While I have made no more progress on The Relentless, I have finished the final draft of the non-fiction book I am writing. It then goes to final edit. I stopped working on The Relentless right after my Dad died. I am sure there were and are some psychological issues around this, as my father was also a writer. Besides having to finish my non-fiction book (which was supposed to be finished in May), life got quite difficult this year. There was the gruesome death of my cat, the heart-breaking death of a very close friend, and the break-in, all within a few months. I could only concentrate on one thing- finishing the non-fiction book. It came in a bit longer than I thought it would at 175,000 words. The non-fiction book is the second book in the series, with the first one coming in at 450,000 words. There is a good possibility that the complete five part series will come in at over a million words.
This blog is primarily about the process of writing a novel, but it is also about technology, a key element of the novel. Recent events have forced me to think about a very specific and important technology.
I have noticed a lot of effort online to disparage electric cars. There are some valid arguments. We do not have a recharging grid setup fully yet. We need improved battery technology that charges faster and offers greater range. This is just a matter of time and will. What we have now works, with a little awkwardness from time to time, and the more electric cars on the road the faster the technology and infrastructure will develop.
Many of the arguments against electric cars, however, were developed with focus groups and paid for by the oil and gas industry, which has everything to lose with the development of electric cars. There are millions of Americans who believe the false information they are spreading.
One of the valid arguments is that they are too expensive. One of the main reasons the government needs to step in and help people purchase EVs is that besides dramatically reducing the amount of pollutants pumped into the air, they cost less over time than a gas powered car. All the costs are up front, whereas the cost of gas and maintenance of an internal combustion based vehicle eats away those savings and more. Tax credit incentives can really help. Over the life of the car, right now, electric vehicles are less expensive and they are going to get even less expensive as the technology improves.
Probably the major lie spread by oil and gas is that when you factor in the cost of generating electricity and manufacturing, EVs are just as dirty as internal combustion engines. A just released study from Ford and the University of Michigan disproved that entirely. Here are three of their main findings:
- Sedan, SUV, and pickup truck battery-electric vehicles have approximately 64% lower cradle-to-grave life cycle greenhouse gas emissions than internal-combustion-engine vehicles on average across the United States.
- Replacing an internal-combustion-engine pickup with a battery-electric pickup results in a reduction of 74 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent over the lifetime of the vehicle on average.
- While battery-electric vehicles currently have larger greenhouse gas emissions in their manufacturing than internal-combustion-engine vehicles, due to battery production, this impact is offset by savings in their operation.
That is based on right now. As we move to greater use of renewable energy to generate electricity, those savings increase dramatically. Those who now have rooftop solar to charge their car see an even greater savings and reduction of greenhouse gasses.
Another argument is that batteries require the problematic mining of lithium and cobalt. The problems here are mostly exaggerated, and the secondary problems created by oil drilling are far worse. Plus, the same arguments could be used against every device with a lithium battery, like cell phones and laptops. Fortunately, these arguments are not persuasive when you look more closely at the issues. Plus, better battery technology using materials other than lithium and the expensive cobalt are in development. Just search on Phys.org to see how close we are getting.
But what about EV batteries catching on fire? That is sure scary. And true. Sometimes they do. The rate is quite low, though. A Chinese study found that one out of every 30,000 EV vehicles on the road caught on fire. Yikes! However, if you compare that to a FEMA report on gasoline powered cars in the US, they caught on fire at a rate 30 times greater than in the China EV study, and when standard internal combustion cars catch on fire, the passengers had a significantly greater chance of dying. Better batteries will solve this problem, while the problem with gasoline powered cars is not going to get better.
Ok, but wait. Don’t the batteries wear out quickly, and aren’t they the most expensive part of the car? Won’t our landfills be filled with the batteries that constantly need replacing? Studies of the batteries used in the Tesla show that they lose about 10 percent of their storage ability over 160,000 miles. To keep a gas powered car on the road that long would have required significant investments in maintenance that electric vehicles just do not require. The newest well maintained gas powered vehicles can see 200,000 miles. EVs, with much less in the way of maintenance costs, can expect to see 300,000 miles. Many of the batteries, such as the one in the car we just bought, are fully recyclable.
There are many other arguments against EVs, all equally disprovable. The oil industry really wants to keep making billions selling their planet destroying fuel, and they know their days are numbered. EVs are the cleaner future. For now, the oil industry is happy to spend hundreds of millions to convince you otherwise. They just happen to have a lot of extra cash right now to spend, what with gas in Los Angeles being over $6.00 a gallon.
When our car was stolen last month, we were already thinking about getting a new car, and we had done the research. A gasoline powered car is a terrible investment. Unfortunately, at the time our car was stolen, there was (and still is) a national car shortage. Some popular luxury cars have doubled in price. EVs are in very short supply. None of the lots we went to had any.
We settled on a Hybrid instead, a Toyota Prius. We paid more for a 2020 model than had we purchased it new in 2020. It is a terrible time to buy a car.
It is not a luxury car, but it blows the Infiniti we had out of the water. It is hands down one of the most comfortable cars I have ever been in. It has lots of room in the back to haul around Belle’s magic equipment. As a tech guy, though, what I love most about it is all the sweet sweet technology built-in.
While a hybrid still needs gas, it is dramatically more efficient than a traditional gas engine. We are consistently getting around 55 miles to the gallon. A hybrid is a form of electric car in that it uses electric motors rather than a complex drive train. Part of the time those wheels are powered by the battery, and part of the time they are powered by the gas fueled generator.
There are many implementations of hybrid technology. I think Toyota, having been very early to the market with over 20 years of experience developing hybrids, has one of the best. The car can run some of the time just from battery, while some hybrids (known as hybrid assist) use the motor all of the time with just battery assist for more power. We live in Los Angeles, where sitting in traffic is common. Unlike a gas powered vehicle or a hybrid assist, the engine is not running when you sit in traffic, using only battery power and only when you are moving. This gets us exceptional gas mileage. It is actually more efficient in city driving than on the open road.
Frankly, after driving this car for a few weeks, I would never ever want to go back to a regular internal combustion engine. I might as well drive a horse and buggy. Everything in this car, as in hybrids and electric cars in general, is designed for efficiency. The aerodynamics on the car are amazing. It has been designed to be lightweight, with a very lightweight motor. The regenerative braking makes the brake pads last longer and charges the battery every time you press the brake pedal. They have special tires that reduce friction on the road. These types of cars tend to be filled with the latest and most efficient engineering and technology.
One big complaint I have read is performance. For example, our Prius takes a little under 10 seconds to get from 0 to 60. A $100,000 2022 Maserati Quattroporte takes 4.2 seconds to go from 0 to 60. So, the difference is a bit over 5 seconds. Other than a race car driver, who needs to accelerate that fast? Besides having no real practical utility for regular driving, very fast acceleration is simply not compatible with fuel efficiency. Smooth steady acceleration is far more fuel efficient and safer. Car and Driver loves to talk about issues like this, but it is antithetical to getting better fuel efficiency, which is what a hybrid is all about. I have all the acceleration I need.
I do love all the safety features. We have adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning and automated emergency braking, blind spot warning, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, and self-parking. There is a backup camera and cross traffic alerts when backing up.
Most important to me is that I am now putting out more than 2/3 less tailpipe emissions. I am also spending a whole lot less on gas. If you need a car I would look very closely to see if an electric and its range works with your lifestyle and your available infrastructure. Otherwise, go with the most fuel efficient hybrid you can find. The faster the internal combustion engine becomes a relic of the past, the better for us and the better for the entire planet.