i was pro nuclear and pro solar power until the real negatives were pointed out.

they are both safe (nuklear power is so regulated that incidents only occur when a natural distaer occurs ie, japan and earthquakes or some turns of the safety mechanisms ie chernobyl)

the unfortunate factor of solar and nuclear is the cost.
it cost alot and a lot of 'nasty shit' (engineering mate) is produced as a byproduct building a solar cell.

and a nuclear power plant needs to be monitored, and they have a very limited shelf life and its not so much th byproduct that is difficult to dispose of it the powerstation itself. which has to dismantled in a safe way and disposed of correctly.


i was reading that scientists have found a new way to split carbon (i think) that will make it easier and cheaper to make some electricity products.

existing technologies such as burning waste food oils and gas is either monopolised by large companies and our own govt. has made poor choices in how to regulate and supply its own population.




... holy crap, i ranted....

/rant

As good as the Tesla is, i could never own one regardless of how fast it is or how good it is for the environment.

Simple fact is, i love cars for many reasons. Ok, so the Tesla might get me to where im going faster. But is it going to give me that feeling i get when i hear the low down burble of a WRX? Or the raspy top end of an Evo? No, it'll give one big long whine from the electric engine and i'll be bored.

To me, driving is an experience, fuck the environment.

__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Honourable Member for The Darkside

MY07 Mitsubishi Ralliart Colt

I love cars too! (In case you hadn't noticed?!)

The thing that most lose sight of in this debate is that one stream of technology doesn't necessarily make the other completely redundant. Everyone immediately assumes that a change to new improved technology equates to the complete removal of the old... But you can still ride a steam train these days if you really wish can't you, still buy vinal in selected shops?!

Look around... we are all living in a world of new and old technologies. The future isn't going to look any different! My solution is simple, let the small minority of car enthusiasts (us!) have their combustion engines to do motorsport etc- but start putting EVERYONE else on this planet in hybrid cars!!

Most people just want a decent amount of power to get from A to B, so why not do so without unecessarily poluting the air? A handful of motorsport enthusiasts won't rubbish the environment- it would be like 'olden days' as far as CO2 emissions.
Then we could turn our focus upon the REAL polluters... Industry!!!

/rant off.

__________________
"...even my Grandma can drive fast in a straight line"

Industry, dont get me started...

/end rant (that'll save me from any risk of abuse.. ending my rant)

__________________
[COLOR="Blue"]"Your car positioning and awareness is f*ing bang on. And like, every single time.
In terms of getting that close to the bollards, Ive only been with one other person that can drive like that" –Franz[/COLOR]
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

Even coal power stations are around 50% efficient as they run at a constant rate and are always trimmed for maximum efficiency compared with cars which are around 20-30% depending. This mean that for every 10 litres of fuel you burn, 3 actually reach the road as power and 7 are burnt in friction, heat, noise etc.

This means electric cars are still greener than petrol ones, even if the power comes from coal. Once you take regenerative braking etc into account the electric cars get even further ahead. Then you have much fewer service intervals and lighter cars its all adds up.

I do like the torque curve (if you can call it a curve) and rpm range of electric motors, its the way to go. Battery technology is still pretty basic, there is much room for improvement.

__________________
betty banger

Agree with the battery technology
a dell laptop with 100g of Lithium-ion cells can result in this....


An electric car with 200Kg+ of cells = hindenburg on wheels

Haha!

Does that stop you from using a laptop?

__________________
betty banger

I've seen petrol filled cars go up pretty dam well to. Can't see why the batteries would be any worse.

__________________
Stoner & Webber 2011 World Champions

Reckon anything that takes us away from dependence (or at least, far less dependence) on arab oil is gotta be a big plus.

Can't wait for the day when we can all smirk at the market reports saying that oil has hit a new all-time high at US$wotever/barrel

__________________
MY99 WRX sedan WRC blue Sold :(
MY99 WRX sedan Dark blue pearl :D
MY97 Liberty Outback Ltd Wagon
1990 Mk3 Supra turbo fully rebuilt 7M-GTE (Older son)
1991 Celica GT4 (Younger son)

Hydrogen isn't an energy source its an energy container. There is no place you can get hydrogen from in nature. You have to make it by cracking open water and that requires putting more energy into creating it than you can get out of the hydrogen in the end. Its also dangerous and difficult to store

its an all round bad solution, far better off with electric cars with BATTERIES for storage, especially with advancing battery tech. Given every house in the country has a charger for it in every room, refueling isnt a problem.

However fuel companies are pushing hydrogen because it gives them something to sell. why do you think they killed the GM electric car in the USA?