Britain banning fossil fuel cars by 2040
- Thread starter Buggirl
- Start date
I think that looks very achievable given the very rapid advancements in battery technology, we need to ramp up our green electricity generation without making electricity too expensive
Not heard much about hydrogen fuel cells recently????
Apparently from an eco point of view battery cars are horrendous still for the environment in terms of the nasties that go into this new technology, and of course electricity is still very dirty with 50% lost in the power lines and sub-stations alone.
The real answers still seems to be Nuclear fusion; Travel less; Less people on the planet. And none of these seem close any time soon.
There are electricity losses in transmission, primarily due to it being converted to heat, but in the UK the figure for losses between generator and consumer are closer to 10%.
I think that the real answer is localised generation from renewables. If a significant proportion of power can be generated at Street level everything starts adding up.
Solar panel costs are now dropping rapidly (although consumer prices not as quickly). If solutions like the TESLA home battery take off it could really shake up the whole market.
Solar panel costs are now dropping rapidly (although consumer prices not as quickly). If solutions like the TESLA home battery take off it could really shake up the whole market.
As the population of the planet increases and the resources decrease, there will be wars, on probably a horrific scale, and groups or countries will viciously defend what they have, causing the starvation of others that will reduce the population to a size the planet can manage. The human race will do what it does best - survive. But those at the bottom of the pile won't...
Happy Hump day
Totally agree, localised generation and storage is the way to go but the current battery technology, as suggested by @chriscroft above, is itself very bad for the environment and people.
Longer cables !
I thought this was interesting, particularly the idea of not owning vehicles at all!
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/must-read-article-how-our-lives-change-dramatically-20-delahunty
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/must-read-article-how-our-lives-change-dramatically-20-delahunty
Isn't there a team on standby in the national grid waiting to increase power in the system when kettles go on in the ad breaks. So when 30 million people get home at the end of the day and plug their car in will there be any leccy left over for the telly. Steam power......that's the future.
Lol - Ditto.I'll be 75 when that comes into force so if I'm still here I probable won't care cos I'll already be driving an electric vehicle..... a mobility scooter
I suspect the 2040 date has just been picked out of the air to buy more time whilst some more tangible proposals are developed and put forward.
Current infrastructure won't support but the technology is rapidly changing and who knows what things will look like in the future - some sort of smart roads that let you charge as you drive maybe (you can already charge some portable devices, e.g. Phones, toothbrush, etc. without plugging in so who knows.)
My mate has a plug in hybrid, with a 34 mile electric only range. He works 20 miles away, and re charges it at work which means that he doesent use any fuel at all, other than his electricity bill at home, for his weekly commute.
Thats great, but for those in the future, who can only afford an electric "banger", it could be a nightmare, with reduced range, and increased charging as the batteries start to deteriorate. The roads could end up littered with old cars where the battery has died unexpectedly !
Thats great, but for those in the future, who can only afford an electric "banger", it could be a nightmare, with reduced range, and increased charging as the batteries start to deteriorate. The roads could end up littered with old cars where the battery has died unexpectedly !
It's irrelevant anyway, none of the current politicians will be in power, or even alive in many cases, in 23 yrs so it isn't their decision to make. The issue will be revisited by at least 4 more governments before then, any of whom could amend or scrap it so without concrete plans and milestones to reach along the way the date is totally arbitrary.
I'll be 76 if I'm still around so I can't see it causing me too many problems
I'll be 76 if I'm still around so I can't see it causing me too many problems
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One "vision of the future" that I found quite interesting is going to horrify people here: The idea that car ownership might become a thing of the past quite rapidly.
- Self driving cars become mainstream
- Self driving cars start "earning their keep" whilst you don't need them by opting in to an Uber-like service
- If there are loads of self-driving ubers around why bother having your own? Just lets companies by and unleash fleets of them
Anybody got ideas how to put B14s, 20" wheels and seat swivels on a twizy ?
It was only yesterday that ministers were talking about battery technology for the storage of power generation at home. So my thoughts on the way home tonight whilst listening to this on the radio; solar panels on your house charge your domestic batteries during the day. When you get home from work you then stick the car to charge from these batteries.
Let's be honest, the government gets enormous tax revenue from selling us diesel and petrol, so when that is no longer being bought, they'll increase the price of electricity and whack an enormous amount of duty on it.
As for the present situation where you can charge your electric car for free in car parks and motorway services, yeah like that will continue.
The national grid is not far from falling over as it is, there is no way that the many million car owners in this country will be able to charge them using the current generating ability.
Still I am upbeat and optimistic.
Let's be honest, the government gets enormous tax revenue from selling us diesel and petrol, so when that is no longer being bought, they'll increase the price of electricity and whack an enormous amount of duty on it.
As for the present situation where you can charge your electric car for free in car parks and motorway services, yeah like that will continue.
The national grid is not far from falling over as it is, there is no way that the many million car owners in this country will be able to charge them using the current generating ability.
Still I am upbeat and optimistic.
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