2025
I need a ānewā used vehicle (Chrysler Voyager?) before then and before the waiting lists are filled, but I was talking about being on track to winning concept overall. They are all in on EVs.
I am unsure about my faith in the electric grid. All these new cars may push it past its limit. Looked at an all electric house today and my first thought was I would install a backup generator. Texas had a major fail in electric, rolling brownouts in CA last summer. Scary to me!
About four years ago, actually. Thatās when they started selling the Chevrolet Bolt. I know a couple of people that own them and they are very happy with the cars.
I admit I am woefully short on knowing all the appropriate details but the push to go all electric on vehicles as rapidly as is currently (no pun intended) being pushed leaves me both concerned and confused. Some of my thoughts and concerns include:
Electric generation and grid distribution capabilities are woefully inadequate for such increased demand. Major problems meeting current demand already exist.
Construction of new generating facilities and upgrades of existing power plants and of the distribution grid have been obstructed for several decades by environmentalists and politics. Will that change? Will sufficient infrastructure for generation and grid distribution occur in time to meet demand if dino powered vehicles are phased out as rapidly as is proposed?
Will oil, natural gas, and nuclear production sufficient for the needed additional electricity generation be allowed/available?
Do sufficient rare earth metals exist for a worldwide, permanent for the foreseeable future transition to EVs?
What about our national security if we must import most/all the rare earth metals from other countries? Oil self sustainability / independence has long been a serious concern for both national security and national economy. Is relying on rare earth metals to the proposed degree viable and sustainable?
Is mining and processing of the needed volume of rare earth metals less environmentally damaging than reliance on current oil, natural gas, and nuclear power?
I could go on and on but these are some of my personal concerns and questions.
I am not opposed to change, to progress, etc. But I am realistic about looking hard at the pros and cons of such changes. My dad used to say that not all change is progress. Change is inevitable. And very real benefits go with fundamental advancement changes in technology. But there are also accompanying problems that have to be dealt with. History both old and recent is testament to such.
Iām no Luddite but neither do I jump on bandwagons.
I hear you! Iām all electric in the south, Although Iām certified 100% solar power through my Florida utility company (I pay a surcharge to build/maintain solar farms), solar alone canāt handle a major cyber attack grid knock down, Iām sure. I donāt need heat here ( have never used it) and could get by without A/C if necessary. I believe I could still receive water, gravity flow, although with lower pressure due to an inoperative condo booster pump (7 stories). The county has standby electric generators.
I am stocked up with abundant oatmeal, beans, nuts, seeds, water, (Iām vegetarian anyhow) etcetera, to weather a semi-brief grid failure. I can bike to recreational activities. I can go long periods without need of a car.
People should be concerned about the security of our national power grid. I believe we are vulnerable. It is scary. CSA
It is interesting to me that many appliances and electronic equipment today consume less electrical power than the appliances and electronic equipment used in the 1950s. The tube type television with the 21" screen required much more power than the 42" flat screen television we have today. The big power consuming refrigerators of the 1950s, particularly those with automatic defrost have been replaced with much more efficient refrigerators today. A microwave oven takes a lot less energy to warm up a leftover than heating the oven to 375 degrees. The new LED bulbs take much less energy for the same amount of light than an incandescent bulb or even a fluorescent bulb.
The gas furnace that heats my house exhausts through a PCV pipe rather than a chimney and it also draws combustion air from the outside.
I am almost ready to try a battery powered lawnmower again. I bought a used Black and Decker from a friend. The lead acid batteries only lasted two seasons. The control panel went out and the part is no longer available. I think the lithium ion battery powered lawnmowers are probably much better. I do have a battery powered string trimmer and it works well for me.
In my part of the country, the power company is increasing its capacity with more transmission lines and offering incentives for decreased power usage.
The Honda engine powered ālesser known band nameā I bought in 2003 still purrs like a kitten ( after replacing the deck which rusted through and was picked up on garage sale from the shiny new mower with engine blown by the owner neglect).
I bet this Honda will get another 10+ years in service and will be better for the environment in the end as the amount of gas itās gonna burn will not justify dump&replace approach.
Iām with @Marnet on this: let the new to sprout through the older generation.
Itās simply not feasible to convert everything into electric at once.
I say GM had this 19 years ago and Tesla copied itā¦ As does Forbes.
The Bolt seems to be a good EV, but you donāt hear much about it. GM is capable of building a competitive EV. They built an EV in the early 90sā¦ very few leased them, they piled up on lots so GM canceled it and people who didnāt lease one screamed about GM canceling it.
The Volt seemed to be a decent hybrid (but they called it an EV) but again, not many bought them so they canceled itā¦ no one cared, no one screamed. Cadillac built a version as well, but no one remembers it let alone cares.
Will GM go all EV as they claim? CAN they go all EV? Can the US go all EV? Time will tell.
Successful adoption of innovation depends on both the product and the āpowerā.
In recent memory, the technology for digital Mini computers (DEC, Digital, Sinclair, etc.) existed years before the software infrastructure that āpowersā them became widely available (Wang word processors, Lotus 123, Apple Write, etc.) and then they took offā¦
My point is that an EV is just another appliance, weāre still in the early days of the technology and rapidly progressing but once they reach the adoption ātipping pointā, demand will rapidly solve the āpowerā issues.
Wind, Solar, Natural Gas, Hydro, Nuclear? Who knows but as as sure as God made little green apples, as soon as thereās a profit to be made someoneās gonna find a way to grab it.
No were are not in the early stages of the technology.
The very first cars were battery electric cars over 135 years ago. The GM EV1 from 30 years ago used a variable-frequency AC drive as EVs do today. Lithium Ion batteries have been used to power cars since Tesla did it 13 years ago.
Each has had incremental improvements that bring it closer to mainstream adoption. Infrastructure is less a problem in many areas than the long charging times.
Personal infrastructure is a matter of cost and location. Canāt overnight charge your EV overnight if you donāt pay to have a charger installed in your place of residence.
We have a neighborhood around with nice lots and prime location, yet itās very slow to rebuild mid-last-century homes there into mansionsā¦ the reason is quite simple: old homes are on 100A over-the-air electric service and it is no natural gas other than you bring and pump into your own underground tank.
Iām happy to live in a location with underground electric and natural gas available, but not everybody is so lucky.
I live in an all-electric neighborhood with most homes having 200 amp service. That is enough to charge a car overnight and still run my AC unit on hot nights butā¦ the cost of installing a level 2 $2000 charger after spending $45,000 on a new car is a challenge for many buyers.
The additional cost of upgrading a 100 amp service to 200 amp would be an even bigger hurdle whether underground or overhead lines.
As a one car family, an all electric car would never be my choice. Fortunately, I am old enough that I will not have to worry about it.
20 years ago, my wife and I made an 8600 mile trip across the country seeing the great national parks of the Northwest and West traveling without fixed plans or timetables. It saddens me that future generations might not be abler to do that.