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Sustainable Fuels

Even without any PV, an EV costs about one third as much to fuel as an ICE, about an eighth if you're paying cheap overnight rates.
 
The problem remains. I have no public chargers and inadequate home power service, no lower overnight rates on what I have.

It works where you have the infrastructure to support it.

I would be better off with a Prius for now. But I want an EV someday.
 
There are niche users for whom an EV is not yet suitable. Lord preserve me from these people pontificating from their little bubble and opining that EVs aren't much use, might be better for certain situations (which usually encompass about 70% of the population), but overall really not much cop.
 
I like that "not yet suitable" part. I am pulling for getting it more available as fast as possible.
 
jeremyp said:
So contrary to the assertion, they are not competitive.

I'm not saying this is going to remain the same. Far from it, and I think it is probably a good thing that governments are subsidising the change.

Anyway, talking about sustainable fuels and concentrating on cars and other transport slightly misses the mark - or only partially hits it. The biggest contributors to carbon dioxide emissions are still electricity and heating by quite some distance (twice as much as all transport). My apartment has a gas boiler for hot water and heating but nobody ever seems to talk about boilers (or gas hobs for that matter). Maybe it's because they are unglamorous and out of sight most of the time.

The carbon dioxide emissions of a single fossil fuel power station are probably the equivalent to several million lawn mowers. The emissions of excavators out in the sticks are a tiny drop in the ocean. We expend far too much mental energy arguing about how to make them electric.
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I beg to differ. The fossil fuel industry has been benefitting from a century of various subsidies. As for gas lawn tools. Estimates place them at emitting 5% of CO2 emissions in the US. This stuff adds up. Nevertheless, the worst electricity fossil fuel generating plant is three to five times less polluting than the typical lawn mowers or weed trimmer engine. And if the electricity is generated through solar, wind, hydroelectric or nuclear it is as much as 5000 times less polluting. It iis hardly a major personal sacrifice to use electric lawn tools instead of ICE ones.

And if you do what I suggested, you don't need power tools at all. Get rid of the stupid lawn.
 
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My FIL won't be giving up his grassy areas. It's his way to make money and always has been. It's what they play soccer on.

I would plant it in trees given the choice. But that will never be my choice.
 
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8enotto said:
My FIL won't be giving up his grassy areas. It's his way to make money and always has been. It's what they play soccer on.

I would plant it in trees given the choice. But that will never be my choice.
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Some people won't. I never made a living from my lawn. And few people do. I have lots of conifers on my property. But not where there use to be a lawn. Instead I have groundcover plants including Phlox, Micro-Clover, Veronika, Hostas, Ferns, Lillies, Hydrangeas, various roses, Salvia, Russian Sage Azaleas, Lavender and other plants. I do have lots of ornamental grasses. But you don't have to mow any of them. I spend three to five Saturdays a year on my garden. Mostly a couple of days in the fall where I might prune. In the spring I split plants to expand my garden.

I love the color in my yard. But if you have kids, I can appreciate having a lawn where they can play. Outside of that, I'd skip the traditional lawn.
 
i think soccer fields are legit

i started seeding clover, it's not that much different than grass on the feet and smells nice. a beekeeper told me it's really good for the bee population. so i started planting clover, and i mow it just like grass.
 
You can mow it. But why bother? It might grow to 3 inches high at most.
 
We had a guy who lived out in the woods near me who used to collect industrial waste grease from Atlantic City casinos and other large waste producers, run it through a homemade filtration system, and sell it as biodiesel to unmodified diesel cars and trucks, for significantly less than the pump cost. it was a hobby to him, and he couldn't produce much of course, but he had a waiting list of people who wanted it. I'll see if he appears online and update if he is.
 
Thermal said:
We had a guy who lived out in the woods near me who used to collect industrial waste grease from Atlantic City casinos and other large waste producers, run it through a homemade filtration system, and sell it as biodiesel to unmodified diesel cars and trucks, for significantly less than the pump cost. it was a hobby to him, and he couldn't produce much of course, but he had a waiting list of people who wanted it. I'll see if he appears online and update if he is.
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It's actually pretty easy. Basically involves heating the waste oil at 140+ degrees Fahrenheit for about four hours. But it can be dangerous, even deadly. Both from fire and toxic fumes. Needs to be both well ventilated and clean environment. You don't want anything involving alcohol anywhere near it. One of my neighbors use to do it.
 
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More about the Townsville biofuel facility:

Townsville’s jet fuel factory set for takeoff, turning farm waste into 100-million litre deal - News | InDaily, Inside Queensland

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www.indailyqld.com.au www.indailyqld.com.au

"Jet Zero Australia announced it had signed a deal with US biofuel firm LanzaJet on Tuesday as part of a plan to produce 102 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel each year, or enough to meet the demands of Cairns and Townsville airports."

"The low-emission fuel is produced using agricultural waste such as sugarcane, corn and grain by-products, which Queensland Premier Steven Miles said made Townsville an ideal location."

"Sustainable aviation fuel is typically mixed with traditional jet fuel to reduce carbon emissions from planes, and has become a major component of airlines’ plans to cut air pollution and meet the industry-wide goal of net-zero emissions by 2050."


So, a good development, but still a long way to go.
 
Thermal said:
We had a guy who lived out in the woods near me who used to collect industrial waste grease from Atlantic City casinos and other large waste producers, run it through a homemade filtration system, and sell it as biodiesel to unmodified diesel cars and trucks, for significantly less than the pump cost. it was a hobby to him, and he couldn't produce much of course, but he had a waiting list of people who wanted it. I'll see if he appears online and update if he is.
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This sounds profoundly uneconomical, except at very small scales, or else at global scales.
 
That's the trouble with things that require "waste" as their raw material. What happens if there isn't enough waste?
 
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