Energy and Peak Oil

Puget Sound Energy's Wind Power

2008-04-08T17:13:00.001-07:00

I came across this great video today.
I am starting to love youtube!

China Celebrates Being Number 1 Polluter.

2008-04-07T18:55:00.000-07:00

Adding a bit of humor to a serious topic:

China Celebrates Its Status As World2019s Number One Air Polluter

What is Peak Oil???

2008-04-07T18:38:00.000-07:00

These short videos explains Peak Oil to those who have landed here and are courageous enough to watch:

This one is just for "entertainment":

Energy and Peak Oil

2008-04-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

After much thought and consideration, I have decided to finally change the topic of this blog to “Energy and Peak Oil”.

Here’s the story that has led to this:
I started out as an electric car enthusiast, and came up with the idea of creating a web site for comparing electric cars, which cannot be compared side-by-side with gasoline cars due to their technical differences (range, battery type, maximum speed, etc).

Then I decided to start a blog, so I could write and record ideas that would not be forgotten as I developed this site. I did not think many people would be interested in my blog, but as I was writing mostly for myself and as a way to brainstorm and retain ideas, that was not an issue for me. When in doubt about an idea or topic, I always chose to write.

Well, my blog on Electric Vehicles has had great success, and I say this based on the number of readers it has achieved. I found out that a large number of people are now thinking about alternatives to gasoline (and that surprised me), and that is largely due to the recent increase in the cost of gasoline at the pump.

Another reflection of the surprising success my blog on EVs has had happened in the beginning of March 2008. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer said they liked my blog and wanted to feature it on their web site. This required me to commit to writing at least three times week, but this commitment occurred to me more like an incentive to write more often than a discouragement.

The new blog in the Seattle P-I drew a lot of readers immediately. It’s not surprising considering the great venue they are for readers, thinkers, and people interested in the latest news. I quickly got a lot of acknowledgment and have been contacted by a number of great people: readers and people in the EV community, and people in the Green industry as well.

In the meantime I wasn’t sure what to do with this blog being hosted on www.evdestination.com. I have become comfortable enough with the Seattle P-I blogging software (or blogware) to conclude I do not need two different blogs on electric cars. Also, in my continued research on electric cars and Peak Oil, I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that the world likely will not have much room for electric cars. Electric Vehicles will be a privilege of the few the way things are going. My suspicions have been confirmed and continue to be reassured: the energy crisis we are starting to face now that the cheap fossil-fuel era is over, is the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced. And interestingly enough, I love the topic of energy. I feel I have a lot to say about it. That is not to say I know a lot – I have much to learn, that’s for sure. But I feel that I have so much to offer in terms of solutions; it’s as if I have to do some brainstorming so I know what that is first, and then I can present it. I feel I was born to address the energy issue. I love educating myself on how societies extract and use energy, and I don’t mind thinking about it all the time. So this blog is now about Energy and Peak Oil. I think I have much to offer already, and rest assured I’ll continue to learn at a rapid pace as this is a topic I have great passion for, for a reason I cannot explain.

Electric cars are obviously directly linked to the issue of Peak Oil, and both blogs will be referring to each other when appropriate. One reason I have been promoting electric cars is because of their efficiency: they are about 90% efficient whereas with gasoline about 75% of its energy gets wasted by the Internal Combustion Engine. Another factor that greatly motivates me to promote electric cars (and to want one) is the fact they have no tailpipe emissions, meaning they do not have to use fossil-fuels for driving. If electricity from renewables is used to power these EVs, then the depletion of crude oil can be greatly extended. Ultimately there will be no oil left for us to use though, as oil is a finite resource. And until we find a viable replacement and an infrastructure that can be built and maintained without the use of fossil-fuels, I have to think there is no future for electric cars and that at best they will help us transition into the new future of scarce and expensive fossil-fuels.

I am an optimist, and I trust that human ingenuity will overcome this energy challenge so that we can maintain the great quality of life we have in the developed world, and avoid a huge population die-off. I follow the philosophy of Alchemists, who had the power to change lead into gold through the power of Mind. Yet I do believe we live on a planet where natural resources are finite. In combining these two approaches I hope to address this serious and depressing topic of Peak Oil in the most optimistic possible way. My goal is to promote discussions, to have people thinking and proposing solutions while making the necessary lifestyle adjustments at the same time (energy conservation being one).

I can’t emphasize how it is not joyful for me to embrace the belief that there will be no room for electric cars in the future. Electric Vehicles offer so much more power, performance, speed - all things that I love and are at the core of the American culture. But electric cars are complex machines that also require fossil-fuels in their manufacturing process. And all the evidence indicates that world manufacturing capacity has reached its peak, and it will decline alongside of the supply of energy.

“The world is not running out of oil – at least not yet. What our society does face, and soon, is the end of the abundant and cheap oil.” – Colin J. Cambell, founder of the Association for Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO), 1998

"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” – George Orwell, author of Nineteen Eighty-Four

EV Destination will continue on and with more content than ever before

2008-03-12T17:28:00.000-07:00

After pondering on whether I should maintain two blogs or just one, I have decided to keep my two blogs: this one and the one in the Seattle P-I.

This will be beneficial in the future due to the fact there are a lot more rules and policies to adhere as a Seattle P-I blogger, whereas here I feel that I can write and "say" almost anything I want. So, I will try concentrate on having electric car posts in the Seattle P-I and I'll use this site for posts that are more political or relate to the issue of Peak Oil.

Also, I am able to measure the traffic I get on this site whereas I'm not able to do the same with my blog in the P-I. Being able to measure the number of visitors that return to my blog is a good way for me to evaluate the quality of my writing. In other words, "is my writing interesting and engaging?" I'm not able to answer this question unless I know how many people are visiting the site and how many readers are returning.

While I don't feel I have as much freedom with the Seattle P-I blog as I do with this blog, I am very grateful to the Seattle P-I for allowing me to blog for them and reach some of their readers with my content.

So these are the reasons why this blog will go on for the foreseeable future. I hope that you come back!

BLOGGING = CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Electric Cars expanding and getting more publicity

2008-03-04T13:36:00.000-08:00

I'm thrilled to announce that the Seattle Post-Intelligencer took interest in my blog and has allowed me to be a blogger for them. This is great as I'll be able to reach a lot more readers and people interested in learning more about electric vehicles.

Nothing changes for me, except that I'm now using their so blogware, which looks a little different. The web address is also different: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/electricvehicleguide/

My passion for electric cars is huge, and if you read the rather lengthy introduction I wrote as my first post for the Seattle P-I, you will understand why. I'm glad they were able to see that because there's a ton of information about electric cars and related topics that I have stored in head and haven't shared yet. So this is the incentive I need. I have an agreement with the P-I to blog at least 3 times a week. If anyone wishes to participate in this blog, please contact me directly.

I love the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. It is my favorite local newspaper. I love their news coverage, and I love David Horsey's cartoons.

I'm not sure yet how to maitain or synchronize these two blogs now. Maitaining a blog is a lot of work. Maintaining two blogs (that have different features) seems like unnecessary work. I might just end up having these two blogs with different posts for the time being. Ultimately, my goal is to turn evdestination.com into a full featured web site that compares all electric cars available for people to buy. So when that happens the Seattle P-I blog can continue on and the issue of two blogs is solved.

Please, come back soon for more great information on electric vehicles.

- Ricardo Parker

Good video on small garage shop that builds EVs (NBC News)

2008-02-13T23:56:00.000-08:00

Tesla Roadster Getting Reviews

2008-02-13T16:32:00.000-08:00

The Tesla Roadster has started getting some reviews by journalists; this likely in an effort by Tesla Motors to promote the car. Of all the people who could take the one model available for a test drive/ride, why not use the journalists who will then write about the car and the company making it? A smart move if you ask me, and I'd have done the same.

Here's a nice review of the Roadster that lets you know what you can expect from this new car:

This Electric Sports Car Is the Real Thing

Subaru R1

2008-02-13T15:43:00.000-08:00

Subaru has shown an all-electric vehicle to the public: the Subaru R1.

It's reported that the Japanese creator of the Eliica met with Subaru executives years ago in his pursuit to develop and produce EVs in large scale. So maybe this car is a result of their partnership?

This car as shown is obviously underpowered though, and not a heavy contender against any conventional vehicle that runs on gasoline.

It is hard to beat the energy density contained in gasoline. I believe that if humans apply their mind to developing EV technology, that eventually we will have available batteries that are cheaper and have higher energy density than gasoline. As Professor Shimizu, the creator of the Eliica, once stated, "EVs have to be superior to ICEVs in regards to performance and cost in order for people to switch to EVs." (paraphrasing)

So Tesla Motors is showing up from the top with a sports car that costs amost 100 grand while other companies are showing up from the bottom with smaller and economic cars that can take advantage of current EV technology. I trust that EVs will catch on and become mainstream, and that maybe the general population will follow a trend of switching to small cars from the big cars we now drive. It may not seem like people would want to do this, but I believe Peak Oil will not leave us much choice. When it costs more for some people to commute to work than the money they earn in one day at work, I think people will stop driving their cars because they simply can't afford gasoline at ever increasing prices. This scenario is not far-fetched.

Trivia: R1 is the name of a popular Yamaha sportbike - I wonder why Subaru didn't apply more creativity when coming up with a name for this electric car.
The 2008 Yamaha R1 engine technically has more than 3 times the power output of the motor used on the Subaru R1 (horsepower number comparison). Yes, the astounding power of gasoline with technology that has been developed in over 100 years. Dedicate 100 years to developing battery technology for EVs and we'll have cars that not only charge while driving, but never need to make a stop for fueling!

General Motors

2008-02-13T15:05:00.000-08:00

There are so many developments in the Electric Vehicle arena currently going on that it's become hard to keep track of it all. An explosion of small shops and garages has taken place with Electric Vehicle projects, although these are mostly "small guys". That said, it may be the grassroots movement necessary to topple General Motors from its pedestal - a monolithic institution that keeps pumping out the Internal Combustion Engines that are poisoning life on our planet, and tried to kill the electric car.

Speaking of General Motors, the company has reported their biggest loss ever: a whopping $38.7 billion in year 2007, an amount that is hard to imagine. At this rate it's fair to say that General Motors is quickly disappearing: they'll likely stay around for a long time, but they will be just another company and no longer a major component in the engine that moves the American economy. Their direct response seems to be to replace assembly workers with people who are willing to work for half the standard wages they were paying. How this will affect the quality of their products has yet to be measured.

GM loss largest ever in industry

If you ask me, I think GM should have produced the EV1 and made the switch to EV technology when they were at the forefront (developing it with the brightest minds) with the EV1 prototype. Developing and offering EVs might have compromised their main line of cars, but as we can see that is an inevitable outcome. And that is because developing and offering EVs was the right thing to do for customers, for society and for the world.

The point here is not so much to blame GM for not doing the right thing when they were (and still are) in a powerful position to develop, produce and deliver products - cars and trucks - that are part of a solution and not part of the problem. It seems that the whole automobile industry is already being affected by the phenomena of Peak Oil and Global Warming. If Peak Oil is real (and I believe it is), then the rapid decline of oil production combined with the constant increase in worldwide demand for oil will cause major economic slowdown worldwide (in all countries that depend on oil, that is, virtually all countries in the world).

The Dangers in Life.

2007-12-19T19:49:00.000-08:00

When promoting electric vehicles I often run into people who defensively point out the problems with electric cars, and why they are not a solution. Something I've learned is that people are resistant to change; we all are. Change is threatening, it's unpredictable, it brings us the unfamiliar.

One problem that was once pointed out to me is that batteries are dangerous because they can explode or catch on fire. Do you remember the not too distant case of the notebook batteries that caught on fire and caused at least a couple of big companies not only bad publicity, but some financial damage as well because the batteries ended up being recalled? Well, that's the danger!

I wanted to point out that despite any challenges, dangers or difficulties, that nothing has stopped human beings from pursuing what they want. Think of it: how much more dangerous is it to carry at all times inside your car this fuel called gasoline, which is liquid and highly flammable? Because it's flammable, a flame or heat can cause an explosion. Because it's liquid (instead of gas) it does not evaporate in case of a leak, but rather stays right under the vehicle if it's not moving.

Yet we didn't let this danger stop us. We reinforced the gas tank and placed it in the back of the car as close to the ground as possible in order to protect the passengers. But the risk is still there. Technology has reduced the risk to a point that people don't even worry about an explosion anymore. But just throw a lit cigarette in your gas tank and you'll see that it will explode (no, don't do that).

Here's a recent video that captured an explosion at a gas station, thus reminding us that the risk still exists despite gasoline being the ubiquitous fuel at the moment.

Note: this video may be too graphic to some, so you've been warned!

The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard.

2007-12-19T19:37:00.000-08:00

The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute film that takes viewers on a provocative and eye-opening tour of the real costs of our consumer driven culture—from resource extraction to iPod incineration.

Annie Leonard, an activist who has spent the past 10 years traveling the globe fighting environmental threats, narrates the Story of Stuff, delivering a rapid-fire, often humorous and always engaging story about “all our stuff—where it comes from and where it goes when we throw it away.” Leonard examines the real costs of extraction, production, distribution, consumption and disposal, and she isolates the moment in history where she says the trend of consumption mania began. The Story of Stuff examines how economic policies of the post-World War II era ushered in notions of “planned obsolescence” and “perceived obsolescence” —and how these notions are still driving much of the U.S. and global economies today.

Leonard’s inspiration for the film began as a personal musing over the question, “Where does all the stuff we buy come from, and where does it go when we throw it out?” She traveled the world in pursuit of the answer to this seemingly innocent question, and what she found along the way were some very guilty participants and their unfortunate victims.

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

COMET-Spark-EV

2007-12-19T19:30:00.000-08:00

http://www.spark-ev.com/comet.html#

COMET-Spark-EV EXCLUSIVE !
(Available late 2007/early 2008)

The COMET is a Spark-EV EXCLUSIVE - Coachwork designed by renowned automotive designer Gianpaolo Alvino of Italy, with drivetrain designed and built in America, this vehicle is manufactured by Spark-EV in the USA.

Purpose-built as a luxury electric commuter vehicle, the Carbon-Fiber body, leather interior, premium electronics, navigation, and entertainment system, all testify that no expense was spared in the creation of this top-end vehicle.

Fully equiped with air conditioning, heat, and heads-up displays, the myth that an electric car is in some way a sacrifice is forever shattered. Superb handling, blinding acceleration, the experience is like no other.

- 90+MPH, 200 Mile Range
- Carbon Fiber/Kevlar Monocoque Body
- Luxury Interior
- Made in the USA

Price: $32,950.00

The Recycling Machine.

2007-12-19T19:25:00.000-08:00

Posting a link and the content of a web site that talks about this revolutionary product called "the recycling machine".

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/flat/bown/2007/innovator_2.html

INNOVATORS

Left: Frank Pringle [right] and Hawk Hogan [left] feed the Hawk recycler, which extracts oil and gas from waste like tires.

Green Tech
THE MICROWAVE MAGICIAN

Frank Pringle has found a way to squeeze oil and gas from just about anything

I’m not sure if I’m watching a magic trick, or an invention that will make the cigar-chomping 64-year-old next to me the richest man on the planet. Everything that goes into Frank Pringle’s recycling machine—a piece of tire, a rock, a plastic cup—turns to oil and natural gas seconds later. “I’ve been told the oil companies might try to assassinate me,” Pringle says without sarcasm.

The machine is a microwave emitter that extracts the petroleum and gas hidden inside everyday objects—or at least anything made with hydrocarbons, which, it turns out, is most of what’s around you. Every hour, the first commercial version will turn 10 tons of auto waste—tires, plastic, vinyl—into enough natural gas to produce 17 million BTUs of energy (it will use 956,000 of those BTUs to keep itself running).

Pringle created the machine about 10 years ago after he drove by a massive tire fire and thought about the energy being released. He went home and threw bits of a tire in a microwave emitter he’d been working with for another project. It turned to what looked like ash, but a few hours later, he returned and found a black puddle on the floor of the unheated workshop. Somehow, he’d struck oil.

Or rather, he had extracted it. Petroleum is composed of strings of hydrocarbon molecules. When microwaves hit the tire, they crack the molecular chains and break it into its component parts: carbon black (an ash-like raw material) and hydrocarbon gases, which can be burned or condensed into liquid fuel. Pringle figured that some gases from his microwaved tire had lingered, and the cold air in the shop had condensed them into diesel. If the process worked on tires, he thought, it should work on anything with hydrocarbons. The trick was in finding the optimum microwave frequency for each material—out of 10 million possibilities.

Pringle has spent 10 years and $1 million homing in on frequencies for hundreds of materials. In 2004 he teamed up with engineer pal Hawk Hogan to take the machine commercial.

Their first order is under construction in Rockford, Illinois. It’s a $5.1-million microwave machine the size of small bus called the Hawk, bound for an auto-recycler in Long Island, New York. More deals loom: The U.S. military may use Hawks in Iraq on waste such as water bottles and food containers. Oil companies are looking to the machines to gasify petroleum trapped in shale.

Back at the shop, Pringle is still zapping new materials. A sample labeled “bituminous coal” goes in and, 15 seconds later, Pringle ignites the resulting gas. “You see,” he says, “why they might want to kill me.” —RENA MARIE PACELLA

A little political ranting.

2007-11-28T16:54:00.000-08:00

My blog is not about ranting or venting. It’s more about facts, real numbers and educated conclusions, than it is about opinions. Yet recently I’ve felt compelled to write something political. So here it goes.

Last month I went to the Sea-Tac airport and as I get to the top of the escalator inside the terminal I see this huge poster of a Toyota Tundra right in front of me, advertising nothing but the POWER that vehicle offers.

Why is it that in the age of Peak Oil and Global Warming we are still with the mentality of buying vehicles that have POWER? Why is it that auto manufactures (in this case Toyota) are still using POWER as the element to make their cars appeal to the American public?

Sometimes I think we in the US are such a backwards culture. We are so behind the times.

A few conclusions have been made, which are almost indisputable:

Oil (and all fossil fuels) are a finite resource. They will run out at some point. And we have the ability (maybe not the political will) to calculate how much time the remaining known oil reserves will last. After that, the people left on the planet will have to figure out how to carry on without relying on oil, and eventually all other fossil fuels.
The US has been the biggest consumer of oil, well ahead of any other country. Americans consume about ¼ of the world’s oil while Americans are about only 5% of the world population.

So how come we still allow corporations to continue to encourage people to be more wasteful with a finite resource that we know is dwindling? Well, clearly we lack leadership.

Speaking of leadership, I made another conclusion a while back. After speaking to many people, and most of my friends, I observed that the majority of the people around me have made, at one point or another, a statement to the effect of “well, things are this way but I’m not responsible – I did not vote for this president”.

My conclusion is that all American voters are responsible for the current state of affairs. Your not voting makes you an accomplice of all the crimes against humans and the environment that have been and continue to be committed.

And the same applies to the people who “did not vote for this president”. You are still an accomplice on this war for cheap oil if you are still wasting energy and consuming more oil than everyone else on the planet. Do you get it? You say you didn’t vote for the guy and yet you’re enjoying all the benefits that come from his actions. “I didn’t vote for him” is nothing but a cop-out so you can still live in your usual comfort and convenience that is not sustainable.

We are on a destructive path and no one is doing anything about it other than to get on the green bandwagon just to look good. All of the major auto manufacturers ought to be ashamed of themselves. In their insatiable desire for profit they continue bigger and inefficient cars to sell to the American public. No one wants to give up a little money in order to lead the way towards protecting our environment and creating an industry that is sustainable. Everyone is raping the planet until there’s no resource left for anyone, and then we’ll all sink together – be this in our lifetime or in future generations.

We know it’s time to give up wanting power for the sake of humanity. We know our wasteful consumption of energy means the next generation will have less time to find alternative solutions.

Major automakers have the power and capacity to produce a decent, safe and efficient EV in a year or two. The hydrogen prototypes are another scheme for companies to continue to control the supply of fuel so they can maximize their profits. Electricity is available in every home in America. Unplug your toaster and plug in your car. It’s that simple, and electricity is much cheaper than gasoline. But if you live off the grip and collect your energy from the sun or wind, you are giving no money to the oil companies because oil companies become useless in an new era of electric vehicles. Gas stations would disappear and something to be seen in a museum.

So it’s no wonder that there’s all this hype about vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells, even though hydrogen technology has some major issues that probably won’t be solved for decades to come. The oil companies are powerful and want to maintain their power. They have been making absurd profits.

We cannot expect oil companies to change the world for us. Solutions have to start with the consumer, that is, you and I. You ought to demand the product that companies will then build for you. Start slowly – drastic change doesn’t usually work, but walking in the right direction is crucial. Start demanding more fuel-efficient vehicles. Then switch to other fuel alternatives if you can: biodiesel or ethanol. Electric Vehicles are not yet an option, but I trust that they’ll come into the picture in time. Ride a bicycle and walk more. Exercising will prolong your life. Another way to look at it is “driving reduces your life”. Use mass transportation systems whenever you can. You bus and train fare supports these companies, and their service will improve if there’s more demand for mass transportation.

And last, but probably the biggest difference you can make: remember to vote, and vote wisely. Our leaders represent who we are as people, for we elect them.

Peace, and thanks for reading.

- Ricardo Parker

To clarify.

2007-11-07T18:21:00.000-08:00

In one of my earlier posts, I said something to the effect of "gasoline prices are not coming down". I believe this comment made me lose some credibility with some of my fellow friends because they literally interpreted that comment as "gasoline prices will not possibly go lower than the record $3 a gallon that we're currently experiencing".

Well, I don't think I was clear with that comment and so I wanted to apologize and clarify things. Gasoline prices are always going to fluctuate for as long as we have gasoline available and being sold. However, the trend is that gasoline prices will only go up. So in this sense, gas prices will never come down again, as an overall trend. That is to say, over time. I would dare say (and am willing to bet money) that gasoline prices will be higher a year from now than today. And two years from now gas will cost even more. And so forth. This is based on understanding the serious issue of Peak Oil. As supply starts to diminish and demand continues to increase the law of supply and demand determines that gas prices will only go up (over time). Unless some major event happens that changes this trend, such as the unlikely discovery of a major oil field, or a catastrophic natural disaster that wipes out a big portion of the population, thus lowering the demand for oil (or gasoline) by having fewer people consuming energy.

On the same topic, a barrel of crude oil cost less than $25 in 9/11, around $60 a year ago (Nov 2007), and today it's being sold at $96.70.

I understand that oil prices are not determined simply by supply and demand, but largely by market speculation. Still, I think this is a trend. And I say that based on understanding the serious issue of Peak Oil.

I am grateful to Greg Rock for opening my eyes to this issue and explaining in detail what Peak Oil is and how it's starting to and will affect our society and the world at large. Greg is an expert on the issue of Peak Oil, and an active and dedicated individual to seeking and providing solutions to the energy crisis we're starting to face. It was Greg who finally steered me in the direction of conservation also, as part of the solution to the upcoming energy crisis.

To learn more about Peak Oil, search for the term on the Internet, or look for books by Dr. M. King Hubbert. Dr. Hubbert was an engineer and expert in the oil industry who first understood and introduced the term Peak Oil. He correctly predicted that oil production would peak in the United States. What we are facing now is worldwide oil production peaking, at a time when demand continues growing because most countries have economies that are dependant on constant growth.

This energy crisis by the way, is the most serious issue yet faced by humankind.

But my intention today is not to write a scary post. So let me finish by saying that I'll soon be visiting Tesla Motors down in Sillicon Valley, assuming they will welcome me. I should come back with some great news and stories.

- Ricardo Parker

Ricardo returns to what excites him.

2007-11-06T18:37:00.000-08:00

Wow, my last posting was back in June. That is a shame. The good news is that I'm back and I've been plugged in, observing what's happening, though not as active in bringing the changes I'd like to see in the transportation and automotive world.

Back in June I started a new job that is not related to electric cars... everyone has to make a living, right? I do too. Since then, I have been able to experience what it's like working for a software company (again), and that has been good. That said, this time working has confirmed my suspicions that my passions really are the environment, sustainability and environmentally friendly vehicles (that is, electric cars). Nothing gets me more excited when it comes to what I want to dedicate my life to.

I had the incredible opportunity to experience Burning Man back in August. I'm so happy that I got to go, thanks to my great friend Marc Turkel who not only made the invitation, but prepared me before the event and guided me through it to make sure I made the most of my experience in the desert. Words cannot describe what we saw there. Interestingly, the theme this year was "green". Considering that it was my first time at Burning Man, I could not compare it to previous BM events to be able to say how "green" the 2007 event was. A few things to be noted about the event:

1) There was an incredible amount of energy expenditure, no doubt. From the most jaw-dropping fire shows to the moving of large amounts of materials, structures and decorations to the number of vehicles that travel to the desert (and increase the consumption of fuel) to the incredible amount of energy that it takes to maintain life in the desert. Pretty much all electricity is generated through liquid fuels, which is a much more wasteful way to generate electricity than say, by using the power grid.

2) There were about 47,000 people at Burning Man in 2007 compared to about 35,000 people in 2006. So the amount of energy spent in all different aspects is natural and should be expected due to the significant increase in attendance.

3) Many camps were indeed green, using biofuels to generate their energy instead of gasoline. There was also a large presence of solar panels on vehicles, tents and just out in the desert. Even the organizers of Burning Man installed several large solar panels which Larry Harvey claimed they'd donate to some good cause after the event.

4) Many people who were "green" did not boast about being green. I.e., there were people who were burning biodiesel instead of gasoline, but you wouldn't know unless you asked. This is a sign of humility, and part of the BM culture of not "showing off", but personally, I think it did not promote green alternatives as much as it could. It also made it difficult for anyone to even take a guess as to how much energy alternatives people were relying on other than OIL.

So this is a quick update. More to come soon. Please, do participate on this blog my friends and community!

- Ricardo Parker

Good things lie ahead.

2007-06-20T15:59:00.000-07:00

I have asked a few people to share their knowledge and expertise through this blog. I don't want this to be "my blog" but a community blog instead. If you feel that you have considerable knowledge about a particular subject that relates to electric vehicles, and would like to share that knowledge with the rest of the world, please contact me so you can post your own section in this blog.

In my research of EVs I have been paying special attention to Tesla Motors. I'm just fascinated with everything about that company. They are like the David against that stands for freedom of humanity against the many Goliaths of the world that want to control the fuel distribution, be it gasoline or hydrogen. Hydrogen technology, BTW, is well behind EV technology.

I was very impressed with a blog written by Martin Eberhard, CEO of Tesla Motors. His humor and sarcasm are can't be beat. I am referring to this blog:

http://www.teslamotors.com/blog2/

I like how Mr. Eberhard makes his blog so attractive and interesting to read! I have tremendous respect and admiration for him, everyone at Tesla Motors and everyone backing up Tesla Motors.

- Ricardo Parker

The extra cost of electric vehicles: batteries

2007-06-15T13:38:00.001-07:00

A few people have pointed out that although the cost of electricity is substantially cheaper when charging an electric vehicle, that on EVs there’s the extra cost of batteries which can be expensive.

That is true. It’s difficult to factor in the cost of batteries in any Total Cost of Ownership analysis because batteries for EVs is a fairly new industry, so the manufacturing process and pricing is not yet broken down the way it is for oil (or gasoline). Companies selling Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV) often face the challenge of giving a warranty to customer on a vehicle whose batteries they don’t exactly know how long will last and what kinds of problems will present under all the different conditions that can’t all be predicted. Batteries also perform different depending on how they’re used and cycled. The latter is a challenge that I believe will be solved by software, and developing that software also costs money.

Suffice to say, the price of batteries will decrease dramatically as the technology improves and the demand for electric vehicles. This is the catch-22 that all EV companies and enthusiasts have been dealing with: the batteries with the highest energy density are expensive, but it’s not until they are widely used that the industry will see a need and opportunity to serve more customers and thus produce more batteries, which brings up the price. We all wished a major player like GM had used their resources and power a decade ago to shift the market, but for some reason they don’t.

But don’t be discouraged! The world has a need for clean vehicles and more efficient means of transportation. The word is that China is about to flood the market with lithium-ion batteries for cars. I’ll research more on this topic. But the fact is that China is already producing several EVs whereas with ICEs they’re far behind in technology. So they actually have an incentive to develop EV technology since they’re closer to being number 1 in that field. It is my opinion that China will be the leader of the EV industry for years to come.

While many companies are known for making a lot of promises because of the power of EV technology, Chinese companies generally are found delivering products with little to no marketing abroad. And China as a nation has a need for cleaner vehicles – their densely populated cities are notorious for already high-levels of air pollution. How good is it to allow all your population to own and drive cars if in the process they get killed from carbon dioxide (or Global Warming)? I think the whole world is [slowly] reaching this conclusion.

- Ricardo Parker

China's Electric Car Moves Ahead

China's Wuhan University of Technology presented this experimental electric vehicle at Challenge Bibendum, saying it was designed with China's white-collar class in mind.

A world without oil (article)

2007-06-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

This is an article that was on today's front page of The Independent, titled “A world without oil”.

The article is worth reading, especially for those not yet familiar with Peak Oil. I do think some day all people will realize how precious petroleum is, and we will consider our choice of internal combustion engines for moving cars an absurd way to use our finite oil.

The article says that our coal reserves (coal is a source of energy we’ll likely start relying on more heavily once oil starts becoming scarce) is enough to last 155 years. I believe that number is incorrect. It is incorrect because it does not account for the expected increase in demand worldwide. It is a fact that China, a country that's #2 in coal reserves, is importing coal for their energy needs.

Furthermore, the demand for coal will be much higher once it becomes evident that oil reserves are depleting – something the public has not been warned about.

So I’ll write Daniel Howden (the writer of this article) an email to bring this issue to his attention.

- Ricardo Parker

Reasons why YOU WANT an Electric Vehicle (number 1)

2007-06-13T14:32:00.001-07:00

Reason #1:

You will save LOTS and LOTS of money.

You know all that money you spend on gasoline every week? You may be asking yourself “what money?” If you’re not feeling a pinch in your wallet or bank account every time you stop at the gas station, then that means you have become conditioned to an unnecessary expense in your life and you’re no longer aware of it! Keep in mind that driving does not need to cost you as much as it does now.

There was a time when using gasoline to drive cars was a good alternative because oil was plentiful and we didn’t have as many cars on the planet as we do today. The United States did not need to import oil until some time in the 1970’s. Ever since then, the US has been importing oil, and a large reason why the US is dependent on foreign oil is that the cars we drive use gasoline (or diesel). And boy, do we drive a lot, and do we drive big cars! Bigger cars are heavier, so they require more energy to move - gasoline in this case. The estimated number of automobiles in the US is somewhere around 400 million. The US population (according to a census done earlier this year) has reached just over 300 million people. That means we have more cars than people in this country!

This is not hard to imagine: if you look around you’ll see that it's not uncommon for people to own more than one car; sometimes 3 or more. And we’re not talking about affluent people, even people of lower income can often afford several vehicles. Look around in any US city and you'll see that we have cars parked and moving everywhere. The problem is that all these vehicles have the internal combustion engine (ICE), which uses gasoline or diesel.

Just to give you an idea of how much money you’re probably spending on fuel: my last car was a 1994 Acura Legend. That car gets between 20 and 27 MPG (in city and on the freeway). Because I drove it mostly in the city I got 20 miles per gallon of fuel consumption pretty much all the time. Even when I drove it on the freeway I was in stop-and-go traffic, so the fuel consumption remained the same. I know this because I have always tracked the gas mileage of all the vehicles I’ve ever owned.

20 MPG at the current average price of gasoline in the US of $3.25 a gallon gives us the following numbers for the cost of fuel of that Acura Legend:

$0.16 spent on gasoline every mile I drive

$2,031 spent on gasoline every 12,500 miles I drive (12,500 is an average mileage per year per car in the US)

$16,250 spent on gasoline every 100,000 miles I drive (typically when the warranty on the engine and transmission expire).

Over $50,000 spent on gasoline for the lifetime of that vehicle. That Honda gasoline engine is known for reliably getting over 300,000 miles, perhaps even 350,000 miles before it needs to be replaced.

So, this opens up a whole new discussion for us. Remember that the amounts of money above are based on the average $3.25 a gallon for gasoline. The cost of gasoline will only go up. This is because oil (as with any fossil fuel) is a finite resource and we’ve already used over half of it. Oil Industry Experts will say that we have not discovered a new major oil reserve in several decades. We have drilled for oil pretty much everywhere on the planet, used the most advanced technology for oil discovery, and it looks as though all of the oil that is underground was already found almost 40 years ago. Just like a glass of water gets empty when you drink it, oil reserves are dwindling and oil will eventually become nonexistent. Less oil available means higher gasoline prices from here on, even if demand stayed the same.

So the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of a car will likely greatly increase from now on due to the predictable higher cost of gasoline at the pump. I.e., pumping gasoline will only cost you more and more. By maintaining the need for gasoline for driving you are at the mercy of the oil companies, and the oil companies know that the world production has already peaked. They will never sell gasoline or any other product at a loss (and neither would I or you if we were in their place).

Now, let’s speak about Electric Vehicles and focus on reason # 1: “you’ll save LOTS and LOTS of money”. EVs do not use gasoline to move. Instead, they use electricity. Electric motors are about 90% efficient. What that means is that about 90% of the energy in your battery pack gets transferred to the wheels. EVs are very energy efficient.

ICEs, on the other hand, are very inefficient. Gasoline engines are about 30% efficient (diesel engines are about 43% efficient). That means about 30% of the energy contained in gasoline gets transferred to the wheels. The rest 70% is wasted. The ICE is one of the most inefficient ways to transfer energy.

In practical terms, I think it’s fair to say you are spending less money on electricity because you are using most of the energy you're paying for, whereas with gasoline you’re wasting most of it. That is one aspect why you end up spending less money on “fuel” for your car with an EV. I say "fuel" because you're not putting fuel in your car, but instead, charging the battery pack in your car that is used to move it. So you have a battery pack on an EV, but you do not have a gasoline tank or exhaust pipe.

The other aspect is that the source of energy for EVs is different from gasoline. Electricity can be generated through a variety of different sources, and it ends up being delivered at your house, cheaper in terms of dollars, than the current cost of gasoline. Electricity can come from renewable energy sources, something we’ll discuss later. But for now, let’s just say that our electricity can come from coal, nuclear power, wind power, solar power, biomass, hydro power, geothermal, natural gas and even, oil. The truth is that any energy source can be converted to electricity, which makes EVs even more appealing as an alternative. You can't convert electricity to gasoline, however. So when we run out of oil (and we will), the ICE will probably be good only in museums.

Power Supply Profile of Puget Sound Energy (PSE) - Washington state's largest and oldest energy utility company

In some countries like Japan, about 50% of their electricity is generated from oil which they have to import since they produce none. In the US only a small percentage of our electricity comes from oil, which is a good thing because we have a real need to learn to rely on renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuel.

I dare say that we’d make more efficient use of oil if we burned it to produce electricity and then used that electricity to charge EVs, rather than what we do now which is to produce gasoline out of oil to power ICEs.

The cost of electricity to power a vehicle the size of the Acura Legend is about 4-5 cents per mile. It’s hard to estimate this number because such a vehicle does not exist. But with new EVs coming out and electric conversions being done, we’ll probably get a more accurate number. However, this number is safe to use, and it’s derived from light electric vehicles that are already in operation, such as the Kurrent. The Kurrent weighs about 1,750 pounds and costs about 2 cents of US electricity to drive.

5 cents of “fuel” per mile is a lot cheaper than 16 cents. It changes the total cost of ownership of a car. It lowers the cost of fuel for the same car (battery powered) to about 1/3.

And we’re not even talking about the damaging effects of ICEs through emissions and the contributing factor of carbon dioxide to Global Warming. We’re not even talking about what the money you spend on gasoline is ultimately funding in the countries it’s going to. So far, we’re only looking at the benefit of the money you will save for yourself by driving an electric vehicle. Heck, what can you do with 2/3 of the money you currently spend on gasoline? I honestly want to know!

EVs offer so many advantages that it's difficult to list them all. The lower cost of fuel is one of them. Keep in mind the TCO of a vehicle, which includes fuel and maintenance. A gasoline Hummer H1 or H2 will burn over 30,000 gallons of gasoline throughout its lifetime (it gets 10 MPG). Just the cost of all that gasoline is over $90,000 at current gas prices. That’s enough money to buy a Tesla Roadster, which is 100% electric. Some of the [wealthy] people buying the Tesla Roadster already have solar panels in their homes, which means they get to drive their EV without ever having to spend any money on fuel and without ever having to stop at a gas station.

Many people will say that the Tesla Roadster is an expensive vehicle, and that the current EVs that are available are “too expensive”. The cost of EVs will decrease with mass production, but I disagree that they are “too expensive”. When you consider the TCO and analyze all the numbers you start realizing that you owning and driving an EV costs a lot less than the gasoline and diesel cars we drive now. Most of the cost of an EV is up front, but once you buy one you don't have to spend so much.

Have the oil companies been successfully at training you to not notice that they are taking your money little by little every time you fuel your car? How badly do you want an alternative to gasoline? Please, do post your questions, your thoughts and your knowledge on the subject.

- Ricardo Parker

The Lightning Car Company

2007-06-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

In my efforts to get the public familiar with all of the EV companies and dealerships that exist at the moment, I thought I’d list these companies and businesses here on my blog. Keep in mind that most of these companies have yet to release a product and the best you can do is make a reservation for a future delivery). This is even the case with Tesla. Word is that even Martin Eberhard, CEO Tesla Motors, has to share a Tesla Roadster with the engineers of his company who’ve been working overtime on the car.

Please, be introduced to the Lightining Car Company. They are a Brittish company, which goes to show that EV technology is being embraced by visionaries worldwide and not just by a few. In fact, I believe that those who cling to technology of the past that’s more harmful than beneficial, will have a more difficult time making the transition. As Napoleon Hill once said, “the future belongs to those who see it”.

What I like most about the Lightining Car Company is that they boldly embrace EV technology, and emphasize the performance advantages that EVs have over the ICE. They also emphasize the simplicity of EV technology and explain the various mechanical parts that are eliminated by substituting ICE with EV technology, and fewer parts make for less maintenance. Some will argue that the usual auto-companies don’t wish to reduce complexity in their car because they enjoy the revenue they get from maintaining the complex vehicles you buy. But I’m all for simplicity and performance when it comes to anything.

The car featured by the Lightning Electric Company reminds me of the Dodge Viper; maybe a Brittish version of it, but just as aggressive and powerful. Their site claims that their car will have over 700 horsepower, which is remarkable. I do think that with EV technology many performance cars will eventually (and not too far in the future) will have over 1000, horsepower – something unthinkable for a mass production vehicle that uses an ICE.

- Ricardo Parker

The work continues on

2007-06-08T16:43:00.000-07:00

Well, the research mentioned previously continues on. All of this is work, but work that I love doing, so the answers will be posted here in due time… just not immediately. I did not want unfinished research to put the blog on hold, so I thought I’d write something new. There’s lots of new information that has yet to be shared.

I have gotten great feedback from some of my friends who’ve read the blog so far. Thank you for your interest and support. I listen to every one of you and your input is greatly considered and appreciated!

One of my friends strongly suggested that I should add pictures of babes to my blog (believe it or not), so that I can get more traffic on the site. Well, I know that the success of my web site depends on my listening to you. So I took that into consideration. Then another friend of mine emailed me a link about a Mustang looking smart car with a couple of pictures of a babe in front of it. So I hope my friend will be pleased with the first set of photos of babes on my site (and will keep coming back and reading its content).

Speaking of the smart car (smart is a company founded by Swatch and Mercedes-Benz, and written with small caps), smart says that they are working on an Electric Vehicle called the smart ev. Just click on the previous link to be directed to a page on their UK site – do not expect to find any information on their American site. Their site says “It isn’t available to buy just yet, but it isn’t a million miles off.” – how is that for a promise? Hopefully market forces will allow us to see one in less than a million years, or a million miles. I don’t mean to be pessimistic, but I just don’t think smart has the right incentive to give us the EV we want in the time frame that we want (which is RIGHT NOW).

For people who do want an electric smart car, you can get one from

Hybrid Technologies. Hybrid Technologies converts smart cars (as well as a few other different models) from gasoline to electric. George Clooney is actually promoting it! George Clooney has been my hero, as he’s the buyer of a Tango.
For some time I’ve wondered why Hybrid Technologies converts the smart car for the US market rather than a bigger car that would have more public acceptance in the US (plus avoiding the hassle of importing and retrofitting a car from another country). This process didn’t make sense to me, and to my understanding, the price tag on one of those electric smart cars is $40,000. Well, my conclusion is that the smart car’s light weight (less than 1,600 pounds) and good aerodynamics makes it for a vehicle that does not require a lot of batteries to move it. And being that Hybrid Technologies is using the best kind of batteries currently available (lithium-ion), then the smart car is a model that works well for long range, short charge-time with a small battery-pack. The less weight you carry, the cheaper it costs you and the longer you can go with the same energy. While perhaps not the most cost-effective solution or ideal platform, it’s a great start with the resources we have available. BTW, while not directly promoting Hybrid Technologies I thought I’d mention that they are a public company. So EV enthusiasts can claim that there’s at least one EV company that’s already public - Tesla Motors, which is likely the most well-funded EV company, is still a startup as of today.

Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama greets supporters at the WAMU Theater during a campaign appearance in Seattle. - (June 02, 2007)

n another note, last week I had the privilege of seeing Barak Obama in Seattle. He came to the WaMu Theater next to the Qwest Stadium, and gave a powerful speech to a crowd of people who was ready for a fresh start. Obama spoke of transforming America and addressed many different topics, and the one that I listened most closely to (naturally) was the topic of how importing foreign oil is a risk to our national security and economy. Obama said that if all cars in the US met a minimum 45 MPG fuel-efficiency, that America would not need to import foreign oil. I do not know how he reached this conclusion and what numbers he used, but I trust that his Math is right. In any case, do I need to mention that with Electric Vehicles you are running on zero gasoline or fossil fuel? That’s right! Zero emissions while driving, all the performance you want or need, and the best part: all this technology is already available! And charging is a battery pack on an EV costs a fraction of what it costs right now to fill up your car with gasoline or diesel at current prices (average gasoline price in Seattle is over $3.25 a gallon).
The only thing necessary for building an electric car is the will to build one. I’m sure that’s something George Clooney understands and why he’s doing so much to promote EVs.

How much oil is required for manufacturing, maintaining and driving a vehicle?

2007-06-05T14:14:00.000-07:00

Well, this question is definitely hard to answer. There's so much that goes behind building a car in terms of energy expenditure, that I consider impossible to get an accurate number. But we may be able to get an estimate. Here's a great question: which requires more energy - manufacturing a car or driving and maintaining it? In the case of electric vehicles no oil is necessary to power the car and the energy can come from 100% renewable sources as mentioned in my previous post. EVs require very little maintenance in comparison to ICEs; something I'll get into details later.

According to Colin Campbell, it takes between 17 and 50 barrels of oil to manufacture a single car. Of course no auto plant is built for the purpose of building a single car (not typically anyway), so this information is broken down and the impact on the environment is always from manufacturing large numbers of vehicles and not just one. But let's use these numbers as a basis until we get something more accurate. What is the amount of oil that it takes to drive a car? This last question is a little easier to answer, though it'll require some research. I'll probably use the Toyota Camry for this measurement since it's the "best-selling passenger car in America". I'll use the average miles-per-gallon (MPG) of the Toyota Camry to calculate how much gasoline it uses in its lifetime. For the lifetime I'll probably use 300,000 miles since I believe that's how long those engines last on average. Then the last step will be to convert the energy in a gallon of gasoline to the energy in a barrel of oil. This should give us an estimate. If anyone has any ideas or pointers, please let me know. In the meantime I'll be working on this. Please check back soon!
- Ricardo Parker

Source: http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/whats_in_barrel_oil.html

Welcome Folks!

2007-06-04T15:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome to ElectricKar.com!

My goal is to make this the #1 site for electric vehicles with the intention of educating the public, answering all questions and promoting EV technology. We will use a blog to start and upgrade as needed. After 6 months of research I believe I can provide the answers to most questions that are out there. So please challenge me with your questions! If I don't have the answer I promise to do the research necessary to get it. I'm that passionate about electric vehicles.

Why Electric Vehicles?

Unlike conventional cars which use an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) and require some sort of liquid fuel for propulsion, Electric Vehicles (EVs) require only electricity. The large majority of cars on the planet run on gasoline, which is a product of oil. Aside from the numerous disadvantages of burning oil - air pollution, contribution to Global Warming and the threat to US national security that comes from importing energy that comes mostly from unfriendly nations - oil is a finite resource. It's estimated that we humans have burned just over 50% of all the oil available, in a period of roughly 150 years. Because world demand for oil keeps increasing in an oil-fueled global economy that is conditioned to grow, it's estimated that at current rates it will take us 91 more years to use up the remaining oil. So, whether this happens sooner or later is irrelevant: the fact is that the primary source of energy used to move our vehicles (among other activities) will come to an end, and not too far from now. Electric Vehicles are one answer to this serious issue that we all face. EVs do not require the burning of fossil fuels for propulsion since electricity can be generated from renewable energy sources such as solar power, wind power, biomass, and other sources that we may discover and develop. Unlike other fuel alternatives for vehicles (hydrogen, biofuels, etc) which require the building of an infrastructure for providing the fuel, it's fair to say that the infrastructure for powering EVs already exists: electric outlets can be found in our homes and offices. Cars are not being driven most of the time, so when they are parked they could be charged for the next trip. While the typical 110v electric outlet is not ideal for charging an electric car because it can take up to 8 hours to fully charge one, power stations with a much faster energy transfer rate can be installed at parking lots, rest areas, and convenience stores. With a power outlet an electric car, such as the soon to be released Tesla Roadster, can be charged in 30 minutes or less. The amount of time to charge any electric car will likely decrease greatly once EV technology is developed further. But even if it will take 8 hours to fully charge a car on an 100v outlet: this may be a good alternative for some people already, who have their cars parked for 8 hours or more in their workplace while they work.
- Ricardo Parker