Comments by "Common Sense Craziness" (@commonsensecraziness7595) on "Global National: Jan. 20, 2023 | New details emerge on contract awarded by Liberal cabinet minister" video.

  1. So EV cars have a bigger carbon footprint than regular cars, but we can offset that with mass transit options? Wow. It's almost like we don't really need EV vehicles to achieve a reduced carbon footprint.
    3
  2.  @guymontag2948  [The steam engine was responsible for a tremendous amount of what we now consider essential, but we also recognized better options, as they became available, and adapted. So it will be with many of oil's applications. Change is the one constant and all that.] Are we talking about the same "steam" engine's that used coal? Because we're still using that. In fact, Germany has screwed up their economy so bad pursuing green policies they had to bring coal back online. Three steps forward, five steps back.
    1
  3.  @guymontag2948  [Your phrasing suggests you're correcting me but you seem to be proving my point for me. Coal used to be the go to for home heat, trains and ships, among many other things, but those applications have been taken over by better technologies, like oil. Just because I can buy a bronze statue doesn't mean we're living in the bronze age.] Well I assumed that we were taking the talking points promoting this switch in technology at face value. That we were making the change because it was more sustainable and cleaner for the environment. Yes, oil and gas is cleaner than coal, but that's not the change they're promoting now. My point is that not only are these green claims not true, by going all in on technology that is actually not superior we risk making things worse. This is not a hypothetical - this has already happened. Why are we rushing headlong into technology that has yet to prove itself? We need to be more realistic and use "bridge" technology that can get us there like nuclear, but oil & gas are also a part of that. And keep in mind that 20% of the world still ignites dung to heat their homes. So just because you use a hydrogen cell or whatever clean technology you want to use, doesn't mean you've made the faintest dent in global pollution. Most of the world DOES live in a kind of bronze age.
    1
  4.  @guymontag2948  [Cars aren't even remotely sustainable, or even desirable, on so many levels. It's the same situation in any densely populated area, regardless of country.] Sustainability is debatable - aren't we all moving toward exceptionally green energy? If so, it seems like that would be sustainable by definition. And there's no question that personal autonomy in travel is a desirable outcome, so I don't know who these people are that don't value their independence.
    1
  5.  @guymontag2948  ["Green" energy does not guarantee sustainability, at all. A good example is hydrogen fuel cells being very cool technology which, unfortunately, requires enough platinum that it is not possible to scale up to replace all cars as there's just not enough platinum to go around. That makes it unattainable, in a sense, never mind sustainable.] Agreed, green doesn't necessarily mean sustainable (but that's how they always promote it when they talk about green energy). I've heard other people talk about hydrogen fuel cells but I admit I haven't done my research on them. But if, as you say, there isn't enough platinum to make it work, I don't know why we would continue to talk about it at all. Sounds like we'd have to suddenly get our hands on a lot of cheap platinum (virtually impossible) or the technology would have to take a dramatic change in development (possibly something to replace the platinum?). [Lots of people's sense of personal freedom is tied up in their vehicles, but it's mostly an illusion, tbh. The roads may or may not be passable in an emergency, but assuming they are, your car is only good for one tank of gas or until you crash it, before it is dependent on an outside system, just like public transport options are.] Yes, there are some dependencies on a basic infrastructure to a certain extent but that doesn't determine where you can drive and where you can't the way EVs do. As an example - What's easier? Bringing a generator to your EV or a container of gasoline in the event you run out of gas in the middle of nowhere? Switching batteries are hypothetically doable but it doesn't seem like any current designs allow for it. Having said that, when I was saying independence I was saying that in terms of having your own vehicle vs public transit, not specifically a gas vs EV vehicle comparison but a reference to the OPs comment. Also, a totally mechanical, combustion engine isn't something you can just turn off with the push of a button, but more and more vehicles of both types seem to be headed that way. Also, especially in Canada, charging is difficult in extremely cold weather so that's a real logistical problem I don't hear enough people talking about. The problem's go beyond the lack of infrastructure.
    1
  6.  @guymontag2948  [From what I know about EVs, they're surprisingly functional in extreme cold. They just have limited charging capacity and charge more slowly than usual.] Yes, this is my understanding as well. Once charged they should be fine, but apparently they don't just slow but stop charging altogether (or at the very least their charging speed makes it near zero) when approaching extreme cold temperatures. I confess I don't know the extent of this dynamic on charging or what the temperatures are when charging speed degrades significantly. [Personally, I wonder if something as simple as the equivalent of a block heater on the batteries would help with those issues.] Good question. If we're going to use these in Canada, we need those questions answered. I also wonder how much energy is being used when you have to add in extra inputs like that just to get it to work.
    1
  7.  @guymontag2948  [I don't think that additional input would be a mark against EVs, given you'd likely be using a block heater on an ICE anyway, under the same conditions. Assuming they're roughly equivalent, that is. I am 100% making it up as I go, but by my thinking, a battery bank can be very effectively thermally isolated and insulated, unlike an engine, which should either require less energy, or perhaps compensate for needing to maintain a higher temperature.] Fair. I guess we'll see.
    1
  8. Suck up the right people and sell your soul. I'm sure you can ask any corporate journalist if you want specifics on how they did it.
    1
  9. Don't know what the whole story about this is, but GloBULL lying about it certainly wouldn't be a first.
    1