In an ironic twist, a protester from the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals was pied in Newfoundland on Friday.
The unusual scene unfolded in St. John's as a group of people were waiting outside for the arrival of Prime Minister Stephen Harper at an event.
The protester, 21-year-old Emily Lavender, was dressed as a seal and was holding a sign that read: "Harper Stop the Seal Slaughter."
However, a man dressed up in a dog suit arrived, knocked off the head on Lavender's seal cost costume and tossed a pie in her face. The man in the dog suit then took off down the street.
PETA made headlines earlier in the week when one of their members pied Fisheries Minister Gail Shea in the face in protest of the seal hunt. After Friday's sneak pie attack, Lavender told reporters that the Shea incident wasn't out of line.
"It's not nearly as embarrassing as the blood on her hands,' she said. “And it's time she stop supporting the largest massacre of marine mammals on the planet."
The dog-costumed man wasn't the only person who took offence to Lavender's protest. Standing nearby, local Wallace Ryan, wearing a shirt that read “If seals were ugly, nobody would give a damn,' told Lavender to go home.
"We're here to point out that PETA has incited violence and hate against Newfoundland and Labrador for years," he said.
It's not clear if any organized group was behind Friday's pie plot.
#1
Flipper pie is a Canadian dish made from seal flippers. It is specific to Newfoundland and commonly eaten at Easter.
The tender meat of the seal flipper, carrots & turnip are blended in a thick gravy, topped with a biscuit crust.
Flipper pie is not an everyday meal...but it does make a nice Sunday dinner, or a special occasion meal. The meat is dark, oily and gamey. The flavour is similar to that of hare, but it is much richer and denser in texture.
Newfoundland Flipper Pie
2 seal flippers
1 small turnip, cubed
3 carrots , sliced
2 onions, sliced
1 parsnip, sliced
2 ½ cups water
1 ½ oz screech
½ fat back pork
2 tbsp vinegar
DUMPLING PASTRY:
1 ½ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
small pat of butter
Having watched a video of this "Newfoundland way of doing things" which was difficult to watch I have these few simple observations:
1. Two wrongs don't make a right.
2. Causing needless suffering to baby seals is not a political issue, its a humane issue, and it high time hunters abided a code to reduce suffering wherever is possible.
3. We're the top of the food chain and we're being outdone by some of our subordinate mammals in terms of kill efficiency.
4. You can kill a prey quickly to put it out of its misery and you should.
Way to go Newfoundland You're mightily sick and wrong on both sides of the issue- get a new hobby the lot of you, PETA included.
A man was captured by cannibals. "What," asked the cannibal chief, licking his lips, "was your job before you were captured?"
"I was a newspaper man," came the reply.
"An editor?"
"No, merely a sub-editor."
"Cheer up. Promotion awaits you. After dinner you will be editor-in-chief."
Posted by: Uloluter Darling of the Munchkins5034 ||
01/30/2010 11:34 Comments ||
Top||
#4
I'm pretty sure tourists pay to go on baby seal hunts in Norway, we're hunters people, humans are carniverous, we have eyes in the front of our heads for binocular vision,easier to size up prey accurately. We have hunted for millions of years too.
Caveman Bob didnt have the option of "buying" organic soy/flax oil yogurt nuts. No he went out and killed a deer while the wifey picked innumerable berries and nuts (hence the flattened teeth of humans) PETA people would have been very hungry people.
[Straits Times] DOZENS of wild elephants rampaged through a village in Indonesia's Riau province, terrifying residents and damaging houses and crops, officials said Friday. 'Some 70 elephants destroyed more than 23 semi-permanent houses in Lubuk Kandis hamlet,' Iwin Karsiawan from Riau's nature conservation agency told AFP.
The rampage occurred over the course of three days last week. He said the new communities springing up in the jungle-clad region to farm crops, mostly palm oil, were encroaching on the animals' habitat and resulting in clashes between man and beast. 'No one was killed or injured in the incident but half of the 40 families living in the hamlet left for their safety,' he said.
Conservationists say the elephants' habitat is being taken over by settlements, plantations and industrial forest estates.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
[Bangla Daily Star] A Habiganj court awarded life imprisonment to four persons on Thursday for throwing acid on a housewife over land disputes. Somebody looked up "boiling in oil" and found it's unconstitutional.
The convicts are Sazid Miah, Yakub Miah, Nahid Miah and Farid Miah. Of them, Farid is hiding. Oh, brave Farid!
District and Sessions Judge Mahbub Ul Alam passed the judgement. The prosecution in the case said the accused were locked in a land dispute with Parvin Akhtar, wife of Tota Miah, at Paikura in Chunarughat upazila of Habiganj on January 31, 2007. On February 1, 2007, the accused broke into Parvin's house and threw acid on her around 2:30am.
The victim's son Ful Miah filed a case with Chunarughat Police Station the same day and accordingly police submitted charge sheet against the accused. The judge during the trial recorded testimony of 13 prosecution witnesses.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Deposed Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya has arrived in the Dominican Republic, beginning his exile and ending seven months of turmoil in Honduras. Hundreds of supporters, many waving flags, watched him leave the airport in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa.
"Goodbye! Don't come back! Goodbye!"
His departure marks the end of efforts to return to office after soldiers forced him into exile at gunpoint on 28 June over a constitutional dispute.
Newly-elected President Porfirio Lobo had offered him safe passage. Under a deal struck by the two men, Mr Zelaya agreed to fly to exile as a way to avoid prosecution in Honduras on charges that he violated the constitution while in office.
Mr Lobo said the measure - first proposed months ago in failed mediation talks in Costa Rica - was needed as part of a process of reconciliation.
Mr Zelaya travelled to the Dominican Republic on the presidential plane, accompanied by the country's president, Leonel Fernandez, who attended the swearing-in ceremony for Mr Lobo hours before.
Mr Zelaya was taken to the Tegucigalpa airport in a convoy of around 15 vehicles.
He has spent the past four months sheltering in the Brazilian embassy, after returning in secret in September. With opinion divided in Honduras and internationally, several nations have refused to recognise the legitimacy of the November election.
Mr Lobo's first act upon taking office was to sign a decree giving amnesty to the soldiers, politicians and judges who brought about the June ousting.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/30/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Post-quake situation in Haiti sees a rise in insecurity that threatens the life of many vulnerable women and children living in makeshift camps. With the fall of night, gangs begin roaming the capital city of Port-au-Prince to prey on women and children living in power outage hit camps. There are reports hinting at vulnerable women who have been harassed and raped by criminals who escaped prison after the 7-magnitude quake hit the Central American nation.
Other reports suggest that strong men are stealing the scarce food handouts collected by weaker women and children. "Only Jesus Christ is watching over us," said Mariana Merise, 40, who lives in a camp by the crumpled National Palace that residents said was plagued by gangs stealing their meager possessions.
The Haitian government says child trafficking and organ theft are among other disastrous issues that plague the poor nation. Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told CNN that it is "one of the biggest problems that we have." I'm not real sure what they'd be doing with any organs harvested right now...
The reports have surfaces as the United States has dispatched thousands of troops to bring order to the quake-hit nation. "I don't think any of us are anywhere near being close to being satisfied, because so much more needs to be done," said Anthony Banbury, the deputy head of the UN mission in Haiti.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#2
Barry has a kak sandwich on his hands with this one. There is a big push at US State for civilian contractor security personnel. I fear this sad event will not have a happy ending.
You would have thought after the lesson of Somalia that the UN and NGOs learned that if you really want to handle aid, you do need those armed [with robust ROEs] soldiers in the front. Ego before intelligence. Yes, indeed, push those soldiers into the background. /sarc off
#5
Fourth World: Countries with extremely low per capita income and an absence of valuable natural resources. Also, peoples living nomadic, pastoral, hunter-gatherer or other ways of life considered outside the modern industrial norm.
#6
This particular Haiti event/problem is on a large scale, but how is this any different from our liberal system that allow underserving criminals paroled/released early from our prisons back on the streets?
Posted by: Tom- Pa ||
01/30/2010 10:58 Comments ||
Top||
#7
I'm not real sure what they'd be doing with any organs harvested right now...
As always. Voodoo.
Oh, you thought...
Here is the recipe for zombie powder ingredients that are dried up and ground to a powder (beside some other compounds like plants and insects that differ regionally):
* One or more species of puffer fish, which often contain a deadly neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin
* A marine toad (Bufo marinus), which produces numerous toxic substances
* A hyla tree frog (Osteopilus dominicensis), which secretes an irritating (but not deadly) substance
* Human remains
The latest can be obtained from digging up graves or from victims that were not yet out in one.
#8
Barry has a kak sandwich on his hands with this one. There is a big push at US State for civilian contractor security personnel.
After the Blackwater sh!tstorm, I don't see a mad rush for any US based firm to go in, only to be bus-tossed later.
#9
Twobyfour, you left out a few things: blood (both human and animal); several species of native plants, some of which have hallucinogenic properties, others mildly to moderately toxic; cloth, wax (candlewax, usually, but beeswax if available), turpentine, vinegar, and pine pitch. How all of this is put together and used is a major consideration in its effects. Voodoo is 90% spirit (human psychology) and 10% ingredients. Also realize that for every evil ("black magic") practitioner, there are ten to fifteen good ("white magic") practitioners. One of my most educational experiences - knowing a "white" witch in Louisiana.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/30/2010 14:56 Comments ||
Top||
China suspended military exchanges with the United States and threatened sanctions against American defense companies Saturday, just hours after Washington announced $6.4 billion in planned arms sales to Taiwan. How about the US suspends trade with the Chicoms and put 6 million Americans back to work?
Posted by: ed ||
01/30/2010 09:28 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#3
cough - reverse engineer owt dem chicoms , and well a hummer or two is least of anyones worries , esp now folk know weak spots and have done for a decade
Posted by: Oscar ||
01/30/2010 17:29 Comments ||
Top||
The Pentagon has notified Congress of a proposed arms sale to Taiwan, worth $6bn (£3.7bn). The weapons, including helicopters and anti-missile defences, are part of a package first pledged by the Bush administration.
Beijing considers the self-governed island a breakaway province of China and reacted angrily, saying the move would "seriously damage" its US ties. Beijing has hundreds of missiles pointed at the island and has threatened in the past to use force to bring it under its control.
The $6.7bn (£4.2bn) package does not include F-16 fighter jets, an item highly desired by Taiwan's military.
Proposed for sale:
114 Patriot missiles ($2.81bn)
60 Black Hawk helicopters ($3.1bn)
Communications gear for F-16s ($340m)
2 Osprey mine-hunting ships ($105m)
12 Harpoon missiles ($37m)
The notification to Congress by the Defense Security Co-operation Agency is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded. US lawmakers have 30 days to comment on the proposed sale, Associated Press reported. If there are no objections, it would proceed.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said the proposals would have a "serious negative impact" on co-operation between the US and China. In remarks published on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, he said the Chinese government was "strongly indignant" about the arms sales.
The DSCA said the proposed sale would support Taiwan's "continuing efforts to modernise its armed forces and enhance its defensive capability." It added: "The proposed sale will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region."
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/30/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
The Nissan Leaf is a very interesting $30K car. As long as the West refuses to use it's overwhelming military might, the Leaf and others like it will ultimately contribute to defeating this latest incarnation of islamic jihad.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced today that the Department of Energy has closed its $1.4 billion loan agreement with Nissan North America, Inc. to retool their Smyrna, Tennessee factory to build advanced electric automobiles and an advanced battery manufacturing facility. The two projects are expected to create up to 1,300 American jobs
Nissan plans to use the proceeds from the loan to produce its all-electric vehicle, the LEAF, at its existing Smyrna, Tennessee plant. Nissan will offer electric vehicles to fleet and retail customers, and plans to ramp up production capacity in Smyrna up to 150,000 vehicles annually.
Nissan is pursuing a global strategy of transitioning to electric vehicles. Building a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Smyrna, to produce 200,000 battery packs annually, is a significant part of that strategy. Nissan is also laying the groundwork in developing an infrastructure in the US to support electric vehicles. The company has formed partnerships with states, counties, municipalities, and electric utilities to prepare markets for the introduction of electric vehicles including the installation of charging stations.
Posted by: ed ||
01/30/2010 10:47 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Only $1,076,923.08 per job created, I'll do it for half that. Who do I call for my loan?
#2
You do realize that for every primary Auto company employee there are another 5 at supplier companies and another five in the general economy (stores, medical, schools, legal). But that is beside the point I wanted to make. The point is the Leaf uses no oil. Every gallon replaced does not have to be bought from the Middle East and less money to fund the jihad.
Posted by: ed ||
01/30/2010 11:12 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Nissan Recalls - So you think buying Japanese is a good deal?
Yeah right.
Posted by: Uloluter Darling of the Munchkins5034 ||
01/30/2010 11:15 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Energy policy in this country is insane.
This car nor any other version of an electric vehicle will resolve or even dent our energy needs. In fact, it will likely make them much, much worse.
Electric cars are notoriously inefficient in cold weather. A lot of electrical cars on an electrical grid will draw down on power from everyone else without the US making a massive investment in additional power sources.
All of energy policy in place was originally premised on the cost and now on the social aspects of dealing with Arabs, Muslims and other mobocracies.
We don't want to deal with nations whose goal is to destroy the American way of life, but the underlying premise in that is that we must destroy the American way of life to save it.
Insane, and for all the solutions proposed, few have been advanced to take advantage of what we know will work: free markets.
Green technology relies heavily and always have on government subsidy, inasmuch as we know after nearly two generations, they aren't ready for free markets.
They never will be.
Instead we have billions and billions of dollars pissed away on technology we know hasn't worked, isn't working and will never work without massive investments in an industrial base our elites have little stomach for.
Disclosure: I work in an oil field related job and have, off and on, since the early 80s.
My point is to move away from oil based transportation that is funding the jihad against us. The military cost of mideast oil dependency is now costing American taxpayers around $200 billion/year plus at least another $50 billion for internal security. Add anther $350-400 billion this year in imported oil costs. That's a huge proportion of wealth leaving the economy and is, frankly, sinking it.
The Nissan Leaf is the first semi-affordable battery electric car, will be made in the USA and will run on US produced energy.
Posted by: ed ||
01/30/2010 11:31 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Somehow I always knew badanov had a Halliburton connection.
#8
Electric cars are notoriously inefficient in cold weather.
That is true. Most batteries don't like it below 0 Celsius. There are lithium chemistries that work very well to -30 Celsius (e.g. lithium titanate) but the energy density is low and the cost high. Too high for individual transport at this time. That said, lithium chemistry is rapidly improving.
But, these cars shouldn't operate in Michigan winters. They should be sold in the South or CA. If the entire Smyrna production was devoted to the Leaf, it would take many years just to replace Alabama's cars.
Posted by: ed ||
01/30/2010 11:44 Comments ||
Top||
#9
If you think the batteries don't like it below 0 anything, wait till you see what the heater does when you turn it on.
Ed - I presume that when the government says, "The two projects are expected to create up to 1,300 American jobs," they've included every multiplier you thought of, many you haven't, and all of the very temporary gigs that a retrofit will fund that will evaporate very quickly.
With the $1.4B we're pissing away on this I could drill & complete over 45,000 new (very shallow) oil wells in my region including the cost of leasing the relevant rights in the first place. That would create just a bit of economic activity, no?
Disclosure: we've been in the oil business since before the Great Depression and still are. As an added bonus I'm an engineer and can smell greenie energy BS a mile away.
That's a huge proportion of wealth leaving the economy and is, frankly, sinking it.
Why is the yen subsidy a competitive challenge to U.S. automakers?
Between 2000 and 2004, the Japanese government spent more than $400 billion in direct interventions in global currency markets, buying dollars specifically to push down the value of the yen. This was the largest single currency intervention ever undertaken by a single country. Nevertheless, the U.S. administration tacitly approved Japan's aggressive moves to secure a weak yen, disregarding the impact on the U.S. economy and in particular the regions and industries most vulnerable to the resulting surge of Japanese exports.
Since 2004, the Japanese government has engaged in "jawboning" — actively talking down the value of the yen through public statements that make it clear to currency traders that they're willing to intervene again if necessary.
In addition, low Japanese interest rates have fostered an enormous "carry trade" by which international investors borrow yen at cheap rates to invest in instruments denominated in higher yielding currencies. The carry trade — estimated by some analysts to be worth up to a trillion dollars — keeps the yen low while creating a source of great potential instability for the global financial system. A stronger yen would undermine the financial underpinnings of the "carry trade."
Why is the yen subsidy a competitive challenge to U.S. automakers?
U.S. auto companies are changing their business models and making the painful but necessary adjustments to compete successfully in today's global market. Ford, DaimlerChrysler and GM produce state-of-the-art autos using the most advanced technologies in the world. However, these companies alone cannot counter the effects of an artificially weak yen that gives their Japanese competitors an unfair and unearned competitive advantage worth thousands of dollars per car.
Aside from hurting U.S. automakers, how does the yen subsidy impact the American economy?
The artificially low yen has helped fuel our trade deficit with Japan. The U.S. trade deficit with Japan has been our largest or second largest bilateral trade deficit for over 25 years. In 2006, the U.S. trade deficit with Japan reached $88 billion, the second largest such deficit we maintain with any trading partner. A full two thirds of this deficit($54 billion) comes from autos and auto parts.
Thats the point ed. Why do you support putting the American economy further in the hole? And why is Zero's Government helping in the process ?
#12
So it is fine for the government to be a bank for any ol green job needing big money? The government doesn't mind, cuz its not their money so if a loss so what...besides how much would it cost to refit this plant back into a normal production? It gets the factory dependent on go-green-go. There are ways in which Nissan could raise this money: real business banks and investors - neither of which would be on board if the risk is unacceptable. So Nissan gets their (bank/investor) money anyways via government because big banks and wall street are eeevillll and deserve a fine for being so. Anyone with any money in markets or banks, this is you.
Then there are the technical aspects. I am for anything which lets the USA determine its own fate; less ME oil for example. There are huge real world problems to figure out firsthand. I propose that if the electric car cannot make it in LA, that is use LA as the guinea pig if you will, then it will not make it anywhere: fairly consistant weather, combination stop go traffic and highway, and a local cadre of celebrities who just love the environment and stuff. Examin after 5 years and see if the concept can scale or work in other environments.
Good stuff on paper does not translate into real world results. Example, the new LED street lights which dim according to ambient light, sounds great right? Well, they don't put off enough heat and during ice/snow they obscure or are downright blocked. Not so great in fog either I hear. There are going to be these kinds of problems to fix and more, like what happens to these vehicles after being in swamp weather for x years. People are going to be real surprised, for example, when they find out their lighter for efficient cares are made with an alloy most firefighting equipment cannot cut through, and some of the cage designs potentially jam the doors shut with the crumpling effect.
Then there are people like me who will refuse to use unproven transportation to carry my family around.
#15
AZcat: The two projects are expected to create up to 1,300 American jobs," they've included every multiplier you thought of, many you haven't
The battery project can produce enough for 200,000 new cars annually. It requires a heck of a lot more than 1,300 people to produce that many $30K cars. That value of production translates into around 50,000 jobs if all the work is done in the USA. Some won't be. For instance the Lithium Carbonate production.
Wouldn't you agree this will new production of a new class of cars. A product that does not currently exist in the market. I don't see any commitment coming out of Detroit for mass produced electric cars. The Volt, while a fine car, is an 80% solution to our oil addiction and at $40K not quite affordable for Mr and Mrs Average.
I could drill & complete over 45,000 new (very shallow) oil wells in my region
That comes out to $31K/well. Oil companies or wildcatters can't come up with $31K? No the problem is socialist government's decision to ban domestic oil production and rely of foreign sources. Some of who want to kill and enslave us.
HS9419: Why is the yen subsidy a competitive challenge to U.S. automakers?
Japan gets the money to subsidize the Yen via the trade surplus w/ the US. That is a consequence of having a wide open import policy. That's US governmental policy. Our stupid policy, not Japanese. If the Japanese didn't have so many dollars, they couldn't sell Yen at depressed prices. Talk to your politicians, not Nissan.
Nissan is proposing to build 200K/year electric cars in Tennessee. That actually decreases the US trade deficit. Some of those cars may even be exported. Nissan could import those instead, probably with less headache. At $25K/car at the dock that alone is $5 billion/year. That's fully 12% of last year's total US-Japan trade deficit ($40 billion). Why would you want to add another $5B by having the cars produced in Japan?
While Japan has a trade surplus with the US, it has an overall trade deficit (think oil). They are not in as good a shape as one may imagine.
low Japanese interest rates have fostered an enormous "carry trade" by which international investors borrow yen at cheap rates
I suggest holding a gun to Mrs Japanese Houswife to quit saving for retirement and force her to buy ... What is it we make in the USA anymore? How about putting barriers to the bankers' carry trade instead? What is Goldman-Sachs bonus payout this year, $10 billion? How many politicians does that buy?
Posted by: ed ||
01/30/2010 18:36 Comments ||
Top||
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/30/2010 19:09 Comments ||
Top||
#19
That comes out to $31K/well. Oil companies or wildcatters can't come up with $31K
Sure, it's trivial to do so even in much larger amounts. I estimated conservatively, $31k to completion is actually on the high side though it depends on which part of the region one is in.
However you're ignoring the point: if you want to impact the domestic energy picture what is the better use of $1.4B in very limited government funds? Drilling tens of thousands of new domestic wells? Or subsidizing a Japanese company to create less than fifteen hundred domestic jobs? Seems like a pretty easy call to me but then our government has never really been serious about addressing our energy issue.
to comment: electrical cars pollute just as much if not more oil you consider battery disposal. All an electrical car does is move the source of the energy it runs on from the gas station, to the oil and or coal run power plant which generates the 'refill' energy.
The electrical grid is strained and outdated already. Bad idea to strain the grid with millions of 'electrical cars'
Hybrid cars seem to be our best option at the present time. Or 'flex' cars that can run on LPG as well.
My brother's turbo VW Golf diesel Wagon gets around 50 mpg and moves around quite well even in the Minnesota winters.
It will be quite some time if at all before electric cars would be feasible for the general masses.
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
01/30/2010 19:18 Comments ||
Top||
#21
Sure, it's trivial to do so even in much larger amounts.
Then do it. But it's not a money problem. It's a government that's captured by green-red and NIMBY alliance problem.
if you want to impact the domestic energy picture what is the better use of $1.4B in very limited government funds?
Again, what's stopping one from drilling a few wells and using the profit (410 barrels break even) to drill some more? At break even that's 16M barrels total production.
An electric car will likely last at least 10 years. Mechanically a lot longer. One year's (full) production of 200K cars that will eliminate the need for 15M barrels oil over 10 years. Over 10 years that 150M barrels. And that $1.4B seed money will jump start 2 magnitudes more economic activity than drilling.
electrical cars pollute just as much if not more oil you consider battery disposal.
Lithium batteries do not use heavy metals anymore. Cobalt is gone due to the fire hazard. Other components are iron, manganese, phosphorus, titanium.
All an electrical car does is move the source of the energy it runs on from the gas station, to the oil and or coal run power plant which generates the 'refill' energy.
Yes, from $75/barrel oil to $5/barrel equivalent coal. Even less uranium. One ton of lignite (the crappiest coal) is equivalent to 2.5 barrels oil. Powder River basic coal (40% of US production, 1 ton = 3 barrels oil) sells for $10/ton.
Posted by: ed ||
01/30/2010 20:53 Comments ||
Top||
Plus diesel vehicles last much longer and are much cheaper to maintain.
Dubai is building a natural gas to diesel conversion plant, which will produce millions of gallons of diesel fuel a year.
And here in Perth, most cars that do more than 15,000 miles a year are converted to natural gas.
Electric cars are a boondogle, that don't reduce energy consumption, don't reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and bar major breakthroughs in battery technology will never be more than a niche product.
#23
The electrical grid is strained and outdated already.
There is plenty of excess capacity at night when you want to charge batteries. According to a recent U.S. Department of Energy study, there is so much excess capacity that if every light-duty car and truck in America today used plug-in hybrid technology, 73 percent of them could be plugged in and "fueled" without constructing a single new power plant. That's almost 200 million cars and trucks. Of course to approach that efficiency level will require a smart electric grid. But the energy capacity is already available.
Hybrid cars seem to be our best option at the present time.
That depends on battery price, but mostly accurate.
Posted by: ed ||
01/30/2010 21:13 Comments ||
Top||
#24
24 of the 25 are diesel.
And almost all would be illegal on US roads. Blame the government if you want, but US cities don't smell of diesel fumes. Last I was at a European rail station, I ended up puking.
Electric cars are a boondogle, that don't reduce energy consumption, don't reduce carbon dioxide emissions,
Gas and electric cars have similar end use energy efficiency. So total energy consumption and CO2 is equivalent with coal. However, that coal BTU is 1/20th the price of oil's BTU. Coal (nuke energy) is produced domestically, using US labor with the money circulating in the US economy. In addition, electricity production is fuel neutral. Any energy source will do.
and bar major breakthroughs in battery technology will never be more than a niche product.
Lithium-silicon batteries promise 4 times the energy density of today's lithium batteries. Funny enough, Nissan is planning to use them in the Leaf. After that, silicon nanowire hold the promise of 10X energy density. Battery tech is advancing far faster then internal combustion tech. The same for the cost curve. Think 10-20 years down the road.
Posted by: ed ||
01/30/2010 21:37 Comments ||
Top||
#25
And here in Perth, most cars that do more than 15,000 miles a year are converted to natural gas.
It would be very helpful if Americans could buy factory Nat Gas cars. Would be great for the urban/suburban commuter if the refill infrastructure is built along with it (chicken and egg problem). But home refill is impractical. The compressors are $2-3K and don't last very long.
Posted by: ed ||
01/30/2010 21:46 Comments ||
Top||
#26
US cities don't smell of diesel fumes.
I've owned diesel vehicles and they don't smell nor do they create fumes.
I suspect the problem is that diesel engines last a very long time. So there are far more old diesels on the roads than old petrol cars. And old vehicles are the primary cause of urban air pollution.
I knew a taxi driver in the UK whose diesel London Cab had done over one million miles with the original engine.
Electric cars are a boondogle primarily because of the range issue. The market for a vehicle that will never go more than 50 miles from home is very small. And you better hope you don't get stuck in traffic on a hot or cold day because the heater or aircon will run down that battery pretty fast.
And while battery technology may be improving it doesn't solve the range problem. You will never be able to recharge a cars battery in the same time you can refuel a petrol/diesel/NG car.
#27
"There is plenty of excess capacity at night when you want to charge batteries."
Ed, I read someplace recently (maybe here?) that electric plants need the nighttime to cool down. So maybe that "excess capacity" isn't.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/30/2010 22:26 Comments ||
Top||
#28
that electric plants need the nighttime to cool down.
There are some transformer designs that need to cool down during summer nights. Essential they were designed too small to operate continuously at rated power during hot periods.
Electric cars are a boondogle primarily because of the range issue. The market for a vehicle that will never go more than 50 miles from home
I disagree. Most US families have 2, 3 or 4 cars (260 million cars, 308 million people). The car that gets used most is the commute car(s). That's where the EV shines. The few times a year required for long trips/vacation, the second gasoline or rental car becomes attractive.
Even at 12 cents/kWh, it costs less than a dollar for the electricity to drive a gasoline gallon equivalent ($2.50 where I live). As the electric grid is used more at night, the cost of electricity will drop. That will occur because most of the electricity cost is for fixed infrastructure. For instance in my are, wholesale electricity cost is 3 cents/kWh at the plant gate. Transmission, regulation, backup, maintenance, debt service and billing eat up the other 9 cents. Increase usage by 50% and not only is generation equipment used more efficiently, the fixed costs stays the nearly the same. So you get a cost of (3+1.5+9)/1.5 = 9 cents/kWh vs 12cents/kWh. A good deal all around.
Posted by: ed ||
01/30/2010 23:01 Comments ||
Top||
#29
I suspect the problem is that diesel engines last a very long time.
No. Diesels pollute more. It's immediately noticeable in diesel heavy countries. Even the Latest Tir2 Bin 6 diesels that are expected to arrive on US shores still pollute more than any gasoline engine. An that's after very expensive particulate filters and urea reduction solutions that have to be refilled (about 1 gallon per tank of diesel, I seem to remember at $60 a pop).
Posted by: ed ||
01/30/2010 23:12 Comments ||
Top||
#30
Ed works for Nissan and the US Secretary of Engery's K Street gang.
#31
You found me out Grens, or should I say Sheik Abdalluh?
Posted by: ed ||
01/30/2010 23:44 Comments ||
Top||
#32
Then do it. But it's not a money problem. It's a government that's captured by green-red and NIMBY alliance problem.
Already doing it ed (albeit on a much smaller scale than I could if the gummit handed me a 10-figure payout) but, again, you're ignoring the point: you claimed this was a jobs thing but it's outrageously expensive as such.
And ... you think we should subsidize electric cars so we can move from oil to coal as a primary fuel source for transportation? Really? What planet is it that you live on because in the one I live on the same enviro-nazis that want to prohibit as much oil & gas production as possible hate coal even more. Ditto nuclear which you also mentioned.
Better the government keep its checkbook in its pocket and we wait for the adults to retake control. Given Bambi's flailing and the lemming-like march of Demonrats right off the proverbial cliff it won't be that much longer. Lefties lose if the recession continues as they own it now and they lose if it doesn't because at the first signs of life in the world economy (or if the lefties keep running up trillion+ annual deficits) oil prices will spike. Either way, after an election cycle or two the adults will be back in charge and subsidies for electric vehicles will go the way of Carter's synfuels program.
The Mackinac Center checked with the Michigan Film Office and learned that a "production person" had applied for a state tax credit for Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story," partly filmed in Michigan
The liberal documentary filmmaker Michael Moore has been a critic of state tax credits for Hollywood films, but did one of his own films benefit from one of those credits in his home state of Michigan?
It seems so, according to a report by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute focusing on issues in Michigan.
The center checked with the Michigan Film Office and learned that a "production person" had applied for one of the tax credits for "Capitalism: A Love Story," Moore's 2009 film about corporate greed, parts of which were filmed in Michigan.
The state offers refundable tax credits of up to 42 percent to film productions for shooting movies and spending money in Michigan -- an incentive similar to one offered by numerous other states to entice Hollywood and bolster the local economy.
Challenging a number of widely held assumptions about global trends in wartime violence, this report reveals that nationwide mortality rates actually fall during most wars.
Several interrelated long-term changes have been driving this counterintuitive development: i) The average war today is fought by smaller armies and impacts less territory than conflicts of the Cold War era.
ii) Dramatic long-term improvements in public health in the developing world.
iii) Major increases in the level, scope, and effectiveness of humanitarian assistance to war-affected populations in countries in conflict.These findings stand in sharp contrast to the images of contemporary warfare presented in the media that focus primarily on a relatively small number of wars that have huge reported death tolls--Iraq, Darfur, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are cases in point. The high death toll estimates in Iraq and Darfur have become a source of intense controversy. But, the survey-based claim by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) that an astonishing 5.4 million people have died as a consequence of the fighting in the DRC has attracted almost no public criticism. However, in what is the most comprehensive analysis to date of the IRC's methodology, we demonstrate that the IRC's 5.4 million estimate is far too high. We further argue that estimating excess war deaths--which include those from war-exacerbated disease and malnutrition, as well as war-related injuries--is a task so fraught with challenges that it can rarely succeed.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will donate $10 billion over the next decade to research new vaccines and bring them to the world's poorest countries, the Microsoft co-founder and his wife said Friday.
Posted by: ed ||
01/30/2010 10:27 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#2
A lot of people have a real hard-on for Gates and MicroSoft in general. But I remember back when the different brand of computers could not talk to one another and we heard the "why can't we have a common langauge?". Well he gave us one and got rich in the process. At least he's putting his money where his mouth is. The other "celebrat" I have to admire is Bono. I may agree with his politics but when it comes to the causes he's involved in he walks the walk.
[Straits Times] THE Indonesian government has apologised to a woman who lost her leg when a military rocket slammed into her house after a test launch, an official said on Friday. "Oops! Sorry! Our bad!"
Initially reported as falling safely in a prawn farm, officials now admit the experimental Indonesian-made missile hit a house in Lumajang district of East Java province on Wednesday. "Your house was hit by a missile? What makes you think it was our missile?" Prove to us that it wasn't a Zionist missile ...
The 50-year-old woman's leg was amputated while her 60-year-old husband was hospitalised with extensive burns, State Ministry of Research and Technology spokesman Anny Sulaswatty said. 'We are still investigating why the mistake occurred. It could be because of strong wind at the moment of the launch,' she said. 'Compensation has been offered to the victims. This reflects that we are deeply sorry.' "Compensation? 'Zat mean I can have me leg back?"
The 3m-long RKN 200 rocket is being developed by a consortium of government bodies including state arms contractor PT Pindad and the research ministry. Let's mark that test a "fail," shall we?
The test launch was part of programme of activities supposed to highlight the government's achievements in its first 100 days in office after elections last year. Indonesia's military spending has tumbled since the fall of the dictator Suharto in the late 1990s.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
DOZENS of wild elephants rampaged through a village in Indonesia's Riau province, terrifying residents and damaging houses and crops, officials said Friday. 'Some 70 elephants destroyed more than 23 semi-permanent houses in Lubuk Kandis hamlet,' Iwin Karsiawan from Riau's nature conservation agency told AFP.
Deposed Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya has arrived in the Dominican Republic, beginning his exile and ending seven months of turmoil in Honduras. Hundreds of supporters, many waving flags, watched him leave the airport in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa.
[Straits Times] THE Indonesian government has apologised to a woman who lost her leg when a military rocket slammed into her house after a test launch, an official said on Friday.
