If this were remotely true then wind turbines would be getting smaller each year.

Not sure what you are getting at, but the landing strip does not have to be right at the base of the windmill. Trucks will still be used to move the blades from where the airplane lands to there. The distance is a lot shorter however.

I'm not very clear why helicopters can't be used though.

You seem incapable of reading comments before writing your fantasy about what they say.

Actually you better have a stealth airplane. And everybody on board better turn off their phones.

Someone pointed out some differences in Idiocracy: a primary plot point was that the President actively recruited a cabinet member for intelligence, without knowing what that cabinet member would recommend, and willingly followed the possibly unexpected advice provided by that cabinet member, and actively and accurately observed and judged results both when the cabinet member made a correct and when they made an incorrect decision.

Class 1 and 2 e-bikes limit assist to 20 mph, not 15. You can ride them faster than that, but you have to provide the power. 20 mph is well above what most recreational cyclists can maintain on a flat course, so if these classes arenâ(TM)t fast enough to be safe, neither is a regular bike. The performance is well within what is possible for a fit cyclist for short times , so their performance envelope is suitable for sharing bike and mixed use infrastructure like rail trails.

Class 3 bikes can assist riders to 28 mph. This is elite rider territory. There is no regulatory requirement ti equip the bike to handle those speeds safely, eg hydraulic brakes with adequate size rotors. E-bikes in this class are far more likely to pose injury risks to others. I think it makes a lot of sense to treat them as mopeds, requiring a drivers license for example.

It is considerably safer to treat stop signs as yield signs for (human-powered) bicycles. By far the most dangerous thing at intersections is being hit by cross traffic while they are moving at the low speed that they have to from a stop. Some states have decided to rewrite the laws for yield-on-red.

Some e-bikes certainly have enough acceleration that this is not a problem. IMHO these should be subject to motorcycle regulations and this also means they must travel in the car lanes.

Would treating them as mopeds be so bad?

What weâ(TM)re looking at is exactly what happened when gasoline cars started to become popular and created problems with deaths, injuries, and property damage. The answer to managing those problems and providing accountability was to make the vehicles display registration plates, require licensing of drivers, and enforcing minimum safety standards on cars. Iâ(TM)m not necessarily suggesting all these things should be done to e-bikes, but I donâ(TM)t see why they shouldnâ(TM)t be on the table.

I am a lifelong cyclist , over fifty years now, and in general I welcome e-bikes getting more people into light two wheel vehicles. But I see serious danger to both e-bike riders and the people around them. There are regulatory classes which limit the performance envelope of the vehicle, but class 3, allowing assist up to 28 mph, is far too powerful for a novice cyclist. Only the most athletic cyclists, like professional tour racers, can sustain speeds like that, but they have advanced bike handling skills and theyâ(TM)re doing it on bikes that weigh 1/5 of what complete novice novice e-bike riders are on. Plus the pros are on the best bikes money can buy. If you pay $1500 for an e-bike, youâ(TM)re getting about $1200 of battery and motor bolted onto $300 of bike.

Whatâ(TM)s worse, many e-bikes which have e-bike class stickers can be configured to ignore class performance restrictions, and you can have someone with no bike handling skills riding what in effect is an electric motorcycle with terrible brakes.

E-bike classification notwithstanding, thereâ(TM)s a continuum from electrified bicycles with performance roughly what is achievable by a casi recreational rider on one end, running all the way up to electric motorcycles. If there were only such a thing as a class 1 e-bike thereâ(TM)d be little need to build a regulatory system with registration and operator licensing. But you canâ(TM)t tell by glancing at a two wheel electric vehicle exactly where on the bike to motorcycle spectrum it falls; that depends on the motor specification and software settings. So as these things become more popular, I donâ(TM)t see any alternative to having a registration and inspection system for all of them, with regulatory categories and restrictions based on the weight and hardware performance limitations of the vehicle. Otherwise youâ(TM)ll have more of the worst case weâ(TM)re already seeing: preteen kids riding what are essentially electric motorcycles that weigh as much as they do because the parents think those things are âoebikesâ and therefore appropriate toys.

Socialism with American Characteristics

Iowa's rolling farm fields of coffee

Robotaxis are NOT going to be privately-owned vehicles. They will be owned in huge fleets for at least two reasons: 1. Destruction of a robotaxi is not devastating to the owner of a fleet. 2. You don't have to come up with some elaborate system to "equitably distribute" the rides so all the cars get equal shares of income.

I have no idea why Musk even suggests this will work. It is not going to happen.

What Canadian and EU companies are outsourcing IT support to the USA????

Count is 1 right now, the one you responded to. Your paranoia is showing.

Far from a MAGA voter, but there were exploding pagers not long ago...

That's the rule in France too