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Where is there such a law? Not here. The only place I have seen a sign banning idling an engine is at the Canadian border crossing.
The low gas prices definitely encourage more driving, but also it helps people afford new cars, which are far more efficient, and less polluting with even large pickups getting 26-30 mpg. Around here I think the biggest deterrent to driving alone to work is the traffic. Despite gas dropping below $2 the buses are still packed with commuters.
A lot of states have come out against idling a car or truck. In California the law has to do with the safe operation of a vehicle. In my area we are not concerned so much with warming a car up. You can not safely operate a vehicle if you have left the controls of said vehicle. You can get a ticket for that. Years ago, before I had set out on my own and started my own family, I was working for a Stop N Go Convenience store. I worked the 11pm till 7am shift. In the early morning hours we had people coming in before they headed off to work. Many of them would leave the cars running. Every once in a while a cop would come in and offer to give people tickets if he saw that again. I talked to this cop every so often and we talked about this subject. He told me many people leave the keys in the car while they keep it running. Makes it easy to steal if you give someone the keys with the car. Also creates a safety problem. On top of that, the fumes get to enter the store. Realize this was a long time ago and in today's world more cars have automatic locks and keyless entry. Things may be different today. Still, the law is in place.
Electricity is just so darned expensive in this state (over $0.18 per KwH)
wow. That makes just going full Solar pretty cheap by comparison?
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I know it's blasphemous, but I really hope we start seeing really high gas prices again so that we can keep seeing more and more advances in the alternative energy space.
A fuel tax would be a good start on that. Say 50 cents a gallon or something to pay down the debt from the Endless Wars, and Recovery / Bailouts.
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but the alternative energy industry can't compete against low dirty energy prices.
Depends. Like you noted with your Electricity Prices so high -- Solar is an easy win.
carmakers are retooling their factories to produce more SUVs and fewer gas sipping sedans and compacts.
CAFE still applies. Most of the newer SUV's these days get better fuel economy than my sedan. I would use less gas trading my car in for a Ford explorer.
EV tech is great, but you do understand the process in which the materials used to make the batteries right? I'd be more concerned over the practiced of rare-earth mining in china and it's effects on the environment vs idling a car at a gas station.
While I'm glad to see advances in technology away from IC engines, lets not fool ourselves into thinking the process is any cleaner. The environmental impact is just hidden under a few more layers. That battery in the car isn't made by magic, but the average consumer does not see this. They just see one car using evil fossil fuels, and one car using an "environmentally friendly" EV system. Oh, the irony.
CAFE still applies. Most of the newer SUV's these days get better fuel economy than my sedan. I would use less gas trading my car in for a Ford explorer.
EV tech is great, but you do understand the process in which the materials used to make the batteries right? I'd be more concerned over the practiced of rare-earth mining in china and it's effects on the environment vs idling a car at a gas station.
While I'm glad to see advances in technology away from IC engines, lets not fool ourselves into thinking the process is any cleaner. The environmental impact is just hidden under a few more layers. That battery in the car isn't made by magic, but the average consumer does not see this. They just see one car using evil fossil fuels, and one car using an "environmentally friendly" EV system. Oh, the irony.
Initially the EV process is as dirty or even more so than Gasoline.
However, we have reached the end of Gasoline's life cycle and environmental efficiency. Mechanically gas engines are actually improving due to government standards and just plain technical know how...but that's another topic.
Point being, although making batteries currently isn't exactly "green" their development on a wide scale is at its infancy. In the future, most vehicles will be battery powered.
Future batteries will be more efficient, there will be less CO2, and cleaner air for all of us.
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It is a shame that people think...or at least have thought that one is greener than the other. I just have a Prius because its an awesome reliable car with great gas milage.
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As for low gas prices, they aren't going to be low forever. I would like to see a tax on gas now, and to keep incentives for EVs. I realize that a gas tax will hurt the poor the most, but at a few cents, I'd rather have it go towards a public good than lining the pockets of OPEC.
CAFE still applies. Most of the newer SUV's these days get better fuel economy than my sedan. I would use less gas trading my car in for a Ford explorer.
EV tech is great, but you do understand the process in which the materials used to make the batteries right? I'd be more concerned over the practiced of rare-earth mining in china and it's effects on the environment vs idling a car at a gas station.
While I'm glad to see advances in technology away from IC engines, lets not fool ourselves into thinking the process is any cleaner. The environmental impact is just hidden under a few more layers. That battery in the car isn't made by magic, but the average consumer does not see this. They just see one car using evil fossil fuels, and one car using an "environmentally friendly" EV system. Oh, the irony.
There's certainly an environmental impact of making batteries. But it's so small compared to the environmental impact of a combustion engine over it's typical life. So while a Lincoln MKZ (4cyl) will cause 52% more pollution than the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, the reality is that it will only cause somewhere between 42% to 48% more pollution (depending on the battery used and the specific manufacturing process).
There's certainly an environmental impact of making batteries. But it's so small compared to the environmental impact of a combustion engine over it's typical life. So while a Lincoln MKZ (4cyl) will cause 52% more pollution than the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, the reality is that it will only cause somewhere between 42% to 48% more pollution (depending on the battery used and the specific manufacturing process).
And the backwards path of Oil from Well Head (or even before, with Drilling, etc.) through Refinery Path, Pipelines, Trucks, Underground Tanks and into the vehicle Fuel Tank . . . . omigod.
Oil is a dirty business from the git-go, and stays that way to the bitter-end. (and self-confession -- I am a Texas-Based "Energy" Engineer and have dirty hands at every level).
Oil is pretty much a case of pumping out Nature's Septic Tank, and burning the Crap into the Air we all Share.
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