B-European Union Approves $731MM for Hydrogen Development

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Electric motors are 4 TIMES THE ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER as gasoline engines of equal power, because all new electrical-generation plants for many decades have been (and for the foreseeable future will be) fueled by coal (or in a few cases by natural gas, which is also a hydrocarbon producing the same amount of greenhouse gases) -- AND 75% OF THE ENERGY CONTENT OF THE COAL OR NATURAL GAS IS EXPENDED IN GENERATING THE ELECTRICITY!!!

The Chevrolet Volt, which General Motors estimates will get 230 miles per gallon of gasoline in city driving, IS A FRAUD FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL VIEWPOINT!!!

The Volt is a “plug in” electric vehicle with a range of 40 miles. So for the first 40 miles of each trip, the Volt’s mileage on the basis of gasoline consumption is infinite.

However, when the Volt has traveled 40 miles and its batteries are exhausted, it has a gasoline engine that, INSTEAD OF POWERING THE CAR DIRECTLY, kicks in to power a generator which re-charges the batteries to keep the car running!!!

So, for the portion of any trip over 40 miles, the Volt’s mileage as measured by gasoline consumption is going to be 25% of the mileage of a conventional gasoline-powered automobile (assuming that the Volt loses the same 75% in electrical generation as the country’s electric utility industry).

So if you assume virtually all of your driving comprises trips exceeding 40 miles each, your mileage in terms of gasoline is 25% of a conventional gasoline-powered car. And if you assume all of your driving comprises trips of less than 40 miles between re-charging, your mileage in terms of gasoline is infinite.

Obviously, General Motors could have picked any number it wanted!!!

And it arbitrarily chose 230 miles per gallon of gasoline!!!

HOWEVER, THIS IS MISLEADING AND, INDEED, FRAUDULENT BECAUSE IT IS DESIGNED TO FOOL THE PUBLIC INTO BELIEVING THAT THE VOLT IS ENVIRONMENTALLY DESIRABLE -- RATHER THAN THE ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER THAT IT IS!!!

The two oldest items (in terms of time/date posted) are stories in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, both dated 11 August 2009, that were included by Pat in the original proposal of this topic on 17 August 2009 to demonstrate how the country’s media uncritically bought the fraud perpetrated by General Motors’ announcement of 230 miles per gallon for the Volt.

The next 2 articles (in terms of time/date posted) result from Googling “Chevrolet Volt” on 3 November 2009. More than half of the top 50 “hits” were General Motors web sites and virtually all of the rest were regurgitations of General Motors propaganda. Virtually the only 2 exceptions =

The U.S. News & World Report article of 11 August 2009 which, unlike the gullible NY Times and the gullible Wall Street Journal, actually explained the fraud that General Motors was perpetrating.

The year-old Car and Driver article of October 2008 which, after discussing at length such issues as styling and the tremendous extra costs of the batteries, etc., finally reported uncritically the claims of General Motors regarding the cost of the plug-in electricity on a per-mile basis vs. gasoline costs.

First, General Motors claims regarding the cost of the electricity are suspect, since they almost certainly contain quite a bit of hydroelectric power which costs virtually nothing -- but no new dams have been built in the U.S. for many decades.

Second, even the cost of electricity from a coal-fired electrical plant is not a true measure of the environmental disaster that a coal-fired electrical plant is, because the price of coal is always a mere fraction of the cost of crude oil if they are compared in terms of energy content.

Third, General Motors ignores the 75% environmental disaster from its gasoline engine kicking in after 40 miles between re-charging.

SO FOR BOTH THE FIRST 40 MILES BETWEEN RE-CHARGING AND THE ADDITIONAL MILES WHEN THE GASOLINE ENGINE KICKS IN TO GENERATE MORE ELECTRICITY, THE VOLT IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER!!!
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johnkarls
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B-European Union Approves $731MM for Hydrogen Development

Post by johnkarls »

MSNBC from Associated Press – 5/30/2008

Europe ponies up for fuel cell, hydrogen cars
Project with industry aims to bring them to market by 2020


BRUSSELS, Belgium - European governments agreed Friday to spend $731 million developing fuel cells and hydrogen technology for cars that could slash oil consumption and carbon dioxide emissions within decades.

Car and energy companies such as Daimler AG and Royal Dutch Shell PLC are expected to match or exceed the EU funding for the six-year research project that should speed up research and make cleaner cars a commercial reality between 2010 and 2020.

The European Commission says hydrogen cars could cut the amount of oil used by road transport by 40 percent by 2040 and halve carbon emissions by 2050.

"The break-even point could be most likely reached between 2025 and 2035," it said. "European industry needs additional stimulation to invest in the technology."

The cost of oil rose as high as $135 a barrel last week, almost doubling from a year ago and pushing up prices across the economy as transport costs soar.

Worried about high energy prices, tight supply and oil's contribution to global warming, companies and governments have invested billions of dollars in alternative fuels such as biofuels made from energy crops. Regulators are also pushing for more energy-efficient vehicles.

Hydrogen-powered fuel cells already are in limited use in place of fossil fuels, but they are so far neither efficient nor inexpensive enough for widespread use.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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