What is Digg?48 Comments
- inactive, on 11/25/2008, -1/+30What would be great is if all the electricity to charge the vehicles came from solar, wind, etc. instead of mainly fossil fuels.
- tiertza, on 11/25/2008, -3/+21Awesome, thanks!!! I can't wait!
California is really like its own country within the US. They are usually more forward-thinking (with the exception of passing Proposition 8). - WordsnCollision, on 11/25/2008, -0/+18Hasta la vista, OPEC!
- BarbaraRae, on 11/26/2008, -0/+7This is the way we need to go...and quickly. There is no time to waste...on anymore use of fossil fuels.
- malanic, on 11/26/2008, -0/+7Of course it would be great if we could get ALL of our power from such sources, but considering base load needs, that's just not going to happen in the foreseeable future. It would be great if we could develop fusion power as well, but the main point is that even if the electricity to power our cars comes from coal, it would still be a huge improvement in emissions. Apart from being more efficient than ICE, charging car batteries would take up a lot of the overnight off peak production. Coal and nuclear plants aren't just shut down overnight, so a lot of otherwise wasted energy would be put to good use.
- Barackalypse, on 11/26/2008, -1/+8Gee, I can't imagine what could go wrong with this plan... Oh, yeah, California's crap electrical grid:
"The risk of electricity blackouts in Southern California during the hottest days this summer is more than triple that of previous years because power plant additions have failed to keep up with demand, the state’s grid manager said."
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/29/business/f ...
"SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California residents and businesses turned off lights, air conditioners and machinery Thursday to help the state weather an electricity shortage caused by soaring temperatures and high demand."
http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/22547 - gonzoblair, on 11/26/2008, -0/+6This is a great development for California and the environment. Plus it couldn't happen at a better time.
- inactive, on 11/26/2008, -0/+5The Mojave = perfect place for solar farms.
- AWBoy666, on 11/26/2008, -2/+6This just in: San Francisco's insane traffic has gotten 10x worse as ***** in dead electric cars jam up freeways even more.
- caltwentynine, on 11/26/2008, -2/+6Gonna be a large cloud of smug forming over California soon.
- dbzssj44676, on 11/26/2008, -0/+4uh, no. They shot that down long ago. They built the infrastructure, banned the cars.
- c4menace, on 11/26/2008, -1/+5Makes me sad when I see people against the electric car…
-1990: California passes law that in order for an auto maker to sell their cars in state, they must have X percent of their vehicles sold “zero emission.”
-1996/1997: Electric cars start hitting the road (lease only) with generally good reviews. Demand is high.
-Late 90’s: Big auto makers pressure California to change the Zero Emission law to match production based on demand. GM claims only 50 people are willing to buy the electric car, demand is very low (despite the public outcry). This marks the beginning of the EV1 fleets downsize.
-2002: GM and Chrysler sue California over their zero emission laws. Bush administration joins the suit. California retracts the ZEL.
-2003: entire GM and Crystal electric car division fired. All leased electric cars will be taken and destroyed.
-2005: last of the GM EV1 cars are now destroyed/recycled. All patients closed, the electric car is now gone.
-2006 to present: Japanese companies fearing American dominance have been developing hybrid technology and other “plug and play” technologies to comply with the ZEL. Despite the cancellation of the ZEL popular Japanese manufacturers release their vehicles to the American public. Their cars remain in huge demand and incredibly profitable.
I cant stand when people tell me technology is limited. If technology is so limited then how the hell can a geek like me convert a normal car to a plug and play with little to no budget? Its been done hundreds of times before – just look at the blogs on teh tubez…
Hydrogen is a JOKE it takes 4 times the energy to power a hydrogen car the same distance that a fuel cell car would travel. If you ask me, hydrogen was only supported by the bush administration to downplay the ZEL and big oil scandal.
Also, I realize that plugging your car in takes energy from a big dirty power plant. But it makes it much easier to change our methods such as centralized solar or wind ect ect. Studies show that even if we used coal power plants, the environmental impact would be much lower then our current system.
The bush administration, Iraq, the economy, foreign car dominance, and the (new) oil crisis have forced us back into this ZEL mentality and its nice to see automakers dropping 8 cyl concepts for 4 cyl hybrids…. But damn we screwed up. We could have been leading the electric market by now… - Wildthing, on 11/26/2008, -0/+4So does that mean we can basically drive for free if we plug into one of those charging stations? I don't see anywhere to swipe a credit card or insert coins.
- SourBreastMilk, on 11/26/2008, -0/+4"like a little 3rd world nation inside the US."
You sir, are retarded. California BY ITSELF ranks # 7 in the WORLD for GDP. I don't know where you're from but I guarantee it ranks below our state.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_between_U. ... - SilverBlade2k, on 11/26/2008, -0/+3I wonder how long it'll be before an oil company comes along and buys it out..
- Barackalypse, on 11/26/2008, -1/+4Good luck with that:
"Coal-fired plants contributed 48.3 percent of the Nation’s electric power, year-to-date. "
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/epm_s ... - Cglass, on 11/26/2008, -0/+3Our governor is trying, I wish people would give him more credit; that said, it is really hard to fix the budget and move forward with progressive ideas like this, when we are in this current economic situation.
- inactive, on 11/26/2008, -2/+4"Recently the cities of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland unveiled a massive CONCEITED effort to become the electric vehicle capitol of the United States!"
Fixed that sentence for you. - MrColdheart, on 11/26/2008, -1/+3What do you expect they arguably have the most stable green culture in America. And they did it all by making it a status symbol.
- Swivelstick, on 11/26/2008, -1/+3"This groundbreaking development heralds a nine-step plan" Huh whats ground breaking look at history please.
- MrColdheart, on 11/26/2008, -0/+2Thank you for reminding me why GM and Chrysler shouldn't be bailed out.
- Ultomato, on 11/26/2008, -0/+2electric cars have existed long before internal combustion engines. the only "problem" with electric cars is the lack of funding for battery technology
- thestrongrope, on 11/25/2008, -0/+2I know I shouldn't respond but... I love that you attack this person but you don't actually back up any of your claims with any type of facts. Just a bunch of babble. Also you don't even address his issue of renewables replacing FOSSIL FUELS. I have read and re-read his post a bunch of times now and I still don't see where he is talking about nuclear. Is it hidden? If you are going to respond to people at least make it applicable to what was said.
Now I don't know the complete life-cycle of solar panels but with a quick search it looks like there are systems in place and coming up to recycle solar cells http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idU ... - slapthemonkey, on 11/26/2008, -0/+1I love to read such stories..really.
- jrapp, on 11/26/2008, -0/+1Sorry, but I'm pretty sure you'll be paying for the electricity. The charging stations are being installed by Better Place. Wired had a really good article on PBP a few months ago: http://www.wired.com/cars/futuretransport/magazine ... . The charging stations are all metered and communicate with each other and the vehicle being charged - so that way somebody can't come up to the charging station and charge their vehicle on your dime.
- CousinPedoPanda, on 11/26/2008, -0/+1I think i should move to California... before gas goes back up. Walking there is out of the question!
- inactive, on 11/26/2008, -3/+4And yet they're still the biggest producer global warming-related pollutants. Also ranked the worst state in the country to do business, according to CEO's, worst water polluters, worst workforce quality, worst air pollution, worst place to try to sell a house, and worst deficit.
But they have a "stable green culture" ***** that means. Apparently that and a quarter can't get you a fresh breath of air. - dbzssj44676, on 11/27/2008, -0/+1No, shipping yards and lots of trucks.
- biodrone, on 11/26/2008, -1/+2Looks like there is a community forming around the build out: http://planet.betterplace.com let's get our voices heard and make sure this happens!
- WheezyMustafa, on 11/26/2008, -0/+1Is this the cause of the mass smug in the air over San Francisco?
- Branchex, on 11/26/2008, -1/+2The country is in a budget crisis and the California government is going to buy electric cars when they are still very expensive and in the beta stage of car technology. Who knows what problems could pop up or the longevity of the cars.
- Ultomato, on 11/27/2008, -0/+1or wind, or wave power
- pr3sidentspence, on 11/28/2008, -0/+1Isn't it already?
- MrColdheart, on 11/26/2008, -0/+1I think the brown/black outs and quality of air might have been the catalyst for the fact more people drive electric cars and own solar panels in CA.
- MrColdheart, on 11/26/2008, -0/+1Have there been any cases of electric cars dieing on the freeways?
I wouldn't buy one if this is true. - andergriff, on 11/26/2008, -2/+3Dear Boneheads:
Electricity is not free. It must be generated. Doh! - moosemiester, on 11/26/2008, -0/+0Malanic Thank you for your insightful and (rare) realistic response.
I urge everyone to do the following:
Open your last electric bill.
Look at how many kilowatt/hours you used.
Go research how many solar cells you'd need to run your house. Remember that the Kilowatt / Hours the electric company reports are based on 110 volts, and that most solar cells are rated in Kilowatt hours at 28 volts. The answers may surprise you.
Then go make the same calculation for a wind generator.
The laws of physics are a sobering reality. Who knows, you might become a fan of nuclear power as a stopgap, I did. - neumannm, on 11/26/2008, -0/+0That's why the power company offers discounts to EV drivers who recharge during the night and hikes up their rates during peak hours.
The charging stations are going to have some sort of method of working as well, I wouldn't expect to see the stations in San Diego Parking Structures any time soon. I think they'll be rolled out in residential areas and only turned on overnight, no matter what the propaganda says at the moment. - talkingwires, on 11/26/2008, -3/+3Wait, so like California, again?
Remember that Russian report of the US fracturing into separate countries by 2025? When California and the other western states secede, I hope they'll take me as a citizen. And hopefully the diminished power of Utah's influence also means we can fix one of the biggest mistakes the country made on Election Day, too... - Nonlinearity, on 11/27/2008, -0/+0That's true. There are still left-over charging stations around California that I've seen. I guess we just need to make sure the movement is stronger this time and really fight the car companies. Although, the current popular position is to be "green," whereas when they first introduced electric cars, there probably wasn't enough popular support for them to make a difference to car companies. Hopefully we have a good chance this time.
- Regenerate70, on 11/26/2008, -0/+0This is a great development for the Bay Area and US. Using the Bay Area as a pilot region for EV rollout, partnering with a systems company like Better Place (cars and charging stations) and creating incentives for others to build distributed power generations (solar and wind). Add in the IT heads, progressive citizenry and this is a formula for success. See the video I took at the press conference here - http://www.consciousrevolutionnow.com/better-place ...
- randumbusername, on 11/26/2008, -2/+1maybe prop 8 was forward thinking too
- Niteryder, on 11/26/2008, -2/+1More pipe dreams about technology no one can afford....
- Ultomato, on 11/26/2008, -2/+1or captured for free from the sunlight
- inactive, on 11/26/2008, -2/+1Maybe they should work on not having brownouts first.
- inactive, on 11/26/2008, -2/+1Suck it.
- inactive, on 11/26/2008, -8/+1Ya, the broke as ***** Socialist Republic of Mexifornia is real impressive. Its like a little 3rd world nation inside the US. How are those rolling brownouts treating you? And the highest sales tax and some of the highest property taxes in the country? The housing bubble also kicked CAs stupid asses worse than anyone else, it seems a ***** garage really isnt worth a cool million bucks.
CA is like a living example of what not to do for the rest of us. Prop 8 is real forward thinking btw, nice going there.
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