How cool are these car?
http://www.teslamotors.com/
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/02/loremo_ag_157_m.php
The use of these electric cars centralizes the conversion of energy to a power plant location rather than having it dispersed around the land in automobiles. Electricity, as a fuel source, is neat because it burns clean, and makes no noise, the down sides are that it doesn't store that well and it is still transformed from relatively emissive forms of energy like coal and oil. If you really want to be inclusive it is also necessary to point out that the production of electric cars can be wasteful to a point that it could exceed the desired result of an over all decrease in carbon emissions. I am by no means advocating a paranoid lifestyle where one should track their every action to make sure one's conscience is clean enough to go to heaven. A guilty life is just no fun, take it from the catholics.
On the other side it is justifiable to look into the indirect implications of ones buying power investment. If everyone stopped buying SUV's they really wouldn't make them. I know you don't believe me, but that's ok sometimes it is easier to believe that corporations are evil.
I feel like it is necessary to take a second to clarify what I mean by centralization of energy production and what kind of hypothetical benefits are implied to the overall improvement of human welfare. Centralizing energy productions is--for all of you Austrians--NOT moving the energy sector into anything public or planned. It simply means producing energy at a power plant and dispersing it through the grid using power lines. I know what you're saying, "Lincoln, we already do that!" You're right, we do! that's whats so cool about this. We just need to incorporate the use of transportations onto the burden of the grid. I'm getting into shady territory here with my wording. Let me clarify your concerns: the government should not play a part in funneling public demand away from filling up your tank with Chevron's best. Although, it is fair to point out that more and more people are demanding electric cars, and that is creating an indirect positive externality by centralizing energy production.
The benefits associated with energy productions are that cumulatively there would be less every converting machines therefore making it easer to have one good emissions scrubber rather than having many not so good catalytic converts and mufflers.
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Of course, the problem is that the costs are not even in the same ball park. The hybrids are making progress by reducing the size of the gasoline engine needed and only using battery power as a supplement, but they still have a long way to go.
Check out my brother's website at www.wrightspeed.com
He is a still shareholder in Tesla Motors, but broke away to start his own company. His power train technology will solve the current problems involved with electric vehicles, with the biggest savings coming from this technology applied to larger transport vehicles.
He has built an insanely fast electric powered supercar.
Wow, Linda your brother's car is really sweet. It might be apparent but I feel the need to say it anyway, I get a bit nerdy and excited about fuel efficient cars. And the ability to make more powerful fuel efficient cars opens a new market for larger distripution companies looking to cut their costs. Smooth move and nice niche Linda's brother! let me know when they start producing, and hopefully by that time I won't be a poor college student. Hey, anything can happen, right?
and, Jack, you're right about costs like short-term and up-front which account for the subsidized difference in the price. However when long term costs come into play, and an accurate future-value model is necessary, predictions do become a little more shady with the onset of unpredictable factors, but with a steady increase in gas prices like we have seen in recent years I would be surprised to find any prediction model showing a net loss for those presently investing in a more fuel efficient vehicle.
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