Showing posts with label Ultra Low emission zone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ultra Low emission zone. Show all posts

Friday, 4 June 2021

Are Electric cars and Carbon Neutrality a big con - and is climate change just another political bandwagon to hitch a ride on?

Are we being conned over electricity and the Green agenda?
We have had access to free energy since 1954 but we are denied it. Why?

Electric cars are being toted as clean and green and the future. Far from it. 1 in 5 Californian electric car owners are trading their electric cars back in for gasoline cars - because the range isn't there, nor is the quickness of charging time or availability of charging points.

Motor manufacturers are currently engaged in an apparent race to the bottom by not planning or introducing new models of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles as governments career headlong into a potential fool's paradise of no having no new ICE vehicles sold as of 2030. The future is not electric cars. It is not battery cars. It is bio fuelled cars.

In California, they are apparently falling out of love with Electric Cars!

Modern vehicles are infinitely more efficient and cleaner and they have ever been, the future for transport is bio fuels not the direction being navigated down the battery route. Battery power units are not at a development stage that means we are going to get a really good range or power output then there is the question of the battery charging rate that will differ between batteries and of course the costs to charge a battery. We likely don't have the source power to charge the batteries required.

Battery cars are driving the wrong end of the problem - they drive the wheels directly, losing 25% efficiency there due to frictional forces, plus the load on the battery. Why not use the battery to drive a brushless generator and create through rectification more power than you put in, thus your battery car would go further and quicker for long operations such as motorway driving, perhaps a 70mph motorway cruise range of 400 miles could be achievable this way, not the environmentally heavy demanding theoretical ranges now in place.

As I predicted, this battery technology is quite new and what happens if like computers, one system quickly supersedes another? You are going to have Apple envy and a divisive battery car snobbery, with entry level vehicles looked down on, rather than a level playing field battery system.

What happens to old batteries? Can they be recycled, what happens to the rest of the vehicle which less the battery is about valueless except for scrap? Because the battery is built in to the structure in current vehicles and is not easy to remove.  

Slowly, some proponents of the carbon neutral folly are removing their green tinted spectacles and starting to see that China effectively now controls the majority of materials needed for battery cars and renewable energy. 

A lot of these resources are situated where China has invested in their extraction and controls the materials holdings in the regions. If China holds considerable access rights to these materials, it can dictate the price to supply and even if it wants to supply other nations. 

The risk is that when 2030 hits and people cannot buy ICE cars perhaps because of battery cost just for example leave alone the availability factor, what then? Some people could be looking mighty stupid as the rest of us say 'we told you so'. 

The risk is that having lost 10 years of development on ICE cars which may be even more cleaner then and possibly using greener by development, and use of bio fuels, we will be doubly disadvantaged. 

The Covid situation has meant more people can work from home and are choosing to do so, thus a 'commuting less workforce' saves the environment by cutting car use painlessly. This will probably achieve as much as this battery vehicle folly might in CO2 reduction alone.  

In 2030 when we are standing around wanting batteries or materials, we are going to look like a load of fools when these are either not available or priced at a premium rate many will not be able to afford. This is akin to the largest schoolboy error in the history of our species occurring, within plain sight. A real slow motion car crash if ever there was one. 

So then in addition, how does using child labour in some countries to extract Cobalt and other rare earth minerals sit with the typically left-leaning, climate change wokesters bent on sending us down the electric and renewables route? 

These are the sort of people who spout on media platforms on black lives and slavery issues, yet seem strangely less vocal when effectively both of these issues these days can involve their pet causes, such as obtaining materials for their beloved electric cars in some cases? Strange that.

Face the facts - in the United Kingdom alone, 33 million vehicles will need replacing with electric ones, plus the charging point infrastructure and the generated power required to fuel these items to be in place in less than 9 years, it is probably not achievable in the timescale nor practical. Nor likely affordable to the average motorist.

Yet some politicians and activists are intent on careering the motoring population down their sanctimonious road to a situation that is probably the wrong road. (We have been encouraged to adopt private transport by governments of all persuasions in the past.) Many people can't afford the alternative to ICE vehicles, the savings of these electric cars are lost in other costs - the worst cost is to the planet. 

Covid 19 has slashed air travel, much of which was a luxury, unnecessary and a colossal waste of resources. A large jet aircraft for instance generates on takeoff the equivalent of one automobile's total CO2 output for 10 years of average driving during that 10 minutes of takeoff activity. Multiply that with every jet leaving Heathrow in a day and you'll see the obvious savings to the planet. by reducing air travel alone.

How are we going to have a net CO2 output with air travel operating at previous levels?  Have these people not thought this through? How can you have a commerce based economy without generating CO2? It is not presently possible. 

With Covid starting to recede in some areas there is a rush to get air travel going again - how does this square with the same politicians clamouring for switching to electric vehicles on environmental grounds trumpeting a return to flying? You could not make it up. The hypocrisy is both obvious and risible. Wanting one pie in the sky ideal and another highly polluting one simultaneously. 

Around Heathrow airport a new low emission zone for road vehicles is in force whilst the same airport is planned for massive air travel expansion dubbed 'good for business'. Road vehicles (who use the is new zone) pay 80% of the cost of their fuel purchase price already as tax, aircraft fuel is devoid of tax I believe? What is the logic here? Pollute massively for no cost, pay to pollute and be charged twice?

Free energy you are asking? Yes. It exists, we have been standing on the basis of it since our species first stood on this planet. It is under our very feet. 'We have the means to take ET home' it has been said, so that means we already have very advanced power systems available to us, far in excess of what we mostly know of today, which we could be using to subvert climate change perhaps with clean energy.

'We have had the potential for 'free energy' since 1954' - we have also been told - but you can't tax free energy or control it unless you control the technology that can utilise it. We could have changed our way of living more than 60 years ago it seems for the better, for cleaner and quicker travel - but it's all about control - control of resources, control of energy, control of political power, revenue, taxes from things we use and lastly control of the population. 

How much of our atmosphere is made up of CO2? a small percentage, less than half of 10%. In the time of the Dinosaurs, CO2 made up a far bigger proportion of the atmosphere than today. This is one reason why trees and vegetation grew so large in those times, not to mention the creatures. Less gravity was a factor too, of course.

Hydrogen as a usable fuel is a pipe dream today, it can be used but it is not feasible at present -  by more efficient use of fuels we have, use of bio and synthetic fuels which will capture CO2 in their growth will help, as will reduction in the human population are the solution. Even the ecologists agree on this last point.

Like racism, climate change has been stoked up into an emotive subject that some see as a means of making a career from, or a bandwagon in some cases to jump onto. 

We live in a commercial world based on trading, manufacturing and commerce - like it or not since the last industrial revolution at least. That world needs resources, fuels and energy at a minimum to operate on. Free energy isn't in that equation today, but it should be.

We do not live in a 'one world society', we do not enjoy a civilisation that is geared to a common set of ideals to maintain the population and its future for one population, living in a harmonious and forward thinking situation. 

We exist in a world divided by factions, religious and political outlooks, one where the forces of nature - dog eat dog et al, operate. We really need to change society, change who we are as people to change the world and that isn't going to happen all the time that there is money to be made from societal division, warfare, where a supply and demand commerce situation exists and is actively helped to exist.Whilst beliefs differ, so will outcomes. You only have to look at the Palestine situation to see the rocky relationship there.

Ask yourself who really gains from Carbon neutrality? Who has their fingers in the Green pie? Sure as eggs is eggs, a lot of the same movers and shakers in commercial business will be taking their fingers out of one pie and sticking it into the eco industry one. As the saying goes, 'where there's muck, there's brass.' This applies here to this subject.Carbon seen as muck, there's money in a solution - the brass. 

The frightening thing is how school children have as a result been scared and mentally damaged by the climate change doom and gloomers, into thinking the world is going to end in 10 years or less. 

How does business work? It is basically making a profit by taking care of someone else's problem and providing a solution for the problem at a cost - Carbon neutrality is that problem being promoted today and there are probably plenty of organisations lining up to take care of it and present their invoices for doing so. 

Sure, they will have skilled public relations messaging and content to soft soap the population into accepting how 'good' this low carbon solution is for our world, but you can be darn sure that there are those looking to make big money from the 'problem' by being part of the 'solution.' That's how business works. Think about it for yourselves and ask yourselves where is the smart money being made today? 'Solving' the climate issue.

At the moment, unless we change to the potential free energy situation and re-evaluate what we are doing and where we are going as a species, we are prisoners of Doctors who seemingly allow infection to continue but also provide medication to help cure it every so often.

The question you should be asking is why not change the world beyond this issue? Can you not see that replacing one mode of transport's motive power is not the end of the problem. There are a set of problems to conquer. Not just one.

The world's outlook needs changing. Who we are, who we want to be in the future, do we need this type of world or society? What is the human future, what should we be doing for mankind's future? The problem is that we are all such different people, that it  is unlikely to work or for people agreeing to a common plan of action.

These are the type of questions that need to be asked. Just messing about like kids in a sandpit pushing toy cars about and pretending yours is electric powered and is going to save the world, is just a diversion from what really needs to change and why. The species has to fundamentally change to make this truly work.

The bottom line with business is making a profit. Until humanity is put on the spot to redefine their future and come up with a workable plan, it is likely to just be business as usual.

 

Wednesday, 26 July 2017

Petrol & Diesel cars no more? Well, what about aircraft, they are never mentioned as polluters!!

The biggest single source of CO2 in the UK -
Heathrow Airport airline traffic

You Couldn't Make It Up!

When the Heathrow airport runway expansion plan was passed, it came to light that Heathrow was the largest single source of CO2 produced in the UK.

So, if you're a true Greenie, then you'd surely be in favour of reducing air traffic.

The 'answer' to increased CO2 and other pollutants from Heathrow aircraft exhausts was - to introduce an ultra low vehicle mission zone around - yes Heathrow airport as one area.

This has the effect of charging motorists vehicle excise duty, duty on fuel, congestion charge and perhaps an extra levy in certain zones. Four 'consumption taxes' when the aircraft flying above them enjoy tax free fuel do they not? 

Petrol & Diesel distillation

Petrol and Diesel are by products of the 'distillation' of oil in simple terms - at certain temperatures, Petrol and Diesel separate out from the Crude oil product. Essentially, these are products that can be sold and if not used, well what are you going to do with it?

Electric fantasy

Petrol / Electric and Electric never found fame in the early 1900's because the electricity wasn't there as it is now in the form of mains coverage, for those using batteries, the batteries were heavy and less efficient and didn't last long.

Petrol electric - where a petrol engine drives a generator and the current fed to a motor fared better, but the cheap cost of petrol meant this faded out.

Battery is wrong, wrong,wrong

Using a battery to drive a motor is the wrong way to go about the job - the frictional losses of 25% of efficiency through transmission coupled with the weight of the car render this an ultimately futile exercise. Coupled with the draw on the current starts to deaden the battery as you use the power it contains.

Petrol and Diesel have great calorific value for their size. If you get me. The potential energy they contain is truly enormous.

Politicians love the idea of electric cars, but I doubt few of them have any idea of how cars work or the toxic sludge that is created when your 'green' battery is made.

So, where is all your electricity coming from to make the power for these batteries? Nuclear, Coal, Gas? Not very clean are they.

Ok, the windmill or two and the solar panel may help, but how long are you going to sit by the side of the road waiting for the solar panel to give you enough volts to get to the nearest town?

Realities

Vehicles are cleaner and more fuel efficient than thirty plus years ago. Government officials rarely have the 'nous' to know what they are talking about when it comes to technical things like vehicles, being in the main career politicians and yes men and women who rarely have any grasp of the subject they are in charge of in government.

Where else in the world could a complete amateur be given a job they know perhaps little or nothing about?

Rather than go down the LPG route for cleaner vehicles, the getting rid of internal combustion engines (which are about the best current solution to meet our transport needs) is folly.

How will your sales rep doing 30,000 miles a year manage with an electric car?

How long will a battery make a big Tractor go for?

Or your articulated lorry hoping to make a delivery to a supermarket and the power goes, so does the cooler and the produce goes off.

Why not tax aircraft for the damage they do?

The bottom line is no one in the media or government EVER mentions aircraft emissions.

It is about as galling to endure as seeing a grinning politician without a clue, 'welcoming' emissions reduction when we all know that the plan is not workable and they are only the mouthpiece.

This is what happens when you put unqualified people in charge.

Like Robotics, we need an up front educated debate about things that will impact on our future -  headed by people who know their subject, not wallies.

Sunday, 11 December 2016

A time to rethink Vehicle Excise Duty – the return to a lower overall blanket fee is overdue and fairer.

The Vehicle Excise Disc may have disappeared, but change to the system is needed

The welcome change back to a rolling 40 year VED exemption system by the last government was good news for our hobby, but why not adopt the French system of 25 years as a qualification where both the MOT and VED are exempt? The Road Traffic Act defines a vehicle over 25 years old as 'vintage.' Why do we not change to a fairer system of 25 years for nil MOT and VED?

When I was in the Police service, there was always this argument for doing away with the road fund licence disc and putting a bit extra on fuel cost. The Police argument was that a lack of valid disc displayed on a vehicle often hid things like no MOT, no insurance, which was a valid point.

But now that the requirement to not have to display a valid disc on the vehicle is the situation, we can look again at doing away with the duty or making it less costly to run a vehicle. We are stuck with having to use motorised transport as public transport is lacking unless you live in a town.

Indeed, when did you last see an 'F' prefix plate car on the road in daily use? Next time you are on the road, look around and see what the oldest car on the road is being driven. Likely it will be something from the late 1990's.


The MGB currently can be either exempt from VED or not

The anomaly is further compounded when you have a 1976 MGB that is currently tax exempt, yet a 1980 example, essentially the same car, has to pay £215 a year. Likely, the 1980 car is occasionally used like the 1976 car and may do less than 3000 miles a year, as might the 1976 one.

The current CO2 calculated VED rate scheme is unfair. It does not take into account the actual mileage covered annually, it is an ownership tax. So, by comparison a small car paying nil VED can do say 60,000 miles a year at no VED cost, yet a new Ford Mustang GT500 would pay likely £515 a year, £1520 if a first year registered car, yet it might only do 2000 miles a year, with the result of far less CO2 being output by the larger car, paying more because it might pollute more, but in real terms might not.

The real factor here is fuel usage and that is something that you pay for at the pump, the more fuel you use the more you pay in tax. There is no environmental argument for unfair VED when you look at aircraft, which pay nothing.

The Heathrow Expansion project will create more CO2
yet a Low Emission Zone for vehicles in the area is proposed
When it was suggested by a previous government to tax aircraft fuel, there was a hoo-hah about it and M.P.'s said that aircraft would avoid landing in the UK if they had to pay taxes and the lid was put on that suggestion quickly because it would have a financial penalty.

The recent Heathrow expansion will allow thousands more aircraft take-off and landing movements in the Heathrow airport area, which is ALREADY the UK's largest single source of pollution.

You couldn't make it up, but as a sop to the increased aircraft traffic, Transport for London (TFL) proposes a new low emission zone, in this same area, which applies to road vehicles only. Not aircraft, the main polluters.

Low Emission Zones - it has to be fair to all users

Lets do some maths shall we? A large airliner fully loaded can use up to 7 tons of fuel per take off. That's 1568 gallons, at 10lb to the gallon weight.

Now, your average MGB could at say 25mpg use that amount of fuel to travel 39,200 miles, which as a limited use classic, may give you ten years worth of travel.

The problem we have is that many of our classic cars such as the MGF and MGTF unfairly fall into the full tax bracket, although most of these are not in daily or high mileage use.

In which case, a half way compromise would be to peg any vehicle 15 years or more older to say £100 a year VED until it reaches the nil duty historic threshold, which I believe should be changed to a rolling 25 years entitlement from the current 40, as it effects relatively few vehicles from the 32 million or so currently on the road.

With the more fuel you use the more tax you pay, the VED should be set at a blanket £100 a year for other cars not currently CO2 level exempt. As all vehicles are banded by CO2 output on the DVLA system, it would be a simple matter to administer. The more you pollute, the more fuel you use and tax you pay, it is that simple. Or is that too simple?

Using the Heathrow pollution example, the argument for taxing vehicles for climate change reasons is fatuous and indeed unfair, when massive polluters do not pay.

Thursday, 3 November 2016

The Heathrow Airport expansion, the proposed London Ultra Low Emission Zone and time to rethink Vehicle Excise duty

After approving the Heathrow Airport expansion an
'Ultra Low Emission Zone' for vehicles in London proposed

If there was a league of stupidity, this is the sort of thing they might come up with, except this is actually a nanny state type of proposal.

With a new increase in flight movements at Heathrow, which will create more CO2 from Britain's biggest single CO2 emitter, to redress the balance, it is proposed to create an ultra low emission zone. For vehicles. Not aircraft.

But, the aircraft which do not pay tax on their fuel, go on increasing the damage they do.

The reality is that the most fuel usage and CO2 production an aircraft does at a peak part of its operation, is on taking off. And they use A LOT of Kerosene to do this.

The requirement to display a Vehicle excise disc has now gone

Those facts on aircraft use may surprise you, but aircraft, along with shipping produce a lot of CO2.
Car efficiency has increased but some ecological measures
actually make them less efficient, such as Ethanol in fuel

Cars on the other hand have become much cleaner over the last 30 years.

Leaner burn, the switch to fuel injection and other measures have reduced the pollution. You will know if you used to commute in a city all that time ago how you don't smell a Diesel engine like you used to nor a petrol engine over rich on mixture.

And the blanket light goods class of excise duty has gone and has been replaced by a staggered banding arrangement according to the amount of CO2 the engine produces.

The banding takes no account of actual use

The staggered banding method is wrong and unfair.

It takes no account of actual vehicle usage. It is ridiculous that a car that has a Zero rate can drive thirty thousand miles a year for free, yet a Band M car that does 2000 miles a year has to pay £515 a year. Where a Zero rate car pollutes more.

Clearly there is a discrepancy.

In the past a flat rate was paid for all Private Light Goods classes which covered cars and light vans, the more you drove, the more fuel you bought and paid tax for. A much fairer system. And more logical.

And it gets worse.

If you convert a petrol engine to run on LPG, you run a very clean engine, yet you still pay the same amount of excise duty as if it had not changed fuel. Unless the car was manufactured with the LPG system.

That is a complete farce.

Converting a car costs £1500 to do on average, yet you do not get any excise duty reduction for doing so, although LPG is cheaper as a fuel to buy.

Poorly adjusted modern cars can be polluting too

Another farce concerns the Historic vehicles class.

Many of these vehicles do less than 5000 miles a year. If the vehicle is 40 years old, it gets free vehicle tax by way of exemption.

However, those 15 years old and less than 40, pay full tax.

In France, cars over a certain age are exempt from excise duty, at a lower age than in the UK. They are also MOT exempt at this earlier stage.

The MOT is just a useless piece of paper, it does not guarantee the condition of a vehicle once that vehicle has left the testing station.

The only relevance is that the piece of paper has to be 'in force' and valid if you have to produce it.

The reality is that in the UK, classic or historic vehicles are a small part of the total vehicles on the road, the duty could be slashed for anything over 15 years old, which would mean that most vehicles on the road in the UK would still pay. Many vehicles 15 years and over have been scrapped by now.

It seems ridiculous for an MGB of 1979 vintage to pay perhaps £200+ a year duty when a 1976 model MGB is exempt. Both produce the same emissions.

More so when you consider the Band A car doing 30,000 miles a year or more at no excise duty cost. Which does the more damage?

Then you consider the damage that will be done by the big increase in aircraft movements thanks to the Heathrow expansion and it makes the piddling vehicle emissions a complete farce and just a money grabbing exercise.

Time for a rethink.......