Page 3 of 21 FirstFirst 123456713 ... LastLast
Results 31 to 45 of 305

Thread: California to ban internal combustion engine cars by 2035

  1. #31
    I'm on a "time of day" billing rate for electricity. California has lots of solar so rates are low during the day but go up significantly at about 4pm when solar starts to taper off. I have solar and feed power back to the grid during the low rate time of day. I considered getting some of those batteries and charging them at the low rates and then feeding the power back to the grid after 4pm where I'd get the maximum credit for the power.

    Haven't done it yet but it might be worth it. I think the power company would appreciate it because they need the power at that time.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    Los Angeles, California
    Posts
    961
    I was in China last year for nearly a month. Most, and I do mean most, of the passenger cars and scooters are electric.

    There are also electric trucks, but larger trucks are of course diesel.

    Why can't we do this?
    Regards,

    Tom

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
    Posts
    9,876
    I do not understand why post office trucks are not electric when almost all the bigger UPS trucks are. The UPS station is more then twice the distance from our neighborhood.
    I Will say it again my father remembered when milk was delivered by horse and wagon. The driver took enough for several houses and the onboard intelligence would position the wagon forward as the milkman walked. No artificial intelligence at that time but they had a control system that worked better then the current dumb mail trucks.
    No external power source needed , carbon neutral, self replicating AI units. Also produces valuable soil addiments as a side line
    Bill D
    Last edited by Bill Dufour; 09-27-2020 at 11:36 AM.

  4. #34
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Dufour View Post
    I Also produces valuable soil amendments as a side line
    Bill D
    Those "valuable soil amendments" were all over the road and in places where people walked. People also rode horses and those horses also produced "valuable soil amendments" on the roads and walkways. You learned to walk looking down, instead of looking outward.

    Looking a bit further back, people in cities used to throw "night soil" out of their windows on the roadway. Occasionally, there was someone walking under the window when it was thrown.

    No, thanks. I grew up on a farm in the country amid these "valuable soil amendments". You get used to it but living without it is better.

    Mike

    [I'm always amazed at the city people who want to "get back to nature" and go live on a farm. I often think they just have no idea what it's really like.]
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,675
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Dufour View Post
    I do not understand why post office trucks are not electric when almost all the bigger UPS trucks are. The UPS station is more then twice the distance from our neighborhood.
    One word: Money

    UPS has the ability to invest to reinvent their fleet. USPS doesn't currently have the funding for that because of the crippling requirement to pre-fund retirement out a long way. If that was handled like other entities, they would have money to invest to improve delivery efficiency from a transportation standpoint.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    5,426
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Dufour View Post
    I do not understand why post office trucks are not electric when almost all the bigger UPS trucks are. The UPS station is more then twice the distance from our neighborhood.
    The current USPS vehicles were introduced around 1990. The USPS is currently working to replace the entire fleet and electric is one option. The contract was originally supposed to be signed in 2017, but no idea what current status is.

    Electric would be perfect for curbside delivery as the vehicles are constantly starting and stopping. For walking routes electric makes less sense since the carrier parks the vehicle and then walks up to each house.

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    5,426
    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Wrenn View Post
    Currently, semi's over a certain age aren't allowed to enter the state of California due to emissions standards. Seems like the same applies to diesel locomotives also.
    Semi trucks have to have a 2010 or newer diesel engine to operate in California. I have heard there are/were yards on the California border where Semi tractors were exchanged for a vehicle that could travel into California.

    It has now been ten years and I expect a majority of semi tractors are now 2010 or newer so they can go into California. Semi tractors in over the road service rack up miles in a hurry.

  8. #38
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Falls Church, VA
    Posts
    2,335
    Blog Entries
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Dufour View Post
    I keep waiting for GE to announce electric powered airplane engines.
    Bil lD.
    Argonne Labs demonstrated a fuel cell powered plane over 20 years ago. It was a little one (Piper Cub or something). I don't remember the range.

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Falls Church, VA
    Posts
    2,335
    Blog Entries
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Dufour View Post
    Frito lay in town is using 10-15 Tesla semitrucks to haul potato chips around the area. UPS is electric delivery trucks in town, has been for several years. I bet there will be arguments about what is a light truck vs a heavy one.
    There's a company based in Kansas City called Smith Electric. They buy the panel trucks without engines and put electrics in them. Their target, which I think is brilliant, is delivery vehicles. Think about it. The Lays potato chip truck drives the same few routes over and over which aren't all that long and then they go back to the yard. Those trucks are ideal for conversion. A fuel cell company called Plug Power had the same sort of idea. Instead of going after the car market, they targeted fork lifts and other material handlers.

    Both these companies are a great way to start a larger conversion.

  10. #40
    Here's an article about hydrogen powered airplanes. It's on Bloomberg and I don't know if you need a subscription to see it.

    I think I saw pretty much the same article somewhere else so if you can't see it here you may be able to find it.

    Mike

    [Searching further I found a bunch of articles on hydrogen powered aircraft.]
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  11. #41
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    The old pueblo in el norte.
    Posts
    1,844
    Quote Originally Posted by Thomas McCurnin View Post
    Why can't we do this?
    The answer is invariably "We don't want to."

    We can.

    With that said, I've seen more high-end gasoline powered sports cars in Shanghai than any other city I've been to. Bar none. Man, there's some money in that city.
    ~mike

    happy in my mud hut

  12. #42
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
    Posts
    9,876
    The nazi's, before the war started, experimented with steam engine airplanes. I know Bill Lear made a steam engine bus in the 1970's?
    Bil lD

  13. #43
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    1,209
    Quote Originally Posted by Roger Feeley View Post
    There's a company based in Kansas City called Smith Electric. They buy the panel trucks without engines and put electrics in them. Their target, which I think is brilliant, is delivery vehicles. Think about it. The Lays potato chip truck drives the same few routes over and over which aren't all that long and then they go back to the yard. Those trucks are ideal for conversion. A fuel cell company called Plug Power had the same sort of idea. Instead of going after the car market, they targeted fork lifts and other material handlers.

    Both these companies are a great way to start a larger conversion.
    Plug Power has been around for decades, and is one of the reasons I am skeptical of the idea that futuristic technology will allow us to have a carbon free future without compromising anyone's quality of life.

    Anybody who was around Albany in the late 90s knew about Plug Power. They had a demonstration house that ran on fuel cells, the governor was talking them up, the stock was skyrocketing, incredible breakthroughs were just around the corner, and everybody seemed to know somebody who worked there or was invested in it.

    Twenty years later I don't think they have ever made a profit, and the incredible breakthroughs are still just around the corner.

  14. #44
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    South Coastal Massachusetts
    Posts
    6,824
    Quote Originally Posted by Nicholas Lawrence View Post
    Twenty years later I don't think they have ever made a profit, and the incredible breakthroughs are still just around the corner.
    Too right.

    Time to stop propping up sectors that can't turn a profit.

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-g...-idUSKCN2250FQ
    Last edited by Jim Matthews; 09-30-2020 at 8:16 PM.

  15. #45
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Hayes, Virginia
    Posts
    14,760
    California might be better off finding a way to provide reliable electricity before it decides to mandate electric vehicles
    Its not something you can do overnight, it takes decades to properly plan and build a reliable electrical service for that many people.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •