Chevy Volt Tested: Goes 40 Miles, No Gas Expended

[Pete (Premo)]

You know electric/hydrogen fuel cells and so on would drop out reliance on oil because instead of "importing oil" we would "create our own" which put us and our ingenuity back in control of energy and not an OPEC minister, but so would other things.

How many gallons of fuel would we drop in this area alone if we had a light rail line from Waldorf to Lexington park with tram type feeders.

Think about the people movers at Disney from the parking lots to the main gate. If 50% of the people rode one of those everyday it would cut a bunch of fuel.

Our traffic patterns and road design stink. Think about how many gallons of fuel are wasted nation wide sitting at traffic lights. Does anyone else feel totally stupid sitting at a traffic light at 10pm when there is not a car in sight? But we dutifully sit there out of fear of getting pinched by "the man" if we say "this is stupid, I am going".

The lack of elevated express lanes in congested areas.

Last trip to DE I sat at the toll booth for the Bay bridge for nearly 45 minutes. There were hundreds of cars trying to neck down to 6 lanes when there were 15 available. How many gallons were wasted in that boondoggle.

In Europe traffic circles are everywhere. There are few actual 4 way stops at intersections. When you get there you never stop, you blend into traffic and scoot around and get off where you need. On my small commute of 18 miles I have to stop on average 4 times. Counting the deceleration, acceleration, idle time I lose 5-6mpg from straight out cruise without stops.

With the amount of cars in this country even a little bit adds up to a lot.

[AK-74me]

Originally Posted by Pete

You know electric/hydrogen fuel cells and so on would drop out reliance on oil because instead of "importing oil" we would "create our own" which put us and our ingenuity back in control of energy and not an OPEC minister, but so would other things.

How many gallons of fuel would we drop in this area alone if we had a light rail line from Waldorf to Lexington park with tram type feeders.

Think about the people movers at Disney from the parking lots to the main gate. If 50% of the people rode one of those everyday it would cut a bunch of fuel.

Our traffic patterns and road design stink. Think about how many gallons of fuel are wasted nation wide sitting at traffic lights. Does anyone else feel totally stupid sitting at a traffic light at 10pm when there is not a car in sight? But we dutifully sit there out of fear of getting pinched by "the man" if we say "this is stupid, I am going".

The lack of elevated express lanes in congested areas.

Last trip to DE I sat at the toll booth for the Bay bridge for nearly 45 minutes. There were hundreds of cars trying to neck down to 6 lanes when there were 15 available. How many gallons were wasted in that boondoggle.

In Europe traffic circles are everywhere. There are few actual 4 way stops at intersections. When you get there you never stop, you blend into traffic and scoot around and get off where you need. On my small commute of 18 miles I have to stop on average 4 times. Counting the deceleration, acceleration, idle time I lose 5-6mpg from straight out cruise without stops.

With the amount of cars in this country even a little bit adds up to a lot.

We has a county have become supremely good at being wasteful, it is only when people really start to feel it in their pocket book that we actually look at it and realize how ineffcient we really are.

[Larry Gude (Premo)]

Originally Posted by Pete

I agree the infrastructure would need to be upgraded if we did a wholesale swap of gas to electric.

...it would be wholesale? I envision, like 'green' cars, a fairly gradual transition. I mean, once we start actually moving, gas is going to become cheaper as well as gas vehicles, so, it just won't be a five year thing.

The underlying rational is national interest; it is NOT in our interest to be dealing with the vagaries and vulnerabilities of foreign fuels. Thus the premise for federal action putting pressure against foreign fuel and pressure for domestic solutions.

[Larry Gude (Premo)]

Originally Posted by Pete

You know electric/hydrogen fuel cells and so on would drop out reliance on oil because instead of "importing oil" we would "create our own" which put us and our ingenuity back in control of energy and not an OPEC minister, but so would other things.

How many gallons of fuel would we drop in this area alone if we had a light rail line from Waldorf to Lexington park with tram type feeders.

Think about the people movers at Disney from the parking lots to the main gate. If 50% of the people rode one of those everyday it would cut a bunch of fuel.

Our traffic patterns and road design stink. Think about how many gallons of fuel are wasted nation wide sitting at traffic lights. Does anyone else feel totally stupid sitting at a traffic light at 10pm when there is not a car in sight? But we dutifully sit there out of fear of getting pinched by "the man" if we say "this is stupid, I am going".

The lack of elevated express lanes in congested areas.

Last trip to DE I sat at the toll booth for the Bay bridge for nearly 45 minutes. There were hundreds of cars trying to neck down to 6 lanes when there were 15 available. How many gallons were wasted in that boondoggle.

In Europe traffic circles are everywhere. There are few actual 4 way stops at intersections. When you get there you never stop, you blend into traffic and scoot around and get off where you need. On my small commute of 18 miles I have to stop on average 4 times. Counting the deceleration, acceleration, idle time I lose 5-6mpg from straight out cruise without stops.

With the amount of cars in this country even a little bit adds up to a lot.

...separate issues addressable from a different political inertia. Again, we do not have an energy resource issue, at all. We're not even close to running out of oil. We have a supply vulnerability issue coupled with the belief in man made global warming.

In Montgomery county all the new interchanges along 29 and 32 are adding circles. So, we're moving forward. That's just a separate, personal convenience issue rather than a energy issue.

[CountVlad]

Originally Posted by aps45819

if that were true, our wise and powerful leaders in Washington would have mandated the cleanup of the large smokestack instead of something stupid like millions of expensive catalytic converters that use rare precious metals

wise??.. i dont know about that haha .. its all about the dollar.... i think before few months ago no one cared about global warming,the ocean level rising etc etc... i still hear in my office about " the earth going through a phase".. doubt it ... if it wasnt for the high gas every one would still buy a hummer

[itsbob (Premo)]

Originally Posted by CountVlad

wise??.. i dont know about that haha .. its all about the dollar.... i think before few months ago no one cared about global warming,the ocean level rising etc etc... i still hear in my office about " the earth going through a phase".. doubt it ... if it wasnt for the high gas every one would still buy a hummer

Story on Dateline(maybe it was Glen Beck?) this week of a woman that lived outside of the Jewish Ghettos in the late 30's and 40's..

She begged jewish families to give them their children so she could hide them with other families until the war was over. She was very successful, and after the war she went to work reuniting these children with their families. She literally risked her life EVERYDAY. If she had been caught, she would have been executed on the spot.

She was responsible for saving thousands of childrens lives, at the risk of losing hers..

She didn't win the Nobel Peace prize, Al Gore and his slide show on global warming defeated her.


Yes, his work was much more important than hers, as I'm sure he risks his life everyday driving in his SUV and his private plane to tell us all to stop burning fossil fuels, and change our lightbulbs to CFL's.

Al Gore vs. Irena Sendler for the Nobel Peace Prize | jCircadian

Yes, this convinces me that Global Warming is real and not just a put on, or political grandstanding..

[AK-74me]

Originally Posted by CountVlad

wise??.. i dont know about that haha .. its all about the dollar.... i think before few months ago no one cared about global warming,the ocean level rising etc etc... i still hear in my office about " the earth going through a phase".. doubt it ... if it wasnt for the high gas every one would still buy a hummer

[CountVlad]

Originally Posted by itsbob

Yes, his work was much more important than hers, as I'm sure he risks his life everyday driving in his SUV and his private plane to tell us all to stop burning fossil fuels, and change our lightbulbs to CFL's.

Al Gore vs. Irena Sendler for the Nobel Peace Prize | jCircadian

Yes, this convinces me that Global Warming is real and not just a put on, or political grandstanding..

i know what you mean, you got a point here but i guess he still gotta travel somehow... cant really tell you about the choice: gore over the old lady...

[Kyle (Premo)]

Originally Posted by Larry Gude

...the sun is the whole ball game; it's the source that all others flow from.
Is it reasonable to imagine incredible advancements in solar technology? I mean, a sunny day is sunburn. Add a mirror or spy glass and you've exponentially increased that power.

I want inventions!

Perhaps a large space-stationed mirror and magnifying lens complex focused on the District of Columbia to help charging process.





:ant:

[Kyle (Premo)]

Originally Posted by CountVlad

i know what you mean, you got a point here but i guess he still gotta travel somehow... cant really tell you about the choice: gore over the old lady...

I know.... An electric jet.

Initially the range might only be 250 miles, but with solar panels on the wings....