The media is full of odd news about how warming is evil and Ice Ages are wonderful. The latest is all about mastodons being killed by warm weather. This runs alongside ads for visiting super warm places on holidays. Our rulers consume energy and spew out tons of CO2 while lecturing us. They also want more public transportation and do this where it is the most useless or uses even more CO2 producing energy. Meanwhile, New York City gets no credit for one of the world’s biggest, most heavily used public transportation systems.
I am very much all for electrical vehicles in big cities due to carbon MONOXIDE. This is most certainly a deadly gas for both plants and animals. Also, ozone is dangerous, too. But systems to run buses on batteries is failing which is hilarious since we had all-electrical trollies in all the big cities a mere 100 years ago: Flat batteries on ‘Boris bus’ add fuel to criticism of London mayor | Politics | The Guardian
Many of the “Boris buses”, which cost £350,000 each and were intended to halve CO2 emissions, are running almost entirely on diesel, drivers have complained. The engines were supposed to only run when they needed to charge the battery.
Transport for London (TfL) confirmed the electric power supplies on up to 80 of the buses have had to be mended or replaced by the manufacturer.
“This bus has been a scandal from start to finish,” said Christian Wolmar, who is bidding to become Labour’s candidate for London mayor and uncovered driver concerns about the problem. “Now we find that the supposed environmental benefits are a con.”
Downtown trolleys replaced with zero-emission vehicles in Louisville, Kentucky. Same buses that supposedly charge the batteries by running diesel engines periodically. Each bus cost more than a million dollars! The previous trolleys were all converted electrical trolley cars turned into tourist buses. TARC going through with route cuts after this purchase to save over a million dollars. They are cutting bus service for working people elsewhere in the city!
John Owen, a founder of the ad hoc citizens group, had expressed concern that, while cutting service on some of the busiest routes, TARC is continuing to operate free trolley routes downtown that are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
These routes he is complaining about are the ones now being serviced by the million dollar CO2 neutral buses that are not CO2 neutral at all. The city said these free trolleys are very popular with downtown businesses which want tourists and the workers who pay the taxes and ride the other buses that charge fares should just drop dead.
In England like the US, our rulers love consuming CO2 and jet set/use limos even for short distances which can easily be walked: George Osborne’s deputy slams John Bercow for claiming £172 for 0.7 mile journey in a chauffeur driven limo. They all do this, of course. This is also why so many of these creeps flew to Rome to pet the Pope for denouncing CO2 as the very devil and anyone consuming it will be thrown into hell along with the Popemobile.
Detroit has a very unpopular transportation system that is supposed to save the planet that doesn’t work and which makes no sense: We spent 12 hours riding the People Mover so you don’t have to | Local News | Detroit Metro Times
Yes, it’s a costly piece of transportation that operates itself — but it is the foundation for something more. Even to this day, elected officials and planners seem hellbent on dropping nearly $1 billion to pour additional cement to widen our highways. For some context, that kind of money would buy the originally proposed $500 million light rail line on Woodward between downtown to 8 Mile Road, and then cover operation costs for years.
It gives one pause to consider what type of results the region would see if that same drive was established to construct a more efficient public transit system here — like, for instance, one that directly connects to the People Mover, as it was intended.
For instance, look at the efforts behind the 3.3-mile M-1 Rail streetcar on Woodward Avenue. Backers of that project fought like hell over seven years work to make it a reality. They clearly showed commitment to making an alternative transit project happen. Still, the project has been criticized by a number of observers as a parking shuttle of sorts for downtown employees and out-of-towners visiting the city. Yes, M-1 Rail will drop riders off at Grand Circus Park, where they can hop on the People Mover. But the transition isn’t seamless: They’ll have to exit onto the street and walk upstairs to the People Mover platform — and they’ll have to pay an additional fare.
And if the streetcar, which is expected to open in fall 2016 runs as fast as its counterpart in Portland, Ore., a city M-1 Rail backers have highlighted during their mission to bring the Detroit project online, that might be cause for alarm: In 2013, the Oregonian found that, depending on the time of day and distance, one could walk faster to their destination than the Portland Streetcar.
The reporter rode this People Mover and most of the time it was deserted which means, when it runs, it consumes energy for zero purpose. One good thing about cars is, when they are moving, they generally actually are moving people. Bankrupt Detroit is losing millions on these People Movers that do no real service.
Then there is this Max Stupid In Fort Collins | Real Science which is another ‘people mover’ bus CO2 solution that has very few passengers, costs a fortune and even global warming politicians and residents refuse to use. Fort Collins has many bicyclists and yet most of the money is tossed into this bus black hole instead of improving the biking experience.
NY MTA: Suburban Passengers Get $7 Subsidy Per Ride, Subway Riders, A Buck – WNYC: taxes fund 15% of subway service. No public service makes a profit but in the case of NYC, the system is about as close to a fully funded system as possible with only a small part needing tax help. But then, the system is overcrowded and suffering from lack of funds to make it more comfortable and available. I used to commute on the subways in NYC and had big fights with the city council about funding repairs and improvements and of course, increasing the police force for the subways back when movies were made about horrors of riding the subways, it was so terrible back in the 1970’s.
Obama was in Kenya this week and Kenya pledges to cut carbon emissions 30% by 2030 | Environment | The Guardian
Several dozen countries representing 59% of world carbon emissions have submitted their pledges, known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions in the jargon of the climate talks, to the UN ahead of the Paris summit.
Kenya estimated it will need $40bn over the next 15 years, some of it in the form of foreign aid, to fully implement its climate mitigation and adaptation plans.
The futility of all this is obvious. I happen to support development of alternative energy systems based on the fact that fossil fuels will inevitably run out. The earth is not a big ball of fossil fuels! On the other hand, the solutions to these problems are not being addressed by the leaders who are screaming about CO2. They are all lying hypocrites and they infuriate me greatly.
They are doing terrible damage to alternative energy research and systems by lying about the weather. We have to keep our eye on the real ball here: oil isn’t infinite. Setting up better systems can be done but this must be organic, not imposed via fiat.
I lived off the grid for 15 years. I am on the grid now but would happily go off it more via using solar energy but can’t afford this right now. The true fear for me is, if the sun is going into a Little Ice Age cooling cycle, our energy problems will be much worse due to the severe cold which is already showing itself: Ice conditions hold up resupply of Iqaluit, east Hudson Bay – North – CBC News
Contrary to predictions made earlier this year, Leclair said, the sea ice in the bay has not been melting.
Arctic expedition to study global warming put on hold because of too much ice
This is funny: “According to a Coast Guard officer, the icy conditions “are the “worst he’s seen in 20 years“ “A carefully planned, 115-day scientific expedition on board the floating research vessel, the CCGS Amundsen, has been derailed as the icebreaker was called to help resupply ships navigate heavy ice in Hudson Bay.
Hudson Bay is the very first place all Ice Ages begin. In Europe, the starting point isn’t in Russia or the Nordic states, it is Scotland! Scotland has been seeing colder summer weather, too. The key is, colder summers. Winters are already terribly cold in the Hudson Bay region normally. The problem arises when summer is cold, too. This is what we have to worry about and the global warmists are ignoring icy Hudson Bay this last three years as it gets colder and more ice forms.
They run off to the West Coast which has the least glaciation compared to the Eastern half of the continent. This ridiculous focus on the wrong things is typical of people seeking money for no purpose, not people interested in really solving real problems and there are plenty of real problems to be solved in the real world.
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One of the better ones is the solar generator in the us which requires hours of natural gas to keep the system at operating temperatures.
Solar (photovoltaic) only makes sense for home rooftop use. These huge ‘solar farms’ are always too expensive to build, too expensive to maintain, and too unreliable, as the sun does not always shine, while the utility grid wants to be ‘on’ all the time. Right now, the most sensible way for the grid is natural gas and coal.
But the utility grid itself may not make much sense within the next decade.
If you have rooftop PV panels, and some suitable batteries (car batteries are ruined if you discharge them too deeply, too many times), that does make sense. If they get some snow on them, you can just climb up and sweep it off, or hire a neighbor kid to do that. Local economy FTW!!!
Peak oil, peak economy, peak civilization. Whatever you want to call it, we are there now. In another five years the CO2 problem will be far down the list … not that it was so important before, the way it’s being sold it is just a propaganda tool for the financial fraudsters. By the way, you will know that the CO2 fraud campaign has finished failing, and they’ve given up, when they eliminate the subsidy for corn ethanol.
The last thing the Bilderberg gang is pushing is privately owned homeowner panels.
Or anything else that could be described as a ‘local economy’. They want central planning, with themselves as the planners.
Another great idea, elaine.
When we build wind or solar generators we are still fully enmeshed in the fossil fuel system:
1. Fossil fuels to mine silicon, aluminum, rare metals, etc.
2. Fossil fuels to smelt ores
3. Fossil fuels to transport processed ore & raw materials
4. Fossil fuels to build and package the solar panels
5. Fossil fuels to run solar company activities
6. Fossil fuels powered activities to produce income from purchasers for panels.
7. Fossil fuels to transport & install solar panels or wind
8. Fossil fuels to do required maintenance on widely spread systems
9. Fossil fuels to build & maintain a smart grid
and finally
10. Large solar systems MUST BE TOTALLY REBUILT EVERY 25 years or so. This includes panels, inverters, controllers, batteries(5-10 years) which must all be produced with fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are again required to do all the work but will not be around at the first 25 year rebuild date.
Google ran a massive research project to figure out an alternative fuel system that would power civilization and avoid runaway climate change. They concluded that it was NOT POSSIBLE to do it.
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/google-engineers-explain-why-they-stopped-rd-in-renewable-energy
Sunger, the point is that you can obtain a little energy for yourself by putting panels on your roof. Do it now while panels are still available.
Your article is based on the erroneous assumption that “we” somehow “need” this vast utility grid, and that it “must” be replaced by the equivalent amount of energy as fossil fuels diminish.
I have said this all my life: we must use what is in outer space and there is a lot of stuff out there including very powerful solar energy that can be beamed down to the US.
I have mentioned this in the past. I am all for developing systems external to earth for many good reasons and I do love nature like as it is on my mountain and wish to preserve this.
I do not agree with that statement. Absent a hailstorm (and SOME solar panels were designed to withstand up to 1″ hailstones) the panels will crank out electrons for quite a bit longer than 25 years.
As for batteries, we already know about batteries that will last a CENTURY.
The problem we face RIGHT NOW, is that the financial fraudsters have been running things for several decades now, and everything is being DESIGNED to FAIL in 25 years or less. They do this because they think it is good for business. Bad for your health, too expensive, etc. but “good for business”. We are trapped in a system that must collapse before any of this nonsense can be corrected.
JimR- are you seriously trying to suggest that the Bilderbergs or some other group is actively involved in designing solar panels and trying to shorten the panel lifespan?
Seriously?
The solar industry leaders rate solar panels at a lifespan of 25-30 years. Inverters much less. Batteries much less. Check with the manufacturers if you need verification.
Solar panels on an individual house cannot do much more than give a backup to the fossil fuel power system. They cannot operate much in the way of high energy electrical appliances and systems. They cannot provide any kind of heating unless the building is passive solar design. And they cannot contribute to the transportation fuel crisis.
America has a liquid fuel crisis- not an electrical power shortage which alternative energy could possibly help.
I have solar panels on my house too but they don’t come even near to powering my house completely or the US economy at it’s current level of energy consumption.
There is no fundamental universal requirement for your house to feed the grid, and keep it going.
And there are known battery technologies that can work for a century with very little maintenance. If you have chosen poorly, your batteries will fail much sooner than that…
Finally, if your panels are not powering your house, then either 1) you do not have enough panels; or 2) you are using too much electricity.
Hey honey, the solar system batteries aren’t holding a good charge anymore and need replacing.
Do we have an extra $15,000 in the checking account?
Try flushing them with distilled water and put in fresh electrolyte.
If your batteries are sealed, and you can’t do that, then you have chosen batteries built with planned obsolescence (TM) and you will just have to replace them. Or live without.
I didn’t know that we have batteries with a working lifetime of infinity (?). Link please.
It seems that the batteries have always been the weakest point- which is why most solar is now grid-tied.
Newer studies have researched the energy-in to energy-out dynamics ie EROEI- all production and maintenance costs over the lifetime of the panel. They are showing that solar panels actually have a negative energy return over a 30-year period.
ttps://emsnews.wordpress.com/2015/07/26/public-transportation-failures-attempts-at-eliminating-co2-are-frauds/#comment-693730
Your link ^.
When you buy products that are designed to have a “lifetime”, they will fail, more or less at the end of that time. It’s just that simple.
Solar panels probably have a -positive- EROI over a 30 year time span, but not as positive as the 100-to-1 of an oil well. Bummer. But that’s the world we shall be living in, or that our children will be living in. . .
Elaine: “The last thing the Bilderberg gang is pushing is privately owned homeowner panels.”
Jim R: “Or anything else that could be described as a ‘local economy’. They want central planning, with themselves as the planners.”
They also want themselves as the owners, and not some “socialist republic.” The leaders of these governments tended to go their own way instead of cowtowing to the Bilderberg gang.
On AGW and the Maunder Minimum to come. Yes, it’s supposed to last a decade. Then it’s back to global warming until the Greenland ice melt catapults us beck into a REAL ice age. It’s happened every time before the modern Pleistocene Era. Why should it be any different this time around?