Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

Coastalwatch

New type of car battery can do 1500 miles without needing to charge. I know it's not April the 1st but could this article in the Daily Mail be for real!
Father or eight invents new battery capable of propelling an electric vehicle 1500 miles between top ups. Buses, Lorries and Aircraft next inline to benefit!



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7592485/Father-eight-invents-electric-car-battery-drivers-1-500-miles-without-charging-it.html

michaels

Martyn1981 wrote: »

I suppose XR is green energy news, given the potential impacts of their action, or not?

On a personal note, I'm completely torn. I'm naive ad positive, and assume people will do the right thing for the right reasons, or in the case of renewables now, the right thing to save money, or in the case of AGW and the now defined 'climate crisis', the right thing now as doing it later will actually cost us even more.

But of course, life isn't that simple, and many people don't accept the science and the economics, and still want to live in denial, and resist change of any sort - we are after all hard wired to fear change.

So when XR started to block roads in London months ago, my initial reaction was 'oh no, come on guys (meaning both sexes and all ages), don't blow all the positivity that the UK population now has to dealing with this'.

Then I watched the news and a reporter, BBC I think, asked a question that (still to this day) left me split on the whole issue - he asked how history would judge XR and their policy of civil disobedience, and then asked how history now judges similar action carried out by the Suffragettes.

So, I'm left with three questions:
1. Is it a just cause?
2. Do we need to act faster?
3. Will XR's actions lead to faster action or not?

I'm comfortable with 1 and 2, but uncertain about 3, since faster action will I think be a reaction to greater public support, and I don't know if XR's actions will lead to that or not.

But at the very least, at least it's helping to drive national, and international debate/discussion, which is a start, and the youth should be listened to, assuming of course, that XR is popular with the youth. And there are of course XR youth movements.

Whatever I (or others) think about XR, I have to admit that the youth have been let down by us, and so they have a right to let us know.


'Older generations can't understand': XR Youth on being heard

My problem is the thought that 'my pet peeve is so urgent it transcends democracy'. Sorry I am sure there are lots of causes who's adherents think their issue is vital and therefore more important than democracy and perhaps they are right but if we get to the point where every group in this position believes that they are justified in ignoring the laws that are put in place by our democratically elected representatives then the eventual outcome must be anarchy.

I am pretty pessimistic on climate change but if the human race wants to collectively consume its way to enviromental oblivion then that is its choice. Those who want to change this need to use democratic means to do so.

Coastalwatch

Coastalwatch wrote: »

New type of car battery can do 1500 miles without needing to charge. I know it's not April the 1st but could this article in the Daily Mail be for real!
Father or eight invents new battery capable of propelling an electric vehicle 1500 miles between top ups. Buses, Lorries and Aircraft next inline to benefit!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7592485/Father-eight-invents-electric-car-battery-drivers-1-500-miles-without-charging-it.html

This forum thread is for Green and Ethical Energy issues in the news as in the post here but seems to now be dominated by relentless opinionating which I'm finding tedious and generally negative.

Please can we keep to the threads original intention!

JKenH

Coastalwatch wrote: »

This forum thread is for Green and Ethical Energy issues in the news as in the post here but seems to now be dominated by relentless opinionating which I'm finding tedious and generally negative.

Please can we keep to the threads original intention!

Of the 12 posts (including yours) over the last 2 days you have given thanks on 4 of them, all 4 being opinions rather than news items, so you can’t be finding them too tedious.

theboylard

Exactly why I don't post much and am now an infrequent visitor here.


I did read the article, looks quite interesting if it's not a load of cow pooh!

JKenH

theboylard wrote: »

I did read the article, looks quite interesting if it's not a load of cow pooh!

If it seems too good to be true.....

I hope I am proved wrong.

Martyn1981

michaels wrote: »

I am pretty pessimistic on climate change but if the human race wants to collectively consume its way to enviromental oblivion then that is its choice. Those who want to change this need to use democratic means to do so.

Yes, the problem is you could upset people by pushing one agenda, but in your example, you also have those with an alternative agenda (or little interest/concern) pushing their agenda on others via inaction. So a mixed bag, a very messy mixed bag.

What's right and fair, I don't know.

@ Coastalwatch and TBL - yes sorry for the 'thinking out loud bit', and I agree not exactly news, but if national and international policies are driven forward faster in response to public demonstrations of concern, and demand for more action, then the RE news will also be driven forward as a result.

Yes I know that's really messy, but it's kinda news, about news, and potential news ...... perhaps best I get back to trawling RE 'stuff'.

Cheers.

Martyn1981

Couple of news stories. I think we've mentioned Gravitricity before, but here's a new article on them/it:

How UK's disused mine shafts plan to store renewable energy

Britain’s cheapest “virtual battery” could be created by hoisting and dropping 12,000-tonne weights – half the weight of the Statue of Liberty – down disused mine shafts, according to Imperial College London.

A full-scale project would drop 24 weights totalling 12,000 tonnes to a depth of 800 metres to produce enough electricity to power 63,000 homes for more than an hour.

Looks like the IEA can see an economic tipping point shifting the balance further in favour of RE for worldwide deployment:

Renewable energy to expand by 50% in next five years - report

Global supplies of renewable electricity are growing faster than expected and could expand by 50% in the next five years, powered by a resurgence in solar energy.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) found that solar, wind and hydropower projects are rolling out at their fastest rate in four years.

Its latest report predicts that by 2024 a new dawn for cheap solar power could see the world’s solar capacity grow by 600GW, almost double the installed total electricity capacity of Japan. Overall, renewable electricity is expected to grow by 1,200GW in the next five years, the equivalent of the total electricity capacity of the US.

pile-o-stone

Coastalwatch wrote: »

This forum thread is for Green and Ethical Energy issues in the news as in the post here but seems to now be dominated by relentless opinionating which I'm finding tedious and generally negative.

Please can we keep to the threads original intention!

theboylard wrote: »

Exactly why I don't post much and am now an infrequent visitor here.

Yep, I'm the same. I used to be subscribed to this thread and the solar news one and would pop in on my journey across a few green sites like Navitron, Tree Hugger and Green Building forum.

I've seen this sort of thing before on other forums over the years. You get a nice vibe and then someone comes in who feels excluded (mainly because they're not interested in the subject matter - like car fans on a motorcycle forum) and so they set out to ruin it for everyone.

What makes it worse is that people who should know better, who used to enjoy the forum, lose their good sense and facilitate the deterioration of the forum by helping threads to be taken off topic and descend into constant arguments.

Well done GA and Ken, you've worked your magic and you're well on your way to taking down this forum. I'm glad I won't be here to see it as I'm taking this board off my list.

joefizz

Coastalwatch wrote: »

New type of car battery can do 1500 miles without needing to charge. I know it's not April the 1st but could this article in the Daily Mail be for real!
Father or eight invents new battery capable of propelling an electric vehicle 1500 miles between top ups. Buses, Lorries and Aircraft next inline to benefit!



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7592485/Father-eight-invents-electric-car-battery-drivers-1-500-miles-without-charging-it.html

This might have legs, but it still uses a possibly non-renewable source and will need fossil fuels to produce/recycle.


Where it does point to the future (and where some research is going) is the idea about hybrid vehicles, with electric for short journeys and some fuel cell (petrol/2stroke/diesel/lpg/hydrogen/biodiesel/new stuff) operation for longer journeys where it would be more appropriate/useful.


Where it really wins is that it can limit the size of the batteries required and range wouldnt really be an issue.


All of the above though wont really work if the non-battery part is cheap to run as people will just run that instead as seen with current hybrids.