Alot of jackasses are currently running around saying we can use alternative energy to find our way out of the current problems due to the crashing dollar / oil price upward spiral. I do not doubt that less than 30 years from now we will be largely using other sources of oil. However as of today we are still using alot of oil. If allowed to transition on its own schedule things should be relatively painless. If forced by stupid bans on coastal drilling it can be very very painful.
Lest you have any doubts regarding the transition you should read the following article regarding Tesla electric car development. Let’s just say the PR on this has been bright and rosy. A bit of a contrast with the story told here:
Mr Toads wild ride AKA The Tesla spin out Note the following:
- Mr Elon Musk botched the body work – modifying the body to make the car easier for a pregnant woman to get out of is just plain dumb. If you are rich enough to want the trinket you are rich enough to get your but out of the car.
- Insisting on a transmission in the car is dumb. These people want a workable electric car as a badge of honor. Transmissions are very lossy. It will curtail the range. Nice as it might be to go 130 in this car it will be even nicer to be able to use the car. A transmission directly hits usability.
- Mr Musk is obviously strong on software and has not done alot of hardware development. The key lesson of experience is get out the first product as fast as possible. You bleed money out your eyes, nose and ears when doing hardware in a way no software guy can understand until he sees it first hand.
- Mr Musk is appears to be dabbling. To try to do SpaceX at the same time doing Tesla motors is crazy. Pick one or the other. To try to do both is dabbling of the highest order.
- And rather than use the fiberglass body panels from the Elise that Eberhard had suggested, Musk insisted on carbon fiber, a lighter, stronger, and "cooler" material, in his opinion. He then went on to redesign the headlights and the door latches. More hardware craziness! Incredible amounts of time to get it right.
- Several missed launch dates support my suppositions.
- GM has a large team working on the Chevy Volt….is it possible that Elon has a big ego ?? Duh!
In short developing hardware demands a degree of humility mixed with uncomprimised testosterone induced ego. Yes I know it sounds strange but its true but believe me I know. I am a design engineer and the smallest of jobs requires the attention of a circus juggler with 5 chainsaws in the air at full buzz!
One final point about the alternative energy angle. Notice that the elite rich are going to get the 100 Tesla cars produced. If it were not for the good old fashioned gasoline cars we normal folk would be stuck on shanks mares. If we do not watch out we’ll find ourselves stuck unable to afford energy to drive our machines whilst the rich liberals drink tea with their pinky’s out in their 100,000 dollar plus cars.
Its becoming obvious we need to buy more time with offshore drilling as the people working on hybrid cars are working themselves to death. LITERALLY.
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