So, Trump, and/or the White House have announced that they do recognize human caused global warming and even project a more horrific future than I’ve heard before: a rise in global temperatures to an average of seven degrees Celsius, not the two degrees so far bandied about by scientists in discussions on Climate Change. What is outrageous, is that the WH announcement was cited as reason for digging more coal and drilling more oil! Because, they stated, the process was so far along, we can’t stop it, anyway.
That’s unimaginably reckless, irresponsible and stupid. The President is supposed to be looking after our welfare, not consigning us to planet disaster. Less than 2 degrees has already created serial disasters all over the world.
So, what we need is rapid change to adapt to the future world. Below is an example of how difficult that can be.
While we were staying for a week in Down-east Maine, I discovered the disadvantages of an all-electric vehicle.
I don’t have one. I have a hybrid plug-in that has a range of 50-62 miles on an electric charge. At home, I charge the car every time I return home. About 75% of my mileage is therefore electric. A full charge from zero takes 4.5 hours. Since I have solar power as my main electric source, the charge is, in effect, paid for by the installation.
Traveling to Maine, I saw a few charge stations at Interstate route gas stations, but since I didn’t want to stop and wait for hours, I didn’t use them. When I went off the Interstate, there were no gas stations with charge installations. So, I continued on gas, (three fills, only the last one costing over $20.00) and getting about 41 mpg.
Once ensconced Down-east, I discovered a charge station at Schoodic, at the back of a research facility there. Since my partner was having breakfast with a friend—I had already eaten—it was time to check out whether the charge station would be practical.
It wasn’t. I hooked up to the charger, and my car told me it would take almost five hours to charge the car, for a 50 mile charge. Furthermore, the station asked for $2.00 an hour, or $10 or more—for only 50-60 miles of travel! That’s 5-6 cents a mile.
At 40.9 mpg, at $2.90 per gallon, that’s 14.5 cents a mile, so, strictly on a per-mile basis, solar could be significantly cheaper. However, you can’t stop every 60 miles, to charge the car for four to five hours. Perhaps with an all-electric car, a charge would take less time? I don’t know, but I’d guess the opposite: charging for 100-150 miles could take 10 hours, at the rate above. If there are quick charges, that might make a huge difference, but I haven’t seen any yet.
The point here: electric charging stations in the northeast are still few and far between. And quick charges are even less common. Until you can find them at most gas stations, or equivalent, all-electric cars are very inconvenient, unless you have a prescribed area, and can quick charge your car when you need to.
So, how can we transform our economy to renewables and start sequestering every bit of CO2 emitted from vehicles, industry, whatever?
Obviously, a start would be to convert to electric vehicles, since you can’t sequester what comes out of a tail pipe. But to do that, electric charging stations with quick charges have to be installed everywhere.
It’s especially damaging that the Administration is proposing to slash regulations on auto emissions, as well as undoing whatever positive attempts at regulating and minimizing emissions from other sources, like power plants. And encouraging fossil fuel production and use.
If a Democratic administration is elected in 2020, and attempts to mitigate climate change begin again, the amount of change necessary will be huge, and difficult, but necessary, unless we want to consign humans on the planet to widespread misery and death.