What bothers me is the Feds keep pumping money into these companies that end up setting up shop in China with our tax dollars.
Larsb does not seem to care where they send his tax dollars. Or about pollution outside our borders. Build those nasty mercury bulbs elsewhere. Take our tax dollars to China and build batteries, solar panels and wind generators. All using dirty electric power with coal we sell them.
Why does EVERYTHING have to be "jobs for Americans" with you?
Because every alternative form of energy we have discussed is being built outside the USA. We were sold a Stimulus package by the Feds to help create US jobs. Billions were included to create US Jobs in alternative energy. So far much of it has provided a few fat cats with millions to look like they are doing just that when in fact much of it is being used to create jobs in other countries. First it was condoms, then CFL bulbs now solar panels and wind generators all subsidized with our tax dollars. Most of the companies have an office here and the worker bees in China. I find that despicable.
Well you may want to accept it with the old cliche' that "The End Justifies the Means". I don't accept it and will campaign against such ignorance. I want a better place for my grand kids to grow up in. Not a Chinese colony where they will be subservient to Communist masters. Not that far off my friend. Just stay asleep and one day you may wake up. Hopefully before it is too late.
Propping up foreign ventures with money we don't have, that pollute and exploit in ways that wouldn't be tolerated here in a billion years, more than bothers me too.
Federal money should be spent at home, end of story.
You might see it as atrocious, but I learned long ago not to fight about (or worry too much about) things I cannot control.
You should take your own advice. We can't control the climate either. Even if mankind could do much, you and the few hundred million who would do something, are opposed by billions of people who just want some energy, any energy from any source, to burn.
But humans and society are both adaptable....we will make do.
Congratulations to coming over to the POV that even if the Earf does warm a couple or a few degrees, we'll adapt. You can move from the too-hot Phoenix, to Montana, N. Dakota, or the vast uninhabited areas of Canada.
BTW - if you think there's nothing wrong with the U.S. sliding down economically to match China and India, you need to take a trip to China and India and see what the normal person's life is like. Maybe they would give you a job melting down the toxic metals and chemicals from disgarded electronic garbage? Oh, and there's no Social Security or retirement for the average person. Oh and if you think it'll be good to be equal to the Chinese and Indians, forget the EV and solar panels; that's for the wealthy; the middle class in India burn cow dung for heat.
That is at the root of many of our economic problems. It is the reason that every stimulus or devaluation plan of the government or Fed fails these days, whereas decades ago the same tactics worked better.
First our economy was run over the last couple of decades by false wealth with people personally going into personal debt. This was fueled by the policies of our government creating a real estate bubble - wealth that wasn't there. That artificial wealth was mostly sent overseas. In the last 3 years or so it became evident ot our policy-makers that individuals had reached the limit of going-deeper-into-debt, and started what is now a long series of stimuli for the economy which has led to some small, temporary recovery at the expense of the government now going into extreme debt to pickup the spending where the individual couldn't. So now most people are broke, their government is brioke, and those with some $ are threatened by inflation and devaluing currency (one in the same here). Stimuli will not work with the new global economy - too much $ goes overseas, and doesn't stay here for it to work.
About the only ones doing well are the wealthy, who are having the stock-market bubble inflated, which is a result of the Fed keeping interest rates near zero, and pushing savers to invest in the corrupt casino of Wall Street as the alternative.
Anyway - if we stay on this course of the government going deeper into debt, 9%+ unemployment being the norm during "good times", and our society in whole enacting policies that make the U.S. a service or R&D economy, any-confirmed GW will be the least of our worries.
I wonder if this is how the Romans felt in the 3rd or 4th century?
they stay the same. Obama wanting to drill off the Gulf Coast has a huge impact on the nation's psyche economically. By announcing those types of announcements we all subconsciously decide to look for an ICE vehicle (umm....larsb not withstanding... )instead of an all-electric.
Just your tax dollar continually at work, people, that's all.
BTW-everyone boycott Exxon/Mobil ghastly and let's consciously try and drive ghastly prices down in the U.S.
Correct. But what we CAN control is the amount of pollutants we are introducing into the climate.
Gary says, "Congratulations to coming over to the POV that even if the Earf does warm a couple or a few degrees, we'll adapt."
That's not a "coming over to the POV" - I've had that POV forever.
Of course WE'LL adapt. I'm worried about the little tree frog whose gall bladder bile might cure cancer, or aids, or Parkinson's, or Alzheimer's. We just DON'T KNOW what species we might kill off and cause millions of future Earthlings to suffer.
Gary says, "...if you think there's nothing wrong with the U.S. sliding down economically to match China and India..."
Well, no one is talking about THAT result. Everyone obviously knows THAT's not gonna happen.
I'm just saying that companies taking work overseas for cheaper labor is a process that is not going to be reversed.
This is indeed the twilight of the Roman empire. And we have our esteemed corporate and financial leadership to blame. A service economy with the next miracle savior always just around the corner. A brave new world.
GM sells just 281 Chevy Volts in February, Nissan only moves 67 Leafs
Peruse Chevrolet's February sales release, and you'll notice one number that's blatantly missing: the number of Chevy Volts sold. The number – a very modest 281 – is available in the company's detailed data (PDF), but it certainly isn't something that GM wants to highlight, apparently. Keeping the number quiet is a bit understandable, since it's lower than the 321 that Chevy sold in January.
Nissan doesn't have anything to brag about here, either (and it didn't avoiding any mention of the Leaf sales in its press release). Why? Well, back in January, the company sold 87 Leafs. In February? Just 67. Where does that leave us? Well, here's the big scorecard for all sales of these vehicles thus far:
* Volt: 928 * Leaf: 173
Ouch. The big questions, of course, revolve around one word: "Why?" Is ramping up production and deliveries still a problem? Is demand weak? Are unscrupulous dealers to blame? When will sales start to climb? And what are these numbers doing to plug-in vehicle work at other automakers? We don't know all the answers, but for more on February auto sales, click here.
Looks like those that want one, got one. Look for even worse sales unless gas goes over $5 per gallon. I cannot see anyway they are logical or practical. And at the price point not likely to get many buyers. More $millions wasted by our fearless government.
That has more to do with "limited supply" than it does with demand.
"Before we all start writing off the EV as DOA (again), let's remember that both companies have massive back-orders for their electrified people carriers, leading us to believe that the most likely cause for this slow trickle of deliveries is a limited supply rather than dwindling demand. Production volumes of the Volt and Leaf are expected to ramp up as we go forward, so panic's inadvisable "
I saw something earlier in the year about Nissan struggling to get enough Leafs made for the initial deliveries.
Nissan has already sold 20,000 Leafs. So once they can start delivering to those buyers, the numbers will go up.
As for the Volt - it can only be had in a few states right now.
Something else to remember: The Prius only sold 5,562 it's first partial year in the USA.
As for the Volt - it can only be had in a few states right now.
That was your spin on the EV lack of sales. First I don't believe for a minute that Nissan has 20,000 Leaves already sold. Maybe refundable deposits. I doubt that as well. Remember this was a Green blog giving the results that I could not find on either website when the Feb sales figures came out.
So here is my spin. Most will be sold in CA. Most buyers are not going to worry about the cost of charging until they get their first months electric bill. Too late to back out then. Here is my thinking on the lack of sales. The $5000 from the state has run out. Though getting at the truth seems difficult. Without the $7500 and $5000 they are WAAAY OVER Priced. Not everyone will get even the $7500. That is illusive and unknown until you have your taxes done. The Volt and Leaf are a big gamble. The Prius was what it was and still is.
As long as the leases stay $350 per month, they are NOT "WWAAAAYYY" over-priced.
IF you still get the free charger installed when you lease. It would probably be the way to go. I have not made a car payment in 15 years and I would hate to start now. If I were to start a business where I could write off the lease it would be feasible. Though I am too lazy to bother. I will stop by my Nissan dealer when I am in town and find out the scoop from my salesman friend. I think that number could be World wide mostly in Japan where they are dumping green cars.
Well, only time will tell you how wrong you will be about this.
It sounds like this 84 mile train-system was nothing more than a few Congresssmen and other local politicians looking to direct federal $$ to their construction buddies and unions. Why else would they be so vehement about building a railline that when all is said and done is slower and more expensive then driving. If someone takes the train, they first have to drive from their house, park in a lot at the station, schlep to the ticket counter, but $30 ea way tickets (?), check bags, go thru security, then take the trip there, then when you get to the destination you're probably going to need a rental car. How would that be better then 2 - 6 people jumping in a vehicle and driving the 84 miles door-to-door in 1.5 hr at a cost of $15 gas?
The Florida governor knows that the cost is "low-balled" to get the project moving. Then when it goes over-budget the private-sector investors can go bankrupt, and then the government is stuck running it despite assurances that the private sector would be there.
Probably the private sector investors are the ones who are going to collect most of the federal $, pay themselves large salaries and expenses, and then when that runs out declare bankruptcy. A wonderful scam the governor didn't go for!
How much CO2 would that train reduce? Like a microfraction of the 100 billion tons that Nature emits each year?
But we don't know, maybe that one extra drop of CO2 would push the world over the edge! If we don't know, we have to sacrifice ourselves to stop it. Better hope this is a quiet year in the volcano industry.
If you want to live in the land of "what if" ,then consider that the little tree frog might become a carrier for some dread disease (Frogian Plague) and wipe us all out. That scenario is just as likely so maybe we should wipe froggie out now.
You are saying "we don't know" what we might affect, so we should try to limit our affect.
I didn't hear him sya that at all. He said it could go either way. most probably it won't matter much 1 way or the other, as millions of species have perished over several hundred million years, and yet here we are on a very hospitable Earth, relative to the planets we do know.
You are the one feels badly that everytime you wink, you may affect the environment. The rest of us here understand we can affect things slightly, the Earth and life goes on, and there is no permanent harm.
Carrying houdini's thought further, you do know monkeys are thought to transmit ebola. Now if ebola mutates to infecting via an airborne route, mankind is not going to be very happy. Nature is not benign many times. There is no recripocity of being nice with Nature; there's no sentient good or bad intent or reaction.
Someone has bum scoop. Could be the dealer. I did get to see a red one and sit in it. Not my cup of tea. The salesman says they have 4000 sold in the US. They are only getting about 1 per week, all pre sold. He also tried telling me you could charge it for $3. I did not want to stand around arguing, so I let him live in his fantasy World. I think I would rather wait a while. I like the EV concept from VW a whole lot more than the tiny Leaf. I love the iPad docking station. Why hasn't any other company thought of that?
The VW Bulli of today sports an electric motor and is described by the German automaker as a zero emissions vehicle. The motor outputs 85 kW of power and has 199 lb.-ft of torque. It gets energy from a lithium-ion battery with a maximum storage capacity of 40 kWh that offers a driving range of up to 186.4 miles and, in some circumstances, can be charged in less than an hour. It accelerates from 0 to 62 mph in 11.5 seconds, and its top speed is 87 mph (electronically limited).
price in on this pup cause it's just a concept, though?
The VW Bulli of today sports an electric motor and is described by the German automaker as a zero emissions vehicle. The motor outputs 85 kW of power and has 199 lb.-ft of torque. It gets energy from a lithium-ion battery with a maximum storage capacity of 40 kWh that offers a driving range of up to 186.4 miles and, in some circumstances, can be charged in less than an hour. It accelerates from 0 to 62 mph in 11.5 seconds, and its top speed is 87 mph (electronically limited).
I spose they're in the "just garnering worldwide interest in our hot new all-electric vehicle" phase with this microbus all-electric.
To me the beauty of this concept vehicle is flexibility. According to one article VW claims they can put any number of power plants into it. Make mine a 2 liter diesel. I am afraid a 40 KWH Li-Ion battery would be horribly expensive. Charging the Leaf on 110 volts takes 20 hours and 7 hours at 220 volts. So I would expect the Bulli to take about 12 hours using a 220 volt charger. The one hour charge is with a 480 volt commercial duty charger. Like those proposed in various locations. No free lunch. It is all governed by the laws of physics. A range of 186 miles would be doable in more remote locations that you find yourself. Here is a bit more information. For the record the Polo is 13 feet long.
It's about the same length as a Polo but wider than a Golf, with the wheels pushed right to the ends to give loads of space. And these same proportions wouldn't have to be diluted for production because it uses VW's new modular platform which can be made in all sorts of dimensions.
The concept car has an electric powertrain, but the real thing would have the usual VW petrol and diesel engines.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- For the second time in two years, a rocket glitch sent a NASA global warming satellite to the bottom of the sea Friday, a $424 million debacle that couldn't have come at a worse time for the space agency and its efforts to understand climate change.
Years of belt-tightening have left NASA's Earth-watching system in sorry shape, according to many scientists. And any money for new environmental satellites will have to survive budget-cutting, global warming politics and, now, doubts on Capitol Hill about the space agency's competence.
The Taurus XL rocket carrying NASA's Glory satellite lifted from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and plummeted to the southern Pacific several minutes later. The same thing happened to another climate-monitoring probe in 2009 with the same type of rocket, and engineers thought they had fixed the problem.
I hope we are not depending on the Taurus XL for our ICBM defense system. Time to shut off funding of the GW scam.
America borrows $3.8 Billion per day. No, we don't take off on weekends or Holidays. We import just under half our oil. At $98 a barrel, a day's worth of imported oil costs $947 million. I could look at this situation and say that we borrow all our imported oil and then another $2.85 Billion per day in addition. Since we use about 1/4 of the oil consumed by the world each day, we borrow from the world each day an amount equal to nearly half the entire world's oil use each day.
That is a lot of borrowing.
Good thing interest rates are 1.3% right now.
If we reduced government spending and borrowing by all the money we spend on GW, would the amount we borrow fall to just $3.7 Billion per day? That would take a hundred million dollars a day in cuts.
We have to weigh it out: The $3.8 B is only $50 per day per Fed taxpayer. The reduction to $3.7 B cuts $1.33 of the $50 each day. But then the temperature would go up by more each day. The daily increase fraction of 1.5 degrees per hundred years is what? 0.000004 degrees per day. What can I get elsewhere for $1.33 a day? Can't 4 kids in Central America be fed for that amount? We could feed a population of 300 million starving kids, but would have to let the earth warm by 0.000004 degrees that day?
Oops, another $424 million rocket that monitors GW just crashed. Did creating and then firing that rocket consume any fuel, give off any CO2, or warm any air? If it did, we will have to make that up somehow.
$50 a day is $1500 per month. We borrow that on behalf of each of all 75 Million taxpayers. Then they spend almost $100 more per day that they don't have to borrow on behalf of each of all 75 Million taxpayers. Where does it all go?
just just like I have an interest in the old VW camper buses because of their fine utilitarianistic qualities I think I like this new VW Microbus as well. I am just very cautious like a serpent of all VW automotive products because of their inability to master simple (yeah, right, ever tried to re-wire any part of your 60's cars? :sick: ) wiring in their motorcars.
But I agree, ya have ta pay some homage to Germany's VW...and not going back to 19__ what was it, 1935 and the beginning of the Bug? gagrice, keep an eye on this new VW Microbus as I keep an eye on the 2013 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS/Hybrid GTS, 2013 Ford Focus SE with 5-speed manual transmission and the 2013 Kia Rio hatchback with 5-speed manual transmission, OK?
This sounds true. There are a lot of good causes out there, but we need to get our country's financial house in order before we attack problems. 8.9% unemployment. $3.8 B per day in new Federal defecit spending. Borrow more money to subsidize a new job outside the US is acceptable under the current situation?
The gov spends about $110 a day (365 days/yr) for each tax return with tax liability. For what? They are going to wean me off my 4 cyl car that gets me to work and back for $3.30 a day and get me into something that is gov subsidized and can get me to work and back for 20% less, saving me sixty six cents a day on weekdays? I hope the whole $110 a day ($40,000 a year) they need in taxes from me doesn't go to this effort! It will be nice to get 35-36 mpg actual from a 3450 lb midsize car. A 20% improvement.
Never mind building high-speed rail, or any more rail when the current system is pretty bad, and doesn't have enough money. Forget subsidizing these trains too. Set the fares to pay the full cost, and then see if anyone wants to stand in the cold waiting for these trains and then be delayed, and late for wherever you're going.
This certainly doesn't make me want to give up my auto, even if there was a train anywhere nearby. This is the nearest train-line to me, which is about 1 hr away.
“I was proud looking at it from this viewpoint — until it started turning,” Anderson said.
But now, as many as 50 people are complaining about the turbine and the noise it makes at different speeds. A dozen families are retaining a lawyer for that reason.
“It is dangerous. Headaches. Loss of sleep. And the ringing in my ears never goes away. I could look at it all day, and it does not bother me. It’s quite majestic — but it’s way too close,” Anderson said.
You keep posting these anti-wind-turbine stories. I can't get that page to come up - it seems to be a broken link.
Why do you keep doing that?
Are you against clean air? You seem to be.
I don't want to hear that sad old "I don't want my tax money spent blah blah blah..." argument, because we BOTH KNOW there is FAR MORE GUVMINT PORK that should be cancelled ahead of clean air initiatives.
For every "overly sensitive" person who complains about wind turbines, there are thousands you DON'T hear from because the turbines aren't bothering them at all.
Why create a blog post and talk about something which is NOT bothering you?
And, AGAIN I SAY, there is no reason to put these turbines right beside populated areas - there are PLENTY of areas close to transmission lines but far enough from humans to avoid this problem altogether.
Or, pay people who are sensitive to it to MOVE their whiny butt somewhere else.
No thanks. Lots of places that are sited well for wind are also attractive places for people to live. Moving the problem out of sight just creates more grid towers and lines everywhere.
The guy in the link (that works fine for me btw) owns a solar company and wanted the wind tower. Until he had to live with it.
The U.S. probably has 10 times more fossil fuel than any other country. Speculation is that we just want to sit on it while we use up the fossil fuels of the rest of the world first.
Not a bad strategy for the future of the U.S. (if we don't go broke first) for 50 years from now but I don't particularly want to pay for it now with $5.00 gas. Who knows, 50 years from now we may have discovered unlimited free energy and oil will go the way of the buggy whip.
Wind turbines and electric cars are just a fad and really can't be taken seriously.
Thanks Steve. I guess Larsb's alternative energy browser is broke. :shades:
I have gone up by the Wind Generators on the Indian reservation. I did not hike over to them. They make a whooomp whooomp noise from about half mile away. Most of the negatives are when people put them close to homes. When they are out in the wilderness you have those long haul transmission lines that get attacked by environmentalist. I think the money could be spent on more stable clean coal technology. Then you don't need back up systems ready to go when the wind don't blow.
I just don't like going off on tangents like ethanol, solar and wind. Alternatives are fine if they are cost effective. So far we do not have any other than Geo Thermal that I know of. Hydro is cost effective just environmentally damaging.
I agree that car one of the causes of global warming which is now again in the tackle because a lot of cars out of gas that causes lack of oxygen and the depletion layer of earth. :sick:
My old car on a cold morning, doing its best to try to eliminate global cooling. I bet it was canceling out 40 various hybrids :shades: (steam, not smoke)
Maybe this is where the moisture came from that initiated all those snow storms this winter:
This ice not melting ITSELF
The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are melting very very quickly. The ice mass is melting at an accelerating pace making it a leading source of sea level rise.
Eric Rignot, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, said in a statement:
“That ice sheets will dominate future sea level rise is not surprising — they hold a lot more ice mass than mountain glaciers. What is surprising is this increased contribution by the ice sheets is already happening. If present trends continue, sea level is likely to be significantly higher than levels projected by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007. Our study helps reduce uncertainties in near-term projections of sea level rise.”
The study will be published soon in Geophysical Research Letters. The results were based on two independent measurements, which included 18 years of satellite and modeling data taken from both regions. The numbers tell the story: the ice loss is happening very quickly. The Greenland ice sheets lost mass faster than the previous year by 21.9 gigatonnes a year. And the loss seen in Antarctica was on average 14.5 gigatonnes a year, compared to the previous year.
As far as predicting ice loss in the future, at least one thing is for sure it’s uncertain. At this rate though, considering the impact from other factors, the total sea level rise could be as high as 32 centimeters by 2050.
Better make a long-term plan to sell off that coastal real estate, starting in about 2045.
No need to panic, or even hurry. Even that wild eyed, hair on fire, worst case scenario prediction/guess comes to about 1/3 inch rise each year. That, plus the fact that these idiots have zero credibility makes this whole story a non event.
The whole MMGW/One World movement came crashing down back in 2009. You might as well face reality.
I find it interesting that NASA and JPL come up with these kind of theories just about the time they are going to get their budgets cut BIG TIME. NASA is Obama's favorite target for wasted money. Here was the news in 2009. Your article contains half truths. Something the AGW crowd are famous for.
Antarctic ice is growing, not melting away
Ice is expanding in much of Antarctica, contrary to the widespread public belief that global warming is melting the continental ice cap.
The results of ice-core drilling and sea ice monitoring indicate there is no large-scale melting of ice over most of Antarctica, although experts are concerned at ice losses on the continent's western coast.
Antarctica has 90 percent of the Earth's ice and 80 percent of its fresh water, The Australian reports. Extensive melting of Antarctic ice sheets would be required to raise sea levels substantially, and ice is melting in parts of west Antarctica. The destabilization of the Wilkins ice shelf generated international headlines this month.
However, the picture is very different in east Antarctica, which includes the territory claimed by Australia.
East Antarctica is four times the size of west Antarctica and parts of it are cooling. The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research report prepared for last week's meeting of Antarctic Treaty nations in Washington noted the South Pole had shown "significant cooling in recent decades."
Australia Antarctic Division glaciology program head Ian Allison said sea ice losses in west Antarctica over the past 30 years had been more than offset by increases in the Ross Sea region, just one sector of east Antarctica.
"Sea ice conditions have remained stable in Antarctica generally," Allison said.
Why is a 2009 story "superior and/or more correct" than one that just came out in 2011?
You make it too easy for me. The NASA study was not specific to areas. Makes it easier to fudge the facts. The Aussie scientists, who I would trust beyond NASA paid scientists. They are worried about their jobs right now. So if they told the WHOLE TRUTH, do you think the administration would look favorably on that? Not a chance. They have a tax and spend agenda attached to AGW. You keep forgetting to follow the money. That is the answer to anything dealing with government.
Comments
Larsb does not seem to care where they send his tax dollars. Or about pollution outside our borders. Build those nasty mercury bulbs elsewhere. Take our tax dollars to China and build batteries, solar panels and wind generators. All using dirty electric power with coal we sell them.
But I'm reasonable enough to know that complaining ain't gonna change it.
And if it takes tax dollars in today's world to finance beneficial technological advances, AGAIN, just deal with the new reality.
Because every alternative form of energy we have discussed is being built outside the USA. We were sold a Stimulus package by the Feds to help create US jobs. Billions were included to create US Jobs in alternative energy. So far much of it has provided a few fat cats with millions to look like they are doing just that when in fact much of it is being used to create jobs in other countries. First it was condoms, then CFL bulbs now solar panels and wind generators all subsidized with our tax dollars. Most of the companies have an office here and the worker bees in China. I find that despicable.
Well, that's the way things are done now, Gary. I'd say go meditate for a while in your Hawaiian bungalow and learn to accept it.
:shades:
As long as Chinese labor is cheap, companies are going to use it to maximize their profits.
You might see it as atrocious, but I learned long ago not to fight about (or worry too much about) things I cannot control.
I don't want any less for my grandkids than you do for yours. But humans and society are both adaptable....we will make do.
Federal money should be spent at home, end of story.
I just know the reality is not what we would prefer, and that there is nothing that can be done to change it; so I'm not fighting it.
You should take your own advice. We can't control the climate either. Even if mankind could do much, you and the few hundred million who would do something, are opposed by billions of people who just want some energy, any energy from any source, to burn.
But humans and society are both adaptable....we will make do.
Congratulations to coming over to the POV that even if the Earf does warm a couple or a few degrees, we'll adapt. You can move from the too-hot Phoenix, to Montana, N. Dakota, or the vast uninhabited areas of Canada.
BTW - if you think there's nothing wrong with the U.S. sliding down economically to match China and India, you need to take a trip to China and India and see what the normal person's life is like. Maybe they would give you a job melting down the toxic metals and chemicals from disgarded electronic garbage? Oh, and there's no Social Security or retirement for the average person. Oh and if you think it'll be good to be equal to the Chinese and Indians, forget the EV and solar panels; that's for the wealthy; the middle class in India burn cow dung for heat.
The offshoring ideal will go down as the most disastrous movement in American history.
First our economy was run over the last couple of decades by false wealth with people personally going into personal debt. This was fueled by the policies of our government creating a real estate bubble - wealth that wasn't there. That artificial wealth was mostly sent overseas. In the last 3 years or so it became evident ot our policy-makers that individuals had reached the limit of going-deeper-into-debt, and started what is now a long series of stimuli for the economy which has led to some small, temporary recovery at the expense of the government now going into extreme debt to pickup the spending where the individual couldn't. So now most people are broke, their government is brioke, and those with some $ are threatened by inflation and devaluing currency (one in the same here). Stimuli will not work with the new global economy - too much $ goes overseas, and doesn't stay here for it to work.
About the only ones doing well are the wealthy, who are having the stock-market bubble inflated, which is a result of the Fed keeping interest rates near zero, and pushing savers to invest in the corrupt casino of Wall Street as the alternative.
Anyway - if we stay on this course of the government going deeper into debt, 9%+ unemployment being the norm during "good times", and our society in whole enacting policies that make the U.S. a service or R&D economy, any-confirmed GW will be the least of our worries.
I wonder if this is how the Romans felt in the 3rd or 4th century?
Just your tax dollar continually at work, people, that's all.
BTW-everyone boycott Exxon/Mobil ghastly and let's consciously try and drive ghastly prices down in the U.S.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Correct. But what we CAN control is the amount of pollutants we are introducing into the climate.
Gary says, "Congratulations to coming over to the POV that even if the Earf does warm a couple or a few degrees, we'll adapt."
That's not a "coming over to the POV" - I've had that POV forever.
Of course WE'LL adapt. I'm worried about the little tree frog whose gall bladder bile might cure cancer, or aids, or Parkinson's, or Alzheimer's. We just DON'T KNOW what species we might kill off and cause millions of future Earthlings to suffer.
Gary says, "...if you think there's nothing wrong with the U.S. sliding down economically to match China and India..."
Well, no one is talking about THAT result. Everyone obviously knows THAT's not gonna happen.
I'm just saying that companies taking work overseas for cheaper labor is a process that is not going to be reversed.
But buying some CFL bulbs should fix everything!
Peruse Chevrolet's February sales release, and you'll notice one number that's blatantly missing: the number of Chevy Volts sold. The number – a very modest 281 – is available in the company's detailed data (PDF), but it certainly isn't something that GM wants to highlight, apparently. Keeping the number quiet is a bit understandable, since it's lower than the 321 that Chevy sold in January.
Nissan doesn't have anything to brag about here, either (and it didn't avoiding any mention of the Leaf sales in its press release). Why? Well, back in January, the company sold 87 Leafs. In February? Just 67. Where does that leave us? Well, here's the big scorecard for all sales of these vehicles thus far:
* Volt: 928
* Leaf: 173
Ouch. The big questions, of course, revolve around one word: "Why?" Is ramping up production and deliveries still a problem? Is demand weak? Are unscrupulous dealers to blame? When will sales start to climb? And what are these numbers doing to plug-in vehicle work at other automakers? We don't know all the answers, but for more on February auto sales, click here.
http://green.autoblog.com/2011/03/01/gm-sells-281-chevy-volts-february-nissan-67- -leafs/
Looks like those that want one, got one. Look for even worse sales unless gas goes over $5 per gallon. I cannot see anyway they are logical or practical. And at the price point not likely to get many buyers. More $millions wasted by our fearless government.
"Before we all start writing off the EV as DOA (again), let's remember that both companies have massive back-orders for their electrified people carriers, leading us to believe that the most likely cause for this slow trickle of deliveries is a limited supply rather than dwindling demand. Production volumes of the Volt and Leaf are expected to ramp up as we go forward, so panic's inadvisable "
I saw something earlier in the year about Nissan struggling to get enough Leafs made for the initial deliveries.
Nissan has already sold 20,000 Leafs. So once they can start delivering to those buyers, the numbers will go up.
As for the Volt - it can only be had in a few states right now.
Something else to remember: The Prius only sold 5,562 it's first partial year in the USA.
New ideas take time to catch on. Be patient.
That was your spin on the EV lack of sales. First I don't believe for a minute that Nissan has 20,000 Leaves already sold. Maybe refundable deposits. I doubt that as well. Remember this was a Green blog giving the results that I could not find on either website when the Feb sales figures came out.
So here is my spin. Most will be sold in CA. Most buyers are not going to worry about the cost of charging until they get their first months electric bill. Too late to back out then. Here is my thinking on the lack of sales. The $5000 from the state has run out. Though getting at the truth seems difficult. Without the $7500 and $5000 they are WAAAY OVER Priced. Not everyone will get even the $7500. That is illusive and unknown until you have your taxes done. The Volt and Leaf are a big gamble. The Prius was what it was and still is.
Anyway, they did reserve 20,000 for sure. I know because I tried to reserve one after they were all done taking the first 20K.
Those first 20,000 also got either FREE or REDUCED price home charging units.
Well, only time will tell you how wrong you will be about this.
As long as the leases stay $350 per month, they are NOT "WWAAAAYYY" over-priced. That payment is affordable for the vast majority of Americans.
IF you still get the free charger installed when you lease. It would probably be the way to go. I have not made a car payment in 15 years and I would hate to start now. If I were to start a business where I could write off the lease it would be feasible. Though I am too lazy to bother. I will stop by my Nissan dealer when I am in town and find out the scoop from my salesman friend. I think that number could be World wide mostly in Japan where they are dumping green cars.
Well, only time will tell you how wrong you will be about this.
Or how right I am. We shall see....... :shades:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/03/04/florida.high.speed.rail/index.html?hpt=T2#
The Florida governor knows that the cost is "low-balled" to get the project moving. Then when it goes over-budget the private-sector investors can go bankrupt, and then the government is stuck running it despite assurances that the private sector would be there.
Probably the private sector investors are the ones who are going to collect most of the federal $, pay themselves large salaries and expenses, and then when that runs out declare bankruptcy. A wonderful scam the governor didn't go for!
How much CO2 would that train reduce? Like a microfraction of the 100 billion tons that Nature emits each year?
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
You are saying "we don't know" what we might affect, so we should try to limit our affect.
I didn't hear him sya that at all. He said it could go either way. most probably it won't matter much 1 way or the other, as millions of species have perished over several hundred million years, and yet here we are on a very hospitable Earth, relative to the planets we do know.
You are the one feels badly that everytime you wink, you may affect the environment. The rest of us here understand we can affect things slightly, the Earth and life goes on, and there is no permanent harm.
Carrying houdini's thought further, you do know monkeys are thought to transmit ebola. Now if ebola mutates to infecting via an airborne route, mankind is not going to be very happy. Nature is not benign many times. There is no recripocity of being nice with Nature; there's no sentient good or bad intent or reaction.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Someone has bum scoop. Could be the dealer. I did get to see a red one and sit in it. Not my cup of tea. The salesman says they have 4000 sold in the US. They are only getting about 1 per week, all pre sold. He also tried telling me you could charge it for $3. I did not want to stand around arguing, so I let him live in his fantasy World. I think I would rather wait a while. I like the EV concept from VW a whole lot more than the tiny Leaf. I love the iPad docking station. Why hasn't any other company thought of that?
The VW Bulli of today sports an electric motor and is described by the German automaker as a zero emissions vehicle. The motor outputs 85 kW of power and has 199 lb.-ft of torque. It gets energy from a lithium-ion battery with a maximum storage capacity of 40 kWh that offers a driving range of up to 186.4 miles and, in some circumstances, can be charged in less than an hour. It accelerates from 0 to 62 mph in 11.5 seconds, and its top speed is 87 mph (electronically limited).
The VW Bulli of today sports an electric motor and is described by the German automaker as a zero emissions vehicle. The motor outputs 85 kW of power and has 199 lb.-ft of torque. It gets energy from a lithium-ion battery with a maximum storage capacity of 40 kWh that offers a driving range of up to 186.4 miles and, in some circumstances, can be charged in less than an hour. It accelerates from 0 to 62 mph in 11.5 seconds, and its top speed is 87 mph (electronically limited).
I spose they're in the "just garnering worldwide interest in our hot new all-electric vehicle" phase with this microbus all-electric.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
It's about the same length as a Polo but wider than a Golf, with the wheels pushed right to the ends to give loads of space. And these same proportions wouldn't have to be diluted for production because it uses VW's new modular platform which can be made in all sorts of dimensions.
The concept car has an electric powertrain, but the real thing would have the usual VW petrol and diesel engines.
Years of belt-tightening have left NASA's Earth-watching system in sorry shape, according to many scientists. And any money for new environmental satellites will have to survive budget-cutting, global warming politics and, now, doubts on Capitol Hill about the space agency's competence.
The Taurus XL rocket carrying NASA's Glory satellite lifted from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and plummeted to the southern Pacific several minutes later. The same thing happened to another climate-monitoring probe in 2009 with the same type of rocket, and engineers thought they had fixed the problem.
I hope we are not depending on the Taurus XL for our ICBM defense system. Time to shut off funding of the GW scam.
That is a lot of borrowing.
Good thing interest rates are 1.3% right now.
If we reduced government spending and borrowing by all the money we spend on GW, would the amount we borrow fall to just $3.7 Billion per day? That would take a hundred million dollars a day in cuts.
We have to weigh it out:
The $3.8 B is only $50 per day per Fed taxpayer.
The reduction to $3.7 B cuts $1.33 of the $50 each day.
But then the temperature would go up by more each day.
The daily increase fraction of 1.5 degrees per hundred years is what?
0.000004 degrees per day.
What can I get elsewhere for $1.33 a day?
Can't 4 kids in Central America be fed for that amount?
We could feed a population of 300 million starving kids, but would have to let the earth warm by 0.000004 degrees that day?
Oops, another $424 million rocket that monitors GW just crashed. Did creating and then firing that rocket consume any fuel, give off any CO2, or warm any air? If it did, we will have to make that up somehow.
$50 a day is $1500 per month. We borrow that on behalf of each of all 75 Million taxpayers. Then they spend almost $100 more per day that they don't have to borrow on behalf of each of all 75 Million taxpayers. Where does it all go?
But I agree, ya have ta pay some homage to Germany's VW...and not going back to 19__ what was it, 1935 and the beginning of the Bug? gagrice, keep an eye on this new VW Microbus as I keep an eye on the 2013 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS/Hybrid GTS, 2013 Ford Focus SE with 5-speed manual transmission and the 2013 Kia Rio hatchback with 5-speed manual transmission, OK?
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
8.9% unemployment.
$3.8 B per day in new Federal defecit spending.
Borrow more money to subsidize a new job outside the US is acceptable under the current situation?
The gov spends about $110 a day (365 days/yr) for each tax return with tax liability. For what? They are going to wean me off my 4 cyl car that gets me to work and back for $3.30 a day and get me into something that is gov subsidized and can get me to work and back for 20% less, saving me sixty six cents a day on weekdays? I hope the whole $110 a day ($40,000 a year) they need in taxes from me doesn't go to this effort! It will be nice to get 35-36 mpg actual from a 3450 lb midsize car. A 20% improvement.
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/27076887/detail.html
This certainly doesn't make me want to give up my auto, even if there was a train anywhere nearby. This is the nearest train-line to me, which is about 1 hr away.
But now, as many as 50 people are complaining about the turbine and the noise it makes at different speeds. A dozen families are retaining a lawyer for that reason.
“It is dangerous. Headaches. Loss of sleep. And the ringing in my ears never goes away. I could look at it all day, and it does not bother me. It’s quite majestic — but it’s way too close,” Anderson said.
http://climatide.wgbh.org/2011/03/the-falmouth-experience-life-under-the-blades/-
Why do you keep doing that?
Are you against clean air? You seem to be.
I don't want to hear that sad old "I don't want my tax money spent blah blah blah..." argument, because we BOTH KNOW there is FAR MORE GUVMINT PORK that should be cancelled ahead of clean air initiatives.
For every "overly sensitive" person who complains about wind turbines, there are thousands you DON'T hear from because the turbines aren't bothering them at all.
Why create a blog post and talk about something which is NOT bothering you?
And, AGAIN I SAY, there is no reason to put these turbines right beside populated areas - there are PLENTY of areas close to transmission lines but far enough from humans to avoid this problem altogether.
Or, pay people who are sensitive to it to MOVE their whiny butt somewhere else.
The guy in the link (that works fine for me btw) owns a solar company and wanted the wind tower. Until he had to live with it.
Not a bad strategy for the future of the U.S. (if we don't go broke first) for 50 years from now but I don't particularly want to pay for it now with $5.00 gas. Who knows, 50 years from now we may have discovered unlimited free energy and oil will go the way of the buggy whip.
Wind turbines and electric cars are just a fad and really can't be taken seriously.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
That's a good one.....
Laugh of the morning.....
Thanks !!!! :shades:
I have gone up by the Wind Generators on the Indian reservation. I did not hike over to them. They make a whooomp whooomp noise from about half mile away. Most of the negatives are when people put them close to homes. When they are out in the wilderness you have those long haul transmission lines that get attacked by environmentalist. I think the money could be spent on more stable clean coal technology. Then you don't need back up systems ready to go when the wind don't blow.
I just don't like going off on tangents like ethanol, solar and wind. Alternatives are fine if they are cost effective. So far we do not have any other than Geo Thermal that I know of. Hydro is cost effective just environmentally damaging.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
This ice not melting ITSELF
The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are melting very very quickly. The ice mass is melting at an accelerating pace making it a leading source of sea level rise.
Eric Rignot, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, said in a statement:
“That ice sheets will dominate future sea level rise is not surprising — they hold a lot more ice mass than mountain glaciers. What is surprising is this increased contribution by the ice sheets is already happening. If present trends continue, sea level is likely to be significantly higher than levels projected by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007. Our study helps reduce uncertainties in near-term projections of sea level rise.”
The study will be published soon in Geophysical Research Letters. The results were based on two independent measurements, which included 18 years of satellite and modeling data taken from both regions. The numbers tell the story: the ice loss is happening very quickly. The Greenland ice sheets lost mass faster than the previous year by 21.9 gigatonnes a year. And the loss seen in Antarctica was on average 14.5 gigatonnes a year, compared to the previous year.
As far as predicting ice loss in the future, at least one thing is for sure it’s uncertain. At this rate though, considering the impact from other factors, the total sea level rise could be as high as 32 centimeters by 2050.
Better make a long-term plan to sell off that coastal real estate, starting in about 2045.
The whole MMGW/One World movement came crashing down back in 2009. You might as well face reality.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Antarctic ice is growing, not melting away
Ice is expanding in much of Antarctica, contrary to the widespread public belief that global warming is melting the continental ice cap.
The results of ice-core drilling and sea ice monitoring indicate there is no large-scale melting of ice over most of Antarctica, although experts are concerned at ice losses on the continent's western coast.
Antarctica has 90 percent of the Earth's ice and 80 percent of its fresh water, The Australian reports. Extensive melting of Antarctic ice sheets would be required to raise sea levels substantially, and ice is melting in parts of west Antarctica. The destabilization of the Wilkins ice shelf generated international headlines this month.
However, the picture is very different in east Antarctica, which includes the territory claimed by Australia.
East Antarctica is four times the size of west Antarctica and parts of it are cooling. The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research report prepared for last week's meeting of Antarctic Treaty nations in Washington noted the South Pole had shown "significant cooling in recent decades."
Australia Antarctic Division glaciology program head Ian Allison said sea ice losses in west Antarctica over the past 30 years had been more than offset by increases in the Ross Sea region, just one sector of east Antarctica.
"Sea ice conditions have remained stable in Antarctica generally," Allison said.
http://www.news.com.au/antarctic-ice-is-growing-not-melting-away/story-0-1225700- 043191
1. Who ya gonna trust: some rocket scientists, or some random Aussies?
2. Why is a 2009 story "superior and/or more correct" than one that just came out in 2011?
Oh, Gary. Gary, Gary, Gary.
You make it too easy for me. The NASA study was not specific to areas. Makes it easier to fudge the facts. The Aussie scientists, who I would trust beyond NASA paid scientists. They are worried about their jobs right now. So if they told the WHOLE TRUTH, do you think the administration would look favorably on that? Not a chance. They have a tax and spend agenda attached to AGW. You keep forgetting to follow the money. That is the answer to anything dealing with government.