The hubby's got a 5-star-safety-rating '07 Prius, I've got a beat-up old deathtrap '00 minivan with a driver's side airbag and a passenger-side get-well card. He says there's more sulfuric acid in the battery in my car than there is in his, and that Toyota uses a NiMH battery that's not full of liquid acid. Way less toxicity than a traditional car battery. The people who convert theirs to being battery-only and plug-in-able, they've got way more to worry about there.
He also points out that I'm the one that wears the Birkenstocks. Heh.
Warm greetings from the Philippines!
But those batteries will be recycled or scrapped in China -- and they get a pass on all environmental raping! They can pour mercury and raw sewage right into rivers, burn tyres, sprinkle oil sludge on crops and spew coal smoke and chemicals right in to the air, etc....and the US is still waaaaaay more evil!
/moonbat bunnyhugger
What's wrong with bunnies? I like bunnies! They are warm and fuzzy and oh so cute! (kind of like Nurse Wil! *COUGH*)
My motorcycle gets 41mpg commuting, 50+ cruising. I am a heluv alot louder then those people stalker mobiles (aka hybrids). Forever Two Wheels.
My all-gas Accord isn't as cool as your Mustang, but it gets better mileage than some of those hybrids when the driver has a lead foot. I can get close to 35 mpg on the highway, 30 around town. I know people who don't treat their hybrids right so they barely manage 30 anywhere.
Green? Right.
You're partially right about the toxicity of the batteries William. The NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) batteries have an alkaline electrolyte (Potassium hydroxide)instead of acid (Sulphuric or Nitric) as lead acid batteries do. It is very caustic as you have said but it is not acid and your emergency teams already know the difference I'm sure becuase the deconatmination procedures are entirely different.
The batteries also give off a charge that can stop the heart of anyone that tries to rescue a person trapped in that vehicle if that vehicle is not properly grounded first.
Another thing is the batteries that are used in these so-called green cars are made up of nickle (Remember NiMH is Nickel metal hydride). Nickle mining is probably one of the most environmentally destructive types of mining that we humans can do. It leaves the land scarred for years and toxic wastes used for separating the nickel from the host rock destroys everything around it. It is akin to the cyanide mining that used to be used to get gold out of the host rock in the Montana gold mines. The nickel mines are mostly in Canada though so no big deal.
If we are looking to become energy self sufficient then the only way that is going to happen is for Congress to approve drilling in more places like Anwar, off shore in the Caribbean and the east coast of Floridia and to make full use of our coal reserves for synthetic oils, lubricants and fuels. Carbon emissions should not be taken into serious consideration because it has become the great Hoax of this century.
Anyway you look at it though the battery vehicle is a bad idea and it is nearly as bad as adding alcohol to the fuel where the gasoline used to be. It reduces the power effectiveness of the fuel and it's a huge waste of food resources and bad top soil utilization mangement. We should not be using food for fuel.
Back to the green board for the whining liberals. How about using commonsense and sound engineering principles instead of emotion to solve our energy independence problems.
William: Your reasoning /responses were absolutely Brilliant!!!!
I've hesitated to remark about this post. I didn't want to react to your obvious anger about sheeple. I agree with you about the stupidity that some people will exhibit in the interest of "saving the planet" (that was said in a liberal whiney voice.)
What I would like to know is: When are we going to start?
When are we going to recognize that we ARE despoiling this planet, we are draining the natural resources, we are shitting in our nest.
I like the idea of our country having a SENSIBLE and ADULT discussion on ways to reduce our consumption. There are ways to reduce and reuse. I just don't think we are going to do it voluntarily. I think there is going to have to be a "law of the land" type thing to get compliance.
That is why I think people of the conservative bent; need to be talking about how to conserve resources. And NOT to denigrate the feeble first attempts of the left leaning liberals. If the conservatives take the lead on this; then maybe we can get rid of the goremeister attitude!
Steve
Great post William!
My bike gets great gas mileage. If I can just sneak it past nuclear med, I might ride it to work........
Steve-
The ecology is not a Liberal/Conservative issue. To a great extent, it's a control issue. The AlGores of the world are now embarrassed when their lifestyles are made public, spewing carbon around the world while trying to get us to shove a pencil-sized bicycle seat up our asses to save 8 ounces gasoline.
In my garage lurks a 1970 Corvette with a 454 cubic inch engine. I love the car every bit as much as Al Gore loves flying in his Gulfstream. I have no problem with Al's flying... my problem is with his hypocrisy.
Sure, we need to be smarter.
We also need to be VERY careful about bein' sold a Bill of Goods by charlatans pretending to have all the answers.
Thank God for the internet and Blogs!
Greybeard...very well said. You are right. The liberal leaning left is trying to position themselves to be our "masters". They feel that they are the only ones with any sense at all....which leads them to feel that THEY should then control all the other sheeples.
What I would like to see is: a conservative response to our energy "problem". I am so sick and tired of hearing conservatives yucking it up about the silly libtards and algorisms. I see this whole topic being denigrated and villified without any plan to take its place.
Society has been duped into believing this stuff. So the conservatives should recognize that; and try to instill some sensible, logical reason in the discussion.
Steve
Interesting comment on the battery. See MVA trauma, but haven't seen one of these yet. Under the circumstances that I work, it won't be pretty, since we chopper anything serious off the island.
Enjoyed your blog. If you like the sea, you should check out the Keys. Water, water everywhere.....and probably a bit warmer!
I'll stick to my BMW 328i with 300,000 miles before I buy a hybrid.
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