In a previous article, I discussed the economic and practical challenges a future electric RV faces. Unlike commercial vehicles (especially semi-trucks), which bring in a lot of money transporting goods, it’s pretty rare for someone to pay someone else to drive an RV around. On top of that, their large … [continued]
Wildfires fueled by extreme heat and drought continue to rage across the West Coast. Climate change exacerbates drought and heatwaves that set the stage for massive conflagrations, like the Sugar Fire in Northern California which doubled in size from Friday to Saturday and produced so much smoke and ash that, … [continued]
Growing up in El Paso, the automotive scenery was just a little different. Sure, El Paso has all of the typical American cars you’d expect, but you also see things on the street that aren’t for sale in the States. It’s not uncommon to see a Toyota Hilux (not the … [continued]
Lightning eMotors recently announced that Proterra, an established builder of electric transit vehicles (like city buses), will be providing the company with battery packs for its electric vans. The Lightning Electric Transit is a purpose-built commercial vehicle that can serve as a delivery van, ambulance, school bus, RVs, and more. … [continued]
It was a throwaway comment by my buddy, Matt Teske, but it was significant. We were talking about the upcoming all-electric Ford F-150, and he said, “You know, the ‘E-150’, or whatever they’re going to call it …” and we went on to talk about whether or not Ford would … [continued]
The VW emissions scandal isn’t an outlier, but a symptom of the reality that internal combustion cars, whether gas or diesel, have reached the limits of effective compromises that will satisfy regulators and consumers. But most car companies won’t be able to adapt and many will diminish radically or fail … [continued]
Given the right conditions, wind turbines can generate lightning (for reasons other than simply being elevated), new research from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) has found. The relatively fast movement of the wind turbine blade tips directly triggers electrical discharges, according to the work. The researchers think that their … [continued]
I sometimes think that many of us have a deep seated mania that causes us to believe that for any substance to be an effective source of energy it must be something that can be burned. Not only must it be combustible, the substance must be hard to get. This manic belief requires that the energy source must be searched out and dug up or clawed from the earth at great trouble and expense.
What’s more, to be a credible source the fuel must be retrieved from the bowels of the earth or the deepest depths of the ocean by intrepid explorers with fedoras and a five day growth of manly stubble, all else is considered to be alchemy
