teddywood1
Well-Known Member
us poor motorist are always blamed for emissions but what about the planes and rockets and volcanos they cause more than anything
Nodge68
Well-Known Member
Planes yes, most definitely.
Electricity generation, now that is very polluting.
Rockets is an interesting subject, well above this thread and not as polluting as they look. Most space rockets simply emit huge amounts of waster vapour (steam).
Volcanos don't really count as there're not man made.
As with everything polluting, legislation is about making money and not the environment.
guineafowl21
Well-Known Member
Rockets - tonnes of liquid oxygen and hydrogen will burn away as steam, but imagine the carbon footprint from filling those tanks.Planes yes, most definitely.
Electricity generation, now that is very polluting.
Rockets is an interesting subject, well above this thread and not as polluting as they look. Most space rockets simply emit huge amounts of waster vapour (steam).
Volcanos don't really count as there're not man made.
As with everything polluting, legislation is about making money and not the environment.
What strikes me is the irony of even the most dedicated green preacher, who carefully sorts all their rubbish into recyclable categories, which is picked up by a dirty great diesel lorry. They do, what, 7-10 mpg? Stop/start as well. They then hop into their hybrid car and drive to the supermarket for their weekly shop, which is a collection point for recyclables.
Nodge68
Well-Known Member
Absolutely. But they wouldn't put recyclable materials in there hybrid vehicle. I bet they think there hybrid is green too, what with all those Li-ion batteries to manufacture and two engines to move it about. There's not a hybrid been manufactured so far that is truly a green option, by comparison to a well made diesel engined vehicle.
guineafowl21
Well-Known Member
Buying a hybrid isn’t really about saving the planet - it’s about making you and, more importantly, others think that you are.
Apart from the obvious, two things disappoint me about electric vehicles:
1. Their packs are just a load of 18650s in series/parallel.
2. Lifetime, according to Top Gear, can be as low as 5 years, depending on how many fast charges you do and usage, etc. I hope they get standardised and there is a government-backed recon/exchange programme.
Nodge68
Well-Known Member
There's nothing actually wrong with 18650 cells being used. Using standard sized cells will keep production costs down. There are also some very good 18650 cells about these days. I actually use many in my workshop as part my solar charged energy storage solution. I also have some lead acid batteries in there too.
The problem I have with electric vehicles is the electric they use to charge them up. A large proportion of which is generated by burning fossil fuels. This fuel is burned in the power station, which heats water to make steam to drive turbines. The turbines spin generators that generate the electricity, before it's sent miles and miles down wires to charge the electric car battery. By the time you add in all the losses of transferring the coal or gas into electricity at the plug, it's actually less polluting to burn the fuel at the point of use. Obviously this is what a diesel or petrol powered car does, which has to be the most environmentally clean solution. Although apparently not if you are your average out of touch with reality politician, taking fake green advice from tree huggers who are technically inept.
guineafowl21
Well-Known Member
Yes, involving politicians in technical matters often leads to disaster - after all, they’ve chosen a career as a talker, not a do-er. Too many have humanities degrees.
I just thought there’d be a more suitable way to make a large Li battery for a car than packing a load of cylinders together (hexagons?!). Now, if you could remove, test and replace each one, there’s something I’d get behind.
I think we’re a very long way from the national grid being beefy enough to cope with the demand of charging EVs. But of course, the politicians will ensure that is in place before they clamp down on fossil fuel cars, won’t they?
