Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : The Castle -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (4521)	3/7/2005 7:31:13 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7936

I don't have the article but I read somewhere that if we went to all hybrid cars in the next ten years, we would meet the requirements of Kyoto. 1 - Its seems to be a static analysis. Our production of CO2 increases and it isn't all from cars. Getting rid of the current cars might get us below the limit but we are supposed to stay below the limit which means eliminating future growth in CO2 which will have an impact. I have heard that cars generate roughly 40-50% of toxic pollutants. Here's an OR study: egov.oregon.gov I see the hybrid cars as a temporary solution. I am assuming we will go to all electric at some point in the next 20 years. 2 - The batteries in hybrid cars do have an environmental impact and would get worse if we replaced all cars with hybrids or straight electrics. So do PC monitors. They are finding ways to deal with that problem....I believe they will do the same with batteries. 3 - It isn't reasonable to expect that even all new cars in the next 10 years are hybrids. They will become more common but its almost impossible to get 100% by then. In ten years? I think its doable if the gov't got behind it. Unfortunately, the EPA is not doing much on this issue. 4 - There is some evidence that the gas mileage gains from hybrids may be slightly exaggerated by the standard figures, if so they would burn a bit more gas and produce bit more CO2 than the analysis that you talked about may have factored in. Yes, the mileage aves. were predicated mostly on city driving. That figure goes down when you are on the open road. 5 - We don't get rid of all cars every 10 years. My car is 10 years old and that isn't a rare thing. If you want to accelerate the replacement schedule it will be expensive. Not as expensive as some of the figures I have posted, but it won't be the total of all the costs. (See point number 1 again) I don't know......ten years is a long time. I think you might be a little unique. In any case, the gov't would probably have to put into place incentives to make it happen. 6 - Since Kyoto excludes developing economies CO2 production will continue to rise anyway. If you do add the developing economies in than the cost figures go way up and a big part of the costs are born by people in countries that aren't very wealthy. That's what you don't seem to understand. The first world throws off so much of the world's pollutants that if they cut back, overall pollution will go down even with growing developing economies. And the truth is, many developing economies are requiring their industries to curb pollution as well. Such diverse places as Costa Rica, Latvia, Singapore, Estonia, Taiwan, S. Korea, Mexico etc are getting more stringent about pollution. For an example, Mexico City has become almost as stringent as LA when it comes to automobile pollution. They had little choice........their trees were dying from the smog. ted