[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

I really enjoy when someone discusses lithium ion batteries as the way to go in the future. Science and logic will tell you that you are wrong. There hasn't been a mass produced battery advancement in a decade.

Really? There are advances in battery technology happening every single week. Whether it be advances in cathodes and anodes, capacitors, substrate, or chemistry, there are breakthroughs that are happening all the time. The problem is getting those breakthroughs to market.

Let's play a game. It's called which of these is an open pit lithium mine and which of these is an open pit coal mine.

Let's play a game. It's called you post unrelated pictures and look stupid doing so. Ready, GO!!! You win!

You're probably not too pleased right now because your eco sense is tingling, but guess what powers the loaders moving that lithium? Diesel.

The same diesel that powers 400 tonne coal haulers in Sparwood.

Oh fudge me in my cinnamon cannon, they use the same haulers to mine lithium! Rats!

I fail to see your point here. What is your point? That production and processing cause pollution? No one said it didn't. No one said there was not a negative cost associated with certain parts of the product development cycle. The gain is on the back end where you are using the product to eliminate pollutants that would ultimately be released by other products that would be pollution generating endpoints.

EVs have value, in Canada they are worthless with our infrastructure for long trips. If you don't leave your latte sipping bubble, go for it.

No doubt that infrastructure needs to improve, but again, ignorance does not work for you. The infrastructure for long trips does exist, and many people already know this.

https://energyhub.org/ev-map-canada/

The general public doesn't understand the construction of a battery, the process of making one or the energy capacity of one, nor do they understand where the energy to charge a battery comes from either.

Yes, and some don't even understand the mining process or are capable of identifying a lithium mine!

You're right. Most consumers are idiots. The average consumer is standing in line with you at Walmart. So that should probably alert you to the imminent demise of our species.

But there are plenty of smart ones out there as well. There are people who know quite a bit about this stuff and continue to do their own research and adoption of technologies that make a difference. Change starts with one person and one idea. Adoption happens when enough smart people make the best informed decision and the rest of the herd follows. Remember that the next time you're in Walmart and peering into the shopping cart of the person in front of you seeing what other members of your herd are buying.

If you want to more effectively reduce your GHG emissions, dont look at your car. Look at your house and remove your furnace. Put in electric heaters. Your house stays warm 24 hours a day, your car runs for 4 hrs.

I completely agree. Every home in the world should using electricity to heat and power their homes. There are many different ways to get there, including using natural gas as a means to generate electricity. Fuel cell technology can make great use of natural gas and do so in a very clean way that has a very small impact to our environment. The potential is there, people just need to adapt. For that to happen, builders also need to offer these options and provide choice. To make that happen manufacturers need to start stepping up production of these products, but they won't until there is demand, and demand won't come until there is broad understanding. The vicious cycle continues.