Electric cars- a shift in the wrong direction?

By now, you’ve probably heard about the promising potential “plug-in” hybrid cars can provide, both in terms of combating the global warming crisis and also relieving America’s dependence on foreign oil. By many of today’s giant auto makers, plug-in hybrids are marketed as being the car of the near future.

A plug-in hybrid, as opposed to a regular gasoline-electric hybrid car, is able to recharge its electric motor’s batteries simply by being plugged into a domestic power outlet when not in use. This gives it the distinct advantage of not having to always use its gasoline engine as a generator, as regular hybrids do. The charge stored in the car’s batteries powers its large electric motor, which single handedly propels the vehicle. Where as a traditional hybrid vehicle needs to use its internal combustion engine for at least part of a commute or in some cases whenever moving, a plug-in stores a sufficient enough charge to allow it to operate for up to forty miles without ever using its gas engine. A forty mile ‘all electric’ range is estimated to meet the every day demands of over 75% of the nation’s commuters.

Already, GM has showcased their highly anticipated plug-in “Volt” at auto shows; it’s a 4-door 4-seater to be released under the Chevy name. Last June GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner told reporters that “The Chevy Volt is a go,” making this unexpected statement ahead of the company’s annual meeting with shareholders in Wilmington, Delaware- production is slated for the end of 2010. The Volt will have a 120 kW (160 hp) electric motor powering the front wheels. In addition, it will contain a small 1.4 liter engine whose purpose is not to power the wheels but to recharge the battery during extended commutes. During a normal commute, however, the car will have no need for the gasoline engine/generator making it a truly “zero emission” vehicle.

Plug-in hybrids are propelled using their elaborate electric drive system, which is recharged by drawing from the electric grid which it is plugged into every night. The Volt’s batteries store about 9 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy. With electricity costing about a dime per kilowatt, this means that its battery would currently cost under a dollar to completely charge (or 2.5 cents per mile). Compare this to the national gasoline average of $2 per gallon in 25 mpg gas-driven vehicles, and you’ll achieve an 8 cent per mile driver’s average. Clearly, the plug-in hybrid wins in cost effectiveness.

Zero emission plug-in hybrids like the Volt appear to be a step in the right direction. They’re very marketable; we are lead to believe that they could be one large leap for mankind’s battle against a warming globe. This just leaves us with one simple question. Where is the electricity that powers this future fleet of “clean cars” actually coming from- the national electric grid? Sounds innocent enough. Well, in 2008 gas and petroleum power plants generated about 26 percent of America’s electricity, a source which is both dirty and creates foreign dependence. Coal, which gives us almost half of our power, is perhaps the dirtiest of all power sources making it one of the biggest contributors to global warming. If we were to hypothetically lose all of our gas driven vehicles, replacing them with “clean” electric cars, what we’re in essence doing is moving power consumption from the individual driver to the consolidated power plant source. This would of course place a catastrophic amount of dependence on our power plants- including the dirty coal powered power plants. Think of it this way- every time a person driving an electric car steps on the “gas” as the traffic light in front of them turns green, just imagine a billow of black  smoke simultaneously emerging from the chimney at their nearest coal power plant. The environmental impact of a coal driven fleet of electric cars would be far greater than today’s cars which individually burn gasoline.

If the country is serious about making the move to driving vehicles which use electricity instead of gas, we’ll need to reconsider where we are getting this electricity from. Simply changing how we drive might slightly lessen the demand for foreign oil, but it won’t curb the country’s overall level of pollution. In fact, if given the chance, drivers who are not visiting the pumps on a daily basis might even forget about the perils of a primarily coal-driven transportation system.

We have many options for renewable energy- wind, solar, hydro, geothermal- but as of yet all these sources only constitute a combined 10% of the country’s energy production. But we cannot forget the nearly forgotten energy ‘panacea’ from over fifty ears ago: nuclear energy. Today, nuclear only accounts for fewer than 20 percent of our energy. Unfortunately mass media continues to skew public opinion of the extremely efficient power supply. Chernobyl, the most well known nuclear accident, was caused by an outdated model, poor infrastructure, maintenance, and lack of containment shells to protect against meltdown. All modern US reactors are currently equipped with are far superior components and use a plethora of built-in sensors designed to shut down the plant immediately in the event of trouble. In France, 77% of electricity comes from nuclear. Consequently, France is rated 24^th of 29 industrialized nations in its C0₂ emissions per capita. According to the website of the WNA, the total fuel costs of a nuclear power plant [are] typically about a third of those for a coal-fired plant and between a quarter and a fifth of those for a gas combined-cycle plant.

Many innovative solutions arise every day in an attempt to get our cars off gas (and the electric grid).  In Westbury, New York, at the New York Institute of Technology, graduate students have commenced work on ’solar carports,’ which when active will supply electricity to plug-in cars. These parking spots, roofed over by photovoltaic (PV) cells, will allow intercampus plug-in vehicles to effectively draw their power from the sun, cutting off any ties to the electric grid or gas pumps.

Other like-minded ideas exist: Electrolytic cells, which are the devices used to extract hydrogen from water, can be powered by photovoltaic cells.  Current prototypical vehicles, such as the Honda FCX Clarity, are powered by a system of hydrogen fuel cells which in turn drive an electric motor. The Claritys, of which 200 were released as a pilot program in Southern California, are refueled using compressed hydrogen gas found at a limited number of gas stations in the said pilot area. The initial process of isolating hydrogen from water does use energy, so the prospect of constructing solar powered hydrogen-generating fuel stations would be a green move all across the board. It would, however, increase demand for fresh water.

At the current state of our energy production infrastructure, moving the country to electric cars is just putting a new face on an old problem- dirty energy. The recent success in marketing of personal electric transportation has set an eerie example of how easily an uninformed population can be blinded of true ‘cradle to grave’ costs. Americans need to remember to always ask the important questions to car manufacturers, whose product contributes 14% the world’s greenhouse gasses. If we’re being pitched new plug-in electric cars, ask ‘where’s the electricity ultimately coming from?”. If it’s hydrogen fuel cells, ask how the hydrogen is being made and where the energy required to make it is coming from. As any physics student will learn, energy does not just appear (nor disappear). As American’s who care about the fruition of our future generations, it is necessary to act promptly to make sure the next technological revolution is truly a green technological revolution.

fuck smiling gladhands with hidden agendas…

Great time for Democrats

This could in fact be the most jubilant period of time for supporters of Barack Obama. Polls show that he’s got a commanding lead, and McCain shows so sign of catching up before the election rolls around in just two weeks. Jubilant, I say, because now is a unique period of time where there is a reason for celebration (as long as things stay this way) and no reason for guilt (as he’s not in office making mistakes yet). Once Barack sets his butt in the oval office, he’s going to be under some serious scrutiny for every move he makes, receiving far less praise than he does now.

Patriot Act? More like Friend Act.

In the last decade or so, modern technology has given us many innovative tools to greatly facilitate the process of friend making. First it was chat rooms. Then America Online- “You’ve Got Mail!” Then came buddy lists, text messaging, video chatting, yadda yadda yadda. But I think there’s one major resource we’re all looking right past. It doesn’t present itself in the most obvious form, but make no mistake, its there for your emotional support. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the latest in companionship since speed dating: The Patriot Act.

According to the federal Wiretap Report of 2007, wire tapping was up 20% in 2007 compared to the previous year. Tapping phones and even emails has gotten so prevalent that one can almost fully assume that at any given time he or she is being listened to or having their emails read by someone else. Upon realizing this, it’s easy to begin to feel like the Big Brother is more of a reality than ever before, looming over us everywhere we go, like a big black cloud (one capable of traveling indoors)…

…awesome!

You mean to tell me that all I need to do to be able to vent my frustrations and my juiciest, most hidden secrets is to pick up the phone and start talking to “no one”? Send an email to an erroneous address? Tap some Morse Code into the wall outlet with my iPod charger? What a great way of de-stressing! It’s kind of like talking to your dog, but this is way better.

Insert sob story here. Put it behind you.

And, I mean, you can confide in these people! That’s what they’re there for- to listen. They have the ability to deem your special issues “top secret,” in those fresh manila folders, adorned with some sort of ultra-serious governmental seal. They don’t interact with anyone besides their fellow “patriotistas”, as they call themselves. In fact, if one patriotista is ever seen talking to a non-patriotistas, he will be exported to Canada or possibly somewhere even worse… eeek! This is why patriotistas are so respected and trust-worthy in America.

I’ll be your friend.

So how do you get these pale hipsters to be there for you whenever you want, where ever you are? I’ll be honest, a deal this sweet doesn’t come easy. Most patriotistas tend to be attracted to the serious bad-boy type. So I’ve outlined a few good tactics to get the patriotistas, or “smiling patties,” as me and my friends call them, to start homing in on you and eventually become your “silent buddy” for life. Some of these points may seem a bit odd, even frightening at first. But I assure you, once you get their attention, you can lay off these tactics and just begin to vent yourself to them. This is how you get them to be all ears:

1. Smoke cigarettes. It will give you a raspier voice, and sound more like the quintessential bad guy they’re looking for. If you want to go a step further, take the filters off the cigarettes before you smoke them. Filters sometimes filter out “bad guy chemicals,” and you want to be as bad as possible.
2. Change your legal name at least three times. Don’t worry, the last one you change to can be your original name. It’s just to make them think you are having emotional troubles so that they’re more inclined to listen to you.
3. Develop a creepy accent. There are a plethora of ways this can be accomplished. I try to imitate the voices of people on TV such as The Count from Sesame Street, Borat Sangdiev, Osama bin Laden, and John McCain.
4. Order lots of industrial metals and chemicals to your house. Any true friend would want to make sure you’re not wasting your money on rubbish you don’t need- and the patriotistas are no different.
5. Fly around a lot. It will give the appearance as though you are becoming an overly capricious individual, which the Patriotistas will take note of.
6. Have celebrations at your house whenever something bad happens to the United States. This creates the illusion that you are so removed from society that you don’t even know whats going on in the world.
7. Burn American flags in your back yard. Just do it.

And that about does it! If you stick to these guidelines you’ll have Patriotistas as friends in no time. They’ll listen to everything you have to say to your friends on the phone, spell check your emails, and perhaps even loiter outside your home in window-tinted vans just to make sure nothing bad happens to you. It’s a great American privelage that no one should take for granted, including you!