(older Prius batteries tend to outlast the car itself, for example)
This is a problem. Automobiles are supposed to last for ever. Bus Grease Monkey has proven that.
The Battery Electric Rail Vehicle has been around since the early 1800s. Diesel Electric has been around since the early 1900s. Even Regenerative Braking has been around in the Turbine Locomotives.
So Called Renewable Energy should be used for certain types of Rail systems, not Automobiles. Diesel Electric is best for Automobiles, certain types of Rail systems ... and in occasional types of Rail systems it is best for them to switch back to Turbine.
Electric cars are ascendant and will eventually replace gas powered cars.
Electric cars. In some cases that means COAL Powered cars? Manufacturing these cars is far from environmentally neutral. Disposal of the batteries MAY wind up a bigger environmental dilemma than EVERYTHING in an internal combustion powered car, truck, or bus: INCLUDING the emissions.
While it would immediately lessen the carbon monoxide emissions, what does it leave down the line of if there is a problem. In moment, Nuclear power is the cleanest, most efficient, and reliable power generation. If there is a problem, the long-term outlook is not as rosy. Battery operated cars may have the same iffy outlook as an old used up Nuclear Power Plant.
not all power is generated by coal. and actually now very little is by coal, it is mostly natural gas. eventually most of our power will be from renewables. your point about disposal being a problem is fallacious, you are pretending electric cars were promised to have little to no impact on the environment, that is simply not true. Also nuclear has a big problem of what to do with the radioactive waste it creates.
As to the coal. I said SOME. It is not as you said very little. It is around 20%. While that is half of what it was less than a decade ago, it is still significant. In some states, coal still is over 50% of the electricity generated. Ironically, greater use of electric cars MIGHT actually increase the utilization of coal as much of our coal generation is being idled first. So as demand peaks, coal burning increases. That was only a MINOR point.
The renewals have ramped up to close to 20%, but is far more expensive than fossil fuels.
you are pretending electric cars were promised to have little to no impact on the environment. That is the inference. Not mine, but those of proponents of battery electric cars now. Today: A gasoline powered car is cleaner to produce than a plug-in electric or a gas electric hybrid. There is debate on the long-run weather the way the seeming environmental advantages to electrical generation fueling the cars actually fully offsets the cradle to grave environmental issues of the electric powered cars. I am not suggesting we will never overcome this. It may actually happen sooner than later. The point is we aren't there yet.
Yes nuclear waste is a major concern. So is battery waste, plastic waste, and even how to best deal with the production of non-ferrous metals that have a larger role in electric cars. Plastics are still mostly made from petroleum.
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Topic: North Houston Highway Improvement Project (includes downtown rebuild) (Read 46981 times)