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Comment Re:Electric power train is ideally suitable (Score 1) 76

Everything you said is correct.

I feel I should elaborate a bit, and point out that regenerative braking typically recovers up to about 1/2 the energy used in running the motor. My cheap-ass bottom-of-the-line EV recovers about 1/4 of the energy used with regen.

Fun fact: some mines and quarries are now using electric dump trucks that regen downhill with their heavy loads, then drive empty back up the hill for the next load. They can do this all day with minimal or, in some cases, no battery energy loss. They're basically using the potential energy stored in the rock, which I think is pretty cool.

Comment Re:Electric power train is ideally suitable (Score 1) 76

No, it won't be "so economical". Regenerative braking only works well when taking a vehicle from a high speed to a low speed. Regenerative braking cannot take a vehicle to a complete stop and if the vehicle is primarily driving slowly around parking lots and residential streets then it does effectively nothing to save energy.

That's not quite how it works.

Regenerative braking absolutely works around parking lots and residential streets. The fact that it is not used for the final 2mph to 0mph stop is utterly irrelevant, especially if you care to work out the amount of kinetic energy involved (hint: it's proportional to the square of the speed).

When I'm inner-city driving my cheap-ass bottom-of-the-line EV is regenerative braking all the time, using the conventional disc brakes for the final 2-0 stop. This recovers about 25% of the total motor energy used in that time.

I would have had to replace my brake pads several times over by now if my regen did nothing.

Comment From an environmental standpoint (Score 1) 95

From an environmental standpoint this is clearly worse than re-using or recycling the unwanted items but, and let's not kid ourselves, burying them deep in the ground is the best alternative by far to other disposal methods. The problem then just becomes keeping them there.

And orders of magnitude better than burning them.

Comment Re:The planet needs less people (Score 1) 201

Wait, what? Who ever mentioned the USA?

China are a soverign nation. Tell them to stop dumping crap into the atmosphere and oceans, and watch them laugh. Or lie.

They only do that because we[1] keep giving them money to do so. How can you stop it? Actively seek out ways to avoid buying from China. Produce locally.

[1] Everyone in the developed world.

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