Electric Vehicles (EV)

One thing I remember from my high school Physics class is that every conversion of energy entails some energy loss. For example, an internal combustion engine produces much more energy than it takes to move your car, and the excess energy is lost as heat and noise. If the potential energy contained in a gallon of gas could all be delivered directly to the car's wheels, you might get a hundred miles per gallon, instead of the 25 you get now. Energy conversion is very inefficient.

Now think of all the energy conversions (and loss) it takes to generate electricty, transport it, store it, and charge your car with it. A gallon of fossil fuel used in that chain will certainly provide many fewer "miles per gallon" to your car's wheels than you would realize if you put that gallon directly in your gas tank.

Furthermore, the technology required to produce the enormous amount of electricity it would take to charge and maintain a nation of electric vehicles does not exist. That's why governors of blue states mandating all-electric vehicles by a year that they have pulled out of their ass is nonsensical. But their virtue-signalling has no current cost, so they will continue to do it because the only thing that really matters is their next election.

I was freshly out of the Navy and, with my knowledge of propulsion systems of Naval vessels, I drew out a personal vehicle nuclear propulsion system, on a napkin.  If my puny brain can figure that out, actual vehicle manufacturers can figure it out... Nuclear fueled, stem driven cars would mean you only fill it with water every year or so, and it would go forever... or un til the wheels fall off, whichever.

We still have to generate the electricity with which to charge them, which is primarily done, today, with fossil or carbon fuel ( and solar or wind generation IS virtue signaling).

It currently takes an inordinate amount of time to recharge a vehicle (even up to 80%), leaving the driver and passengers in need of something to do (my shopping trips rarely take even 15 minutes).

I do not understand how we will generate enough electricity to “fill” all the electric vehicles once conversion is widespread.

You’re right about repair costs, until it comes time to replace the batteries, when you will catch up in one visit to the facility.

I just realized we have inadvertently punned ourselves. You don’t think that "currently" there is sufficient available electricity, and I said I was not a "fan" of wind power. Who can explain such spontaneous comic genius?

Of course, when automobiles were first invented had you told people that to make them available throughout the country we would have to dig huge oil well facilities throughout the world, build enormous 100,000+ ton ships to convey the oil around the world, construct huge seaports, build countless gasoline stations and finance hundreds of thousands of miles of roadways what do suppose the response would have been? It would have been like that of the would-be kamikaze pilot in the back of the room in that old Cheech and Chong skit: "Captain-san, are you out of you fucking mind?”

The days of fossil fuels are coming to an end at some point. We face many shortages that will eventually resolve. We reside on the border of the Pacific Ocean which covers around half the globe and we feel we have a water shortage. There is more energy in my computer screen then there is in the explosive power of both the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombs combined. Currently (no pun intended) we get our power from fossil fuels, nuclear energy, wind, solar, waves and probably other sources I’ve never heard of. There is no reason to think that eventually we have to get all our power from a single source. There will always be a mixture depending on local economics, but the role of fossil fuel will inevitably decline if for no other reason than diminishing availability. It's a matter of technology and time before we learn how to access and distribute alternate sources of energy. Hell yes, it’s ungodly expensive, but how expensive - to name just one hurdle - has it been for the United States to maintain peace in the Middle East and worldwide access to its oil, for example?

I believe you that 2035 is not a realistic goal for conversion to all electric cars, and for the reasons you state. But look at the extraordinary nationwide charging network that even a single company like Tesla has already made available. It has to happen. And in the meantime I remain far more virtuous than you, you unsophisticated, knuckle dragging troglodyte scum……………Luca

The problem with Newsome's pontificating is that by the time 2035 rolls around he'll be long gone and we'll still have people hyperventilating about gas cars. But he can say "What do you want from me ? I passed the law. Not my problem if you guys didn't follow up on it."