Secrets of the City

They’re cute lil’ buggers.

I’m ready.

Many people point out that there’s no benefit in electric cars if you are making dirty power anyways. While we should be powering them with renewable power, there’s still at a minimum a factor of two in effective gas mileage, simply because electric engines are more efficient.

Tru dat, feffk. Roughly 30% of Minnesota’s elecrical power comes from zero-low emissions fuel sources*, so we are further along that road than many other states.

* Mostly nukes, but also wind, natural gas, hydro, solar and biomass.

Are you ready for the increased transmission lines and substations??? Considering the fight over the new lines proposed to run down the Greenway–this could get interesting…

Yeah, I think I can handle that.

At this point, naysayers are just coming up with whatever to see what sticks. Are you ready for 12 birds to die by hitting your windmills, hippie? Are you ready for energy costs to soar 3% and destroy the world? To think of what this country has been through, accomplished… I don’t think putting up some transmission lines is going to kill us. Although I will concede that sometimes the very people who are most for renewable energy are unwilling to make tiny sacrifices, I am not one of them.

Baby steps KW. Baby steps. We’re not going to throw out the fossil fuel consuming cars over night. However, we need to explore alternatives. To throw out the electric car because of transmission lines, etc is throwing out the baby with the bathwater. There are no perfect solutions, but we must explore alternatives. In that way, we know which solutions are better than others.

Well said, DouglasD.

As I mentioned in the Strib comment section, I don’t think out little 66-vehicle pilot project will strain the grid too much just yet (grin).

However, as DouglasG just said, it’s a baby step forward.

I, for one, suggest we throw out fossil fuel consuming cars over night.

Don’t throw them out until I burn out another clutch. Just had one replaced.

I considered one of those electric cars for a little bit, but then i remembered I wasn’t a girl.

The Rat rides the clutch!!!

I’m not the only driver!

“I, for one, suggest we throw out fossil fuel consuming cars over night.”

How wayno of you, jeffk (grin).

I wonder how Bakersfield, CA’s finest is doing these days? He sends me an occational message on Facebook.

Love getting under his skin. So rewarding.

Well, someone’s got to step up.

But in all seriousness, I’m getting a little tired of the dicking around.

Starts with you, jeff.

You can get one of those little lemon-colored things to drive around in.

I drive a bike, so that won’t be necessary. Wow, I really do sound like wayno. I dunno how I feel about this.

Rat, there is NO REASON that an electric car has to look like a “smart car”. I would take a Tesla motors car any day of the week… Are you giving one of those out Bob???

Actually, it starts with us and the other government, private and nonprofit partners who want to lead by example on this issue.

If the project is approved, we will put those vehicles and charging stations in some high visibility locations.

However, Rat is correct that the most dedicated types will jump in first. Personally, I have been eyeing a cool electric scooter I saw at the Living Green Expo.

You’ll have to ask Horst about that, DouglasG. He offered me a chance to drive it solo, and like a fool I turned him down. Boo to that.

Can’t we have a decent public transportation system instead???

Please!! Much more practical and something that a lot of people actually will use.

Look at Hiawatha LRT: tons of light rail.

When will this the development of a full public transport system move at a rate faster than a Turtle???

Central Corridor was announced in 2006 and is planned to be done by 2014

8 Years to build one line????

At this rate my grandchildren may see a full city-wide system.

Oh, can someone tell me how electric cars solve these problems:

-> traffic
-> lack of parking
-> inhospitable streets for pedestrians and bikers

Not to mention that even though electric cars may be more efficient, you are still lugging around 1-2 tons of weight with you wherever you go.

How efficient is that?

I for one would like to see a world-class public transport system instead!

Can’t we have a decent public transportation system instead???

Why not both? Or are you a one-trick pony?

Oh, can someone tell me how electric cars solve these problems:

Why? Did anyone suggets that said electric cars would slolve all problems? I sure didn’t.

I for one would like to see a world-class public transport system instead!

Enjoy your trip to Europe, vlado4. Send postcards, please! (grin).

I’m with jeffk, but also with Rat (just got a new headlight and oil change). I’m sort of with vlado, but far less pushily. I’m not with Bob as he is a commenter on the Strib and I can’t abide by those folks (grin).

That’s not me commenting on the Stib. That’s my evil brother, Darth Moffitt.

Oh, him. He is such a barely-literate evil ninny.

BTW, am I the only girl here today or what.

Not counting the Nancy-boy Libtards, I think so, jane.

I want to see more public transportation, but I really think this can’t happen without fixing cars, too. Americans are simply too obsessed with them. Even a rabid biker like me occasionally finds himself reading about the lasted cool new Porsche or watching Top Gear. They’re just too much a part of the American psyche, and unlike Europe or Japan, we have a lot of open space that will never be accessible any other way. So my vote is for both.

Some people just like cars. Like talkin’ about them driving them, working on them, comparing one to another.

It’s not a sin to enjoy a car.

I was thinking about watching one of those Formula I races this season. A couple family members are really into it.

Via the Post-Bulletin, a nice Q & A with a local man who owns an electric car.

Watch the video, too.

Clear this up: $20,000 per car from each unit of government? That would seem to be quite expensive.

I’m looking at that in the context of the bill from Frank Hornstein that would require this statewide. At 20K/car, the cost would be astronomical.