I Want to Understand Why Gas Prices are So Damned High

saintfan · 03-22-2012, 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by Crusader

I don't believe that everything have to be transported by oil, less of all humans. Electric cars are getting rally good. I'd love to have a Chevy Volt or a hybrid like Toyota prius. Sure there will be oil for maybe 30-40 more years but if we all coninue driving like we do today and add that most everybody in India and China will gonna want a car there just will not be enough oil. IMHO the oil that is left is more needed for makine plastics etc than for powering motorcars.

I agree that alternative sources should be developed and implemented, but have you seen what they do to the environment mining for the materials to make batteries for electric cars? Those sites look like moonscapes, and the batteries themselves only last (we think) about three years. Those discarded batteries become hazardous waste. It still takes oil to build them. Perhaps there is a net gain in CO2 emissions from people driving their gas-powered cars, but I'm not sure it would be substantial enough all things considered.

And those battery manufactures will be getting all kinds of subsidies from the government just like oil companies. They already are.

Lithium is the way this will go, and mining for lithium - or anything else for that matter - is brutal on the environment...brutal...period...not up for debate.

Nearly half the world's supply that we are aware of is in South America. The new "middle east"? Who knows? As is the case with any other natural resource, the supply of lithium is not endless. I guess my point is that electric cars sooth the liberal agenda as it relates to those big 'ol bad 'ol mean 'ol oil companies, but they aren't the end all be all either. Many if not all of the problems with the oil industry will migrate to lithium or whatever else is derived because the root cause for those issues will not have been changed. There ARE ramifications, and they are not petty.

I ride a motorcycle and have considered the 'electric' options, but they're too heavy, don't go fast enough, and don't last long enough on a charge...

It's not as easy as some want to believe.

03-22-2012, 10:43 AM	#22
saintfan Donated Plasma Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 18,556 Blog Entries: 5	Originally Posted by Crusader I don't believe that everything have to be transported by oil, less of all humans. Electric cars are getting rally good. I'd love to have a Chevy Volt or a hybrid like Toyota prius. Sure there will be oil for maybe 30-40 more years but if we all coninue driving like we do today and add that most everybody in India and China will gonna want a car there just will not be enough oil. IMHO the oil that is left is more needed for makine plastics etc than for powering motorcars. I agree that alternative sources should be developed and implemented, but have you seen what they do to the environment mining for the materials to make batteries for electric cars? Those sites look like moonscapes, and the batteries themselves only last (we think) about three years. Those discarded batteries become hazardous waste. It still takes oil to build them. Perhaps there is a net gain in CO2 emissions from people driving their gas-powered cars, but I'm not sure it would be substantial enough all things considered. And those battery manufactures will be getting all kinds of subsidies from the government just like oil companies. They already are. Lithium is the way this will go, and mining for lithium - or anything else for that matter - is brutal on the environment...brutal...period...not up for debate. Nearly half the world's supply that we are aware of is in South America. The new "middle east"? Who knows? As is the case with any other natural resource, the supply of lithium is not endless. I guess my point is that electric cars sooth the liberal agenda as it relates to those big 'ol bad 'ol mean 'ol oil companies, but they aren't the end all be all either. Many if not all of the problems with the oil industry will migrate to lithium or whatever else is derived because the root cause for those issues will not have been changed. There ARE ramifications, and they are not petty. I ride a motorcycle and have considered the 'electric' options, but they're too heavy, don't go fast enough, and don't last long enough on a charge... It's not as easy as some want to believe. SloMotion likes this.
	C'mon Man...