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Posted
36 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:

Maybe it’s like high-fashion runway shows? Trot out something completely absurd, but then the actual line that follows is toned down to something that’s actually wearable, but still “inspired by” elements of the runway design?

The whole concept car thing isn't much different than the fashion industry, but not usually to such extremes.

Posted
And then the batteries.  Shall we discuss environmental impact of everything that surrounds that mirage?
Naw, let's just go get a taco.
I'm hungry.

What is the current plan for used batteries and their projected impact on the environment? Seems that it’s being completely ignored. Maybe with newer batteries are more recyclable?
Posted
1 hour ago, YChang said:

Had no idea how some of y’all are so concerned about environmental impact of batteries and electricity generation.

Entertainment seekers everywhere love a pithy fantasy/hypocricy tale.

Good stuff.

Posted
11 hours ago, Girdwood said:

Where the fuck do you think electric power comes from you fucking idiot? 

Why you mad though?

For information in easy to understand format, I suggest you get started by perusing the DOE website. https://www.energy.gov/eere/electricvehicles/electric-vehicle-benefits. More online searching would definitely be educational.

Personally, I get my electricity from the solar panels on my roof. For my state,  California, about 50% is clean/renewable source energy, with 43.5% being solar, hydro, wind and geothermal, and depending on how you see nuclear, add 8.7% to it. Even if 100% is from burning non-renewable unclean sources, burning it at a power plant instead of in the car engine has many advantages, the main ones being much higher efficiency power extraction, emissions kept much lower and handled more efficiently, and those that are released to atmosphere are away from where people live.

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Texas is not up there yet, but it has tremendous potential for wind and solar. Of course, there are challenges, the main one being the uneven production from solar and wind, but there are many solutions being developed. 

Any other questions?

 

  • Like 1
Posted
45 minutes ago, AeroHorn said:

Why you mad though?

For information in easy to understand format, I suggest you get started by perusing the DOE website. https://www.energy.gov/eere/electricvehicles/electric-vehicle-benefits. More online searching would definitely be educational.

Personally, I get my electricity from the solar panels on my roof. For my state,  California, about 50% is clean/renewable source energy, with 43.5% being solar, hydro, wind and geothermal, and depending on how you see nuclear, add 8.7% to it. Even if 100% is from burning non-renewable unclean sources, burning it at a power plant instead of in the car engine has many advantages, the main ones being much higher efficiency power extraction, emissions kept much lower and handled more efficiently, and those that are released to atmosphere are away from where people live.

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Texas is not up there yet, but it has tremendous potential for wind and solar. Of course, there are challenges, the main one being the uneven production from solar and wind, but there are many solutions being developed. 

Any other questions?

 

You're a dumbass

  • Like 1
  • Fuck You 2
Posted
52 minutes ago, AeroHorn said:

Why you mad though?

For information in easy to understand format, I suggest you get started by perusing the DOE website. https://www.energy.gov/eere/electricvehicles/electric-vehicle-benefits. More online searching would definitely be educational.

Personally, I get my electricity from the solar panels on my roof. For my state,  California, about 50% is clean/renewable source energy, with 43.5% being solar, hydro, wind and geothermal, and depending on how you see nuclear, add 8.7% to it. Even if 100% is from burning non-renewable unclean sources, burning it at a power plant instead of in the car engine has many advantages, the main ones being much higher efficiency power extraction, emissions kept much lower and handled more efficiently, and those that are released to atmosphere are away from where people live.

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Texas is not up there yet, but it has tremendous potential for wind and solar. Of course, there are challenges, the main one being the uneven production from solar and wind, but there are many solutions being developed. 

Any other questions?

 

Actually I have one. What’s the environmental impact of manufacturing all the wind mills and solar panels and any other clean energy generating devices(including mining or otherwise collecting the raw materials), relative to just mining and burning coal?

how much cleaner is it?

if renewability is the larger driver, what are the life cycles of those means and are there issues with consuming those raw mats over time?

 

Posted


A common question we hear is, “What happens to Tesla vehicle battery packs once they reach their end of life?” An important distinction between fossil fuels and lithium-ion batteries as an energy source is that while fossil fuels are extracted and used once, the materials in a lithium-ion battery are recyclable. When petroleum is pumped out of the ground, chemically refined and then burned, it releases harmful emissions into the atmosphere that are not recovered for reuse. Battery materials, in contrast, are refined and put into a cell, and will still remain at the end of their life, when they can be recycled to recover its valuable materials for reuse over and over again.”

.....


The closed-loop battery recycling process at Gigafactory 1 presents a compelling solution to move energy supply away from the fossil-fuel based practice of take, make and burn, to a more circular model of recycling end-of-life batteries for reuse over and over again. From an economic perspective, we expect to recognize significant savings over the long term, as the costs associated with large-scale battery material recovery and recycling will be far lower than purchasing and transporting new materials.”
Posted
Thanks, that article pretty much addresses my post point by point for solar. 

 

 

It does and for those not reading the article...

 

 

Most estimates for concentrating solar power range from 0.08 to 0.2 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour. In both cases, this is far less than the lifecycle emission rates for natural gas (0.6-2 lbs of CO2E/kWh) and coal (1.4-3.6 lbs of CO2E/kWh) [6].

 

.2 vs 3.6 for solar vs coal - I think that’s an 1800% differential?

 

And .2 vs 2 for solar vs natural gas - I think that’s a 1000% differential?

 

Fossil fuels are killing us. Batteries and solar and wind are currently our best answer.

 

Posted (edited)
5 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Actually I have one. What’s the environmental impact of manufacturing all the wind mills and solar panels and any other clean energy generating devices(including mining or otherwise collecting the raw materials), relative to just mining and burning coal?

how much cleaner is it?

if renewability is the larger driver, what are the life cycles of those means and are there issues with consuming those raw mats over time?

 

Very important question. Thank you to others who have already answered it. I'll just link to an exhaustive summary by NREL based off of their detailed reports for each energy type (renewable or otherwise). https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy16osti/65645.pdf

They do the whole life cycle analysis, not only for emissions, but also for the use of other natural resources such as water and land. They also include 2000+ installation sites data, and do quite a bit of statistical normalization.

Slide 10 explains their life cycle calculation methodology

Slide 29 summarizes the emissions across different energy sources in terms of green house gasses. As mentioned earlier, renewables are a small fraction of natural gas and coal.

Slides 46 and 49 summarize water usage. Among renewables, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) has high recirculating water usage (as expected) but photo voltaic and wind use very little water.

Slides 55 and 56 summarize land usage. Since this is uniquely renewable concern, they have listed only these types. As they explain in the text, the very high land use for wind power is not really accurate because the wind turbine has practically no impact on the land and the land can be used for farming, etc.

 

TL;DR: Very exhaustive full life cycle studies for all natural resources show that renewables, especially solar and wind, have very small impact compared to all other types of energy generation.

Edited by AeroHorn
  • Like 2
Posted
6 hours ago, AeroHorn said:

TL;DR: Very exhaustive full life cycle studies for all natural resources show that renewables, especially solar and wind, have very small impact compared to all other types of energy generation.

I'm shocked.  SHOCKED I TELL YOU

  • Like 2
Posted

And yet...

Quote

Patting yourself on the back for buying a Prius? It might surprise you to find that electric vehicles, dependent on batteries, may have significant negative environmental impact. You may have cut back on greenhouse gas emissions at the pump only to step into other environmental pitfalls.

Here’s something that electric car companies do not want you to know: the materials that make up your car battery are born deep in mines, may be extracted by child labor and in some of the most polluting ways possible. Even if the mining industry were ecologically sustainable, lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries have been known to explode and/or catch fire. Avoiding such incidents, the batteries are extremely difficult to recycle, often resulting in the disposal of a spent, but still toxic and flammable battery in your local landfill.

...

Impact of Extraction

Lithium production in South America doesn’t have so much to do with the element’s availability in the soil, but with water. The Andes mountains are very dry, but the lithium extraction process requires water in no small amount to bring the element up to the surface in a salty brine—500,000 gallons of water per ton of lithium, according to Wired. In some regions in Chile, 65 percent of water is used up in lithium production, diverting it from local food production. The brine then requires 12 to 18 months to evaporate. Any water returned to the farmers could be tainted with chemicals.

...

Another core concern lies in the vast wealth that lithium will represent for these smaller, poorer countries when demand starts to escalate. The lengthy evaporation period for the lithium brine can be sped up by heating the water, a process achieved by burning fossil fuels -- defeating the entire purpose of reducing greenhouse emissions in the first place. But when the price is up and the bottleneck forms, the desire for faster, cheaper production may outweigh our ability to maintain environmental standards.

...

Then there’s cobalt. In addition to the environmental concerns related to lithium production, cobalt mining is unequivocally destructive on multiple levels. Currently, half of the world’s cobalt is produced in the Republic of Congo. Concerning cobalt mining in the Congo region, journalists have revealed human and environmental abuses ranging from child and slave labor, to toxic waste leakage and radioactivity in cobalt mines. “In 2014, according to UNICEF, about 40,000 children were working in mines across southern DRC, many of them extracting cobalt,” The Guardian reported.

Although Tesla is doing everything in its power to lessen the amount of cobalt used in its batteries; reducing cobalt in the cathode directly corresponds to reducing the safety and lifecycle of the battery. Experts say that the lower limit on cobalt has pretty much already been achieved, and to go further would compromise the safety of the car.

Like the mining industry as a whole, graphite and nickel mining is associated with human rights abuses and can lead to pollution in the air and water. Residents near Chinese graphite mines have remarked on the sparkly nature of air particles, with the dust ultimately contaminating food and water supplies. In areas surrounding nickel mines, there have been increased rates of deformities and respiratory problems linked to pollution from nickel mining and smelting. 

In previous interviews addressing materials supply, Tesla has stated that “[suppliers are] three or four layers removed from Tesla. It is obviously quite difficult to have perfect knowledge about everything that happens this far down in the supply chain, but we’ve worked extremely hard to gather as much information as possible and to ensure that our standards are being met.”

etc, etc...

https://www.engineering.com/ElectronicsDesign/ElectronicsDesignArticles/ArticleID/17435/Will-Your-Electric-Car-Save-the-World-or-Wreck-It.aspx

Posted
And yet...

Patting yourself on the back for buying a Prius? It might surprise you to find that electric vehicles, dependent on batteries, may have significant negative environmental impact. You may have cut back on greenhouse gas emissions at the pump only to step into other environmental pitfalls.

Here’s something that electric car companies do not want you to know: the materials that make up your car battery are born deep in mines, may be extracted by child labor and in some of the most polluting ways possible. Even if the mining industry were ecologically sustainable, lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries have been known to explode and/or catch fire. Avoiding such incidents, the batteries are extremely difficult to recycle, often resulting in the disposal of a spent, but still toxic and flammable battery in your local landfill.

...

Impact of Extraction

Lithium production in South America doesn’t have so much to do with the element’s availability in the soil, but with water. The Andes mountains are very dry, but the lithium extraction process requires water in no small amount to bring the element up to the surface in a salty brine—500,000 gallons of water per ton of lithium, according to Wired. In some regions in Chile, 65 percent of water is used up in lithium production, diverting it from local food production. The brine then requires 12 to 18 months to evaporate. Any water returned to the farmers could be tainted with chemicals.

...

Another core concern lies in the vast wealth that lithium will represent for these smaller, poorer countries when demand starts to escalate. The lengthy evaporation period for the lithium brine can be sped up by heating the water, a process achieved by burning fossil fuels -- defeating the entire purpose of reducing greenhouse emissions in the first place. But when the price is up and the bottleneck forms, the desire for faster, cheaper production may outweigh our ability to maintain environmental standards.

...

Then there’s cobalt. In addition to the environmental concerns related to lithium production, cobalt mining is unequivocally destructive on multiple levels. Currently, half of the world’s cobalt is produced in the Republic of Congo. Concerning cobalt mining in the Congo region, journalists have revealed human and environmental abuses ranging from child and slave labor, to toxic waste leakage and radioactivity in cobalt mines. “In 2014, according to UNICEF, about 40,000 children were working in mines across southern DRC, many of them extracting cobalt,” The Guardian reported.

Although Tesla is doing everything in its power to lessen the amount of cobalt used in its batteries; reducing cobalt in the cathode directly corresponds to reducing the safety and lifecycle of the battery. Experts say that the lower limit on cobalt has pretty much already been achieved, and to go further would compromise the safety of the car.

Like the mining industry as a whole, graphite and nickel mining is associated with human rights abuses and can lead to pollution in the air and water. Residents near Chinese graphite mines have remarked on the sparkly nature of air particles, with the dust ultimately contaminating food and water supplies. In areas surrounding nickel mines, there have been increased rates of deformities and respiratory problems linked to pollution from nickel mining and smelting. 

In previous interviews addressing materials supply, Tesla has stated that “[suppliers are] three or four layers removed from Tesla. It is obviously quite difficult to have perfect knowledge about everything that happens this far down in the supply chain, but we’ve worked extremely hard to gather as much information as possible and to ensure that our standards are being met.”

etc, etc...

https://www.engineering.com/ElectronicsDesign/ElectronicsDesignArticles/ArticleID/17435/Will-Your-Electric-Car-Save-the-World-or-Wreck-It.aspx


1. It’s still less impactful on the atmosphere than gasoline.

2. Recycling technology is improving.

3. Many of those problems can/need to be fixed but there are solutions unlike fossil fuels.
  • Like 1
Posted
21 hours ago, SquishMitten said:

Maybe it’s like high-fashion runway shows? Trot out something completely absurd, but then the actual line that follows is toned down to something that’s actually wearable, but still “inspired by” elements of the runway design?

Nope.

With eliminating a tradition chassis and having the body carry the load there are very few shapes that can handle those forces. Add in the 30 times folded hardened steel and no present steel press can stamp it.  Tesla was pretty much left with the shape shown and even that requires scoring the backside to be able to fold it on a straight line.

On the bright side nobody is keying one.

Posted
2 hours ago, troph said:

https://www.engineering.com/ElectronicsDesign/ElectronicsDesignArticles/ArticleID/17435/Will-Your-Electric-Car-Save-the-World-or-Wreck-It.aspx


1. It’s still less impactful on the atmosphere than gasoline.

2. Recycling technology is improving.

3. Many of those problems can/need to be fixed but there are solutions unlike fossil fuels.

So take that engineering.com!

Posted
17 hours ago, AeroHorn said:

Texas is not up there yet, but it has tremendous potential for wind and solar. Of course, there are challenges, the main one being the uneven production from solar and wind, but there are many solutions being developed. 

Any other questions?

 

Saw an analysis that with present battery prices a Tesla PowerWall can pay off in 10 years for those on the grid that get reduced over night rates. In some ideal locales it can be in as little as 6 years.

Posted
24 minutes ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

Hilarious that the BroBozer drivers are suddenly environmentalist when electric vehicles' impact are involved yet totally uninterested in their ICEs environmental impact.

One would almost think they aren't arguing in good faith, but surely that couldn't be.

Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

Hilarious that the BroBozer drivers are suddenly environmentalist when electric vehicles' impact are involved yet totally uninterested in their ICEs environmental impact.

Does a Hybrid Accord count as a BroBozer?

asking for a friend.

You assume a lot.

Edited by Cajun
Posted
What we need are solar powered wakeboard boats that throw off a kickass curl!
I know you'd agree with me there Troph.

Yeah that’s too much. Gotta have priorities! I’ll keep my gas guzzler on the water...
  • Like 2
Posted

I don't know though Troph...

Tesla-E-Vision-GT-Boat-concept-front-696

That's a lot less hideous than that "truck".  I'll have to check and see if topless bitches would be dingin' up my solar panels.

Seems like it'd fit nicely on Lake Austin, right?

Posted
I don't know though Troph...
Tesla-E-Vision-GT-Boat-concept-front-696x464.jpg
That's a lot less hideous than that "truck".  I'll have to check and see if topless bitches would be dingin' up my solar panels.
Seems like it'd fit nicely on Lake Austin, right?

I’m not buying that truck. And that boat you show is slick, even I could get the straight women to hang around with that on LT.
Posted
56 minutes ago, BurntEyes said:

Do don't drive a Prius like me?

Fucking poser, stay out of Austin. (Says the guy that lives in a holler in TN)

On the downside he deer don't hear me coming and look at me like an alien when I sneak up on them on the road.

Looks like I’ve got my next hunting vehicle chosen.

Thanks!!!

  • Haha 1
Posted

- the all granite dashboard seems unsafe in a crash. Do you really want your head smashed on that?

- where are the air vents?

- is the headlight legal, not too bright? I get blinded by extreme lights (f you guys) - particularly on BMW/Mercedes which seem to be stock lights.

- is the bed always covered? Where is the lid stored when open?

- is there a sound system?

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Apparently Elon drives like a suburban mom forced to drive their husbands F-250.

Quote

While it initially seems like Musk ran a red light leaving Nobu, a closer look at Google Street View shows this particular exit of the parking lot doesn’t have its own light. But Street View also shows that the sign Musk hit is there to tell Nobu patrons they can only make a right turn out of the parking lot. Musk went left, clipping the sign and crossing in front of cars that had just received a green light.

 

Posted
15 hours ago, Blotto said:

Apparently Elon drives like a suburban mom forced to drive their husbands F-250.

 

This fucking guy. I sweater gawd it's like if Tommy Boy studied engineering for 7 years and used his family fortune to build rockets and cars and shit.

  • 4 weeks later...

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