My daughter insisted on getting one of those hybrid cars. I begged her not to, but she insisted. Soon after she took delivery she began to complain she barely could go anywhere without a recharge and eventually had to borrow money to replace all the batteries. Then there was the question of what to do with the old ones, we took them to the recyclers in my truck. Finally she got rid of it at a huge loss and is back to a sweet little gas guzzler, going where she wants and when she wants.
With our current technology these sleds are just impractical, expensive and essentially useless. I encourage further research but the tree huggers will never get it. Outside of the obvious, cost, delays etc. greenies just don’t think. They are blinded by the environmentalist brain washers and really don’t consider what they are doing to the planet as they self righteously try to save it.
Things that are never considered by the rabid planet worshipers are boundless. Clearly the cost and disposal of the batteries is prohibitive. But did anyone consider what damage is being done just making these batteries in the first place? Then there is the question of what happens after a crash, that is if you can get one of them going fast enough to have a crash. Today we have the problems of spilled diesel fuel or gasoline, but what happens when you have all the chemicals and heavy metals from the batteries scattered across a quarter mile of freeway? Haz-Mat teams would have to close the road for hours, perhaps days. Consider what to do with all that junk? Then think of the people injured by the spraying chemicals and surely some would seep off the road into the grassy shoulder or median. There goes the neighborhood.
Okay, so let’s not worry about that right now. The next obvious question is, where does the electricity come from to re-charge the cute little thing? News flash! It comes from coal, nuclear and wood fired electrical plants. The more electricity you demand, the harder these plants have to work. Duh! Yes, I said wood fired; fully 2% of our power is generated that way. Conversely less that 1% is generated through wind and solar plants. So, by default you are still contributing to “global warming.”
Another factor conveniently ignored it these things have to be light and small. So ask yourself; what does it take to make all those carbon fiber panels laden with epoxy and carbon strands? Additionally, by virtue of being small and light weight, in the event of a crash YOU ARE GOING TO DIE! The NHTSA bases all their crash tests at a speed of 35 mph. At that speed that death trap would fold up like a piece of origami! Now we have to expend all that natural gas to cremate your sorry ass.
So lets interject the bio-fuel concept. Here in the South summertime hails the ‘next to Godliness’ fresh new crop of sweet corn. Corn is the basis of bio-fuel and the price has skyrocketed accordingly. Feed for livestock has nearly tripled. Margarine, corn oil, corn starch, all of it is off the scale. So you are proposing starving my family, my horses and my cows for fuel for that death trap you drive. That’s mighty neighborly of you.
Face it, global warming is a hoax. Even your own scientists have said so. We are not running out of fossil fuels by a long shot. Just ask those Saudi Sheiks who just ordered a slew of new custom built Air-Busses for their personal use. By fighting oil exploration and the moratorium on new nuclear plants and oil refineries you are just destroying the economy, contributing to un-employment and advocating sending jobs overseas. The Chinese don’t give a crap about this stuff. They happily enslave their people, dump poison in their rivers and plains just as long as we keep buying their junk because it’s cheap. And don’t sit there and tell me you don’t own anything made in China.
For me, I’m going to continue supporting the economy and low food costs by driving my gas guzzler. Yep, that old 1967 Hemi Cuda that gets 4 mpg, does 0-60 in 3.2 seconds and tops out at 140 mph looks better and better every day. Hell, I can make it from Atlanta to my Mom’s house in the people’s republic of Connecticut in 11 hours flat! Try that in your hybrid.