buy a vehicle and they are looking at SUVs or pickups. When I ask them why, they say "well what if I need it to help someone move" or some such excuse. Then I ask them to pile up all of those excuses and tell me how much they actually use the truck/suv "feature" of their vehicle and it is generally very little (some genuinely need a truck and I have no problems with that). I tell them they can buy a car, save money on the purchase, save money on the gas and rent a damn truck those few times a year that they need it.

[boutons_deux]

education of the public

... that is pretty ing dumb between the coasts and outside of Chicago, and addicted to macho land yachts.

[boutons_deux]

After Tesla Becomes A Success, Fox Forgets Its Federal Loan

In recent weeks, Fox News has admitted that electric carmaker Tesla Motors is a "success story" -- but now the network suddenly has amnesia about the federal assistance that helped it succeed.

On Friday, Fox News anchor Jon Scott hosted Wall Street Journal automotive industry reporter Joseph White to discuss Fisker, an electric carmaker beset by financial troubles after receiving support from the Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program. Scott suggested Fisker is representative of the DOE's loan guarantee program, adding: "Meantime, there's another company, Tesla, smaller company, did not get a government loan as far as I'm aware ... Tesla seems to be making a go of it so far."

UPDATE (4/26/13): When covering a negative review of Tesla's car, however, Jon Scott did remember that Tesla was government-funded, stating in February 2013, "we are all sort of co-owners of Tesla -- that company got hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars as part of the president's, you know, green energy thing":

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/04...s-its-f/193798

by Fox Repug Propaganda network's rabble-rousing logic, "we are all sort of co-owners of" all the bankrupt banks and insurance companies taxpayers bailed out with $10T.

[Wild Cobra]

Hey Shazbot. So what?

People don't want an electric car that only goes 32 miles on a charge, especially at that price. No amount of government assistance can make that car marketable at that price. The EPA rates the Tesla at 244 miles on a charge.

I'll bet Tesla would have had plenty of backers making it unnecessary to get government assistance. However, they would do so in exchange for a piece of the pie. Since the government loan was available, it only makes sense from a business point of view to use it. I'll bet the Fisker wouldn't be able to get private backing with an electric range of only 32 miles.

[boutons_deux]

Govt loan picked a winner, Fox silent.