sunandsand
Silver Member
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2020
- Messages
- 247
- Tractor
- Kubota B2601
Old Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times!"
We do . . .
Electric cars are coming, with electric trucks and probably electric tractors as well, not too long after.
We're going to have a mixed fleet for years. Cars get replaced comparatively quickly, ten to twelve years or so, after 20 years, most cars are in the scrap yard or up on blocks deep in the weeds. The transition to electric cars will be first. In some cases, people will have both a gas car and an electric car. The electric car is an appliance, it is a grocery-getter, the gas car will be for longer trips and weekends.
Electric (big) trucks will take longer. The range isn't there yet (key word "yet"), and big trucks have a longer service life than consumer grade cars. You'll start to see (and in fact already see) electric trucks in freight yards, for local deliveries and on predictable routes like school bus routes and inter-city transit. School buses are a great use for electric vehicles - they run twice a day and can be recharged at night when the electric rates are lower and demand is lower. Less maintenance will make ANY school board happy. (Fear not, they'll find other ways to spend our tax dollars - they might even start paying teachers a living wage!)
Tractors will take longer. As we know, there are 30 and 40 year old tractors still in use and still going (reasonably) strong. Tractor batteries are going to need some serious KWH capacity but fortunately, "weight is good" in tractors.
This is going to take some serious increases in grid capacity. I have read that if the US went electric everything tomorrow (stoves, clothes dryers, water heaters, A/C and heat, cars and other vehicles, etc.) we'd need triple the capacity that we have now. Barring suitcase size 1,000 KWH fusion power plants being sold at WalMart for $29.95, that isn't going to happen.
You and I can't break the cycle of burning fossil fuel > increasing CO2 > increasing global temperature > melting icecaps > sea lever rise all by ourselves, but we CAN each help a little. When you replace your gas stove, go electric. Same for your clothes dryer. Get a heat pump next time your A/C dies. Add solar cells on your roof. Add a little insulation to your home and get double pane windows - these are little things which get done on the normal replacement cycles. If you have enough ants you can eat an elephant.
Yes, a lot of electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels, but the long term trend is towards nuclear and renewables. We still need oil and gas, but not to burn them, we need them for plastics, chemicals and fertilizers.
Another advantage is that electric rates are regulated by various public utility commissions, and they don't like rate increases and surcharges at all. Consequently, electric rates are much more stable than oil (hence gas) prices.
We may not be real happy with the way things are going, but that doesn't mean we can't use our heads and adapt to conditions we can't change. We've been through worse.
Best Regards,
Mike/Florida
We do . . .
Electric cars are coming, with electric trucks and probably electric tractors as well, not too long after.
We're going to have a mixed fleet for years. Cars get replaced comparatively quickly, ten to twelve years or so, after 20 years, most cars are in the scrap yard or up on blocks deep in the weeds. The transition to electric cars will be first. In some cases, people will have both a gas car and an electric car. The electric car is an appliance, it is a grocery-getter, the gas car will be for longer trips and weekends.
Electric (big) trucks will take longer. The range isn't there yet (key word "yet"), and big trucks have a longer service life than consumer grade cars. You'll start to see (and in fact already see) electric trucks in freight yards, for local deliveries and on predictable routes like school bus routes and inter-city transit. School buses are a great use for electric vehicles - they run twice a day and can be recharged at night when the electric rates are lower and demand is lower. Less maintenance will make ANY school board happy. (Fear not, they'll find other ways to spend our tax dollars - they might even start paying teachers a living wage!)
Tractors will take longer. As we know, there are 30 and 40 year old tractors still in use and still going (reasonably) strong. Tractor batteries are going to need some serious KWH capacity but fortunately, "weight is good" in tractors.
This is going to take some serious increases in grid capacity. I have read that if the US went electric everything tomorrow (stoves, clothes dryers, water heaters, A/C and heat, cars and other vehicles, etc.) we'd need triple the capacity that we have now. Barring suitcase size 1,000 KWH fusion power plants being sold at WalMart for $29.95, that isn't going to happen.
You and I can't break the cycle of burning fossil fuel > increasing CO2 > increasing global temperature > melting icecaps > sea lever rise all by ourselves, but we CAN each help a little. When you replace your gas stove, go electric. Same for your clothes dryer. Get a heat pump next time your A/C dies. Add solar cells on your roof. Add a little insulation to your home and get double pane windows - these are little things which get done on the normal replacement cycles. If you have enough ants you can eat an elephant.
Yes, a lot of electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels, but the long term trend is towards nuclear and renewables. We still need oil and gas, but not to burn them, we need them for plastics, chemicals and fertilizers.
Another advantage is that electric rates are regulated by various public utility commissions, and they don't like rate increases and surcharges at all. Consequently, electric rates are much more stable than oil (hence gas) prices.
We may not be real happy with the way things are going, but that doesn't mean we can't use our heads and adapt to conditions we can't change. We've been through worse.
Best Regards,
Mike/Florida
