[Marc]

Looks like the UK Government is going to delay the ban on sales of new diesel and petrol cars.

The PM is said to announce that the ban will be pushed back from 2030 to 2035.

The BBC is reporting that the government is "committed" to reaching net zero by 2050 - but in a "more proportionate way".

What do you think? Good idea or bad to delay the ban by 5 years?

[Rolebama]

I remember when Norway sued the UK for destroying their pine forests with 'acid rain', I also remember finding my car covered in Sahara dust. To say nothing about the rise in radiation after Chernobyl. So, as far as I am concerned, until such time as the whole world does something about cleaning the air, any;thing we do on this tiny island is pure politics and achieves nothing. Unlless of course someone manages to invent a weather machine that stops wind.

[Drivingforfun]

Rolebama - I have to agree. I often wonder why the protestors don't go to a country that could actually make a difference, like China or India, and sit in the motorway there?

[Boffin486]

I completely agree with the above sentiments, but allow me to expand a bit......
The UK is a tiny flyspeck on the face of the planet & as such, even if every single vehicle (Haulage/Transport, Commercial, Military, Private & EVERYTHING else that requires a fueled motor) was to be magically replaced with electric versions - this would/will have absolutely Zero impact now or ever on the worlds ecology (which is currently being assailed by massively damaging World events such as War/Famine/Weather abberations/Fire/Floods etc etc) as well as the continuing Carbon Emissions from the main countries of the planet.
No politician (whichever party) will EVER acknowledge this simple fact as then they can't jump on the bandwagon for votes jokingly named 'Zero Carbon Emissions'
Another never addressed or mentioned subject is the actual sheer impossibility of EVER being able to support the complete adoption of electric vehicles due to the non existent (or ever will be) infrastructure required for this to be viable. I reckon at least 3 new nuclear power stations as well as the entire replacement of the existing National Grid would/will be required. EVERY SINGLE parking place in the entire country will have to have a recharge point. Consider this - every motorist comes home from work at 6pm & plugs their vehicle in....... How much power will that consume?
Clearly these upgrades to the already creaking power grid will NEVER happen.
Now, we can move on to the eventual disposal of these electric vehicles. What damage to the words ecology will be caused by the batteries noxious & dangerous chemical compounds that can NOT simply be thrown into a hole & covered over. This will require expensive new technology to be developed in order to deal with this by converting or otherwise destroying these poisonous compounds.
Compare this with 'end of life' conventional fueled vehicles which can be dismantled for spares & eventually recycled completely into other new products.
These are just a few of my thoughts. Don't get me properly started............

[Santa]

@Boffin486

While I agree that the global impact of the UK taking diesel-powered vehicles off the road, the local impact will be significant. I think that you are misinformed.


You say; “I reckon at least 3 new nuclear power stations as well as the entire replacement of the existing National Grid would/will be required.” – Can you tell me where that statistic came from? Most informed comments that I have read point out that EVs are mostly charged at night when the grid is least used. Smart EV chargers are set to use cheaper off-peak power. I should also point out that there are currently five in operation with four more under construction (two at Hinkley Point, Somerset, and another two at Sizewell, Suffolk)

When it comes to disposal, there are already companies that
specialise in recycling electric car batteries. This will undoubtedly be a profitable field for investment.

[NMNeil]

Originally Posted by Boffin486

Now, we can move on to the eventual disposal of these electric vehicles. What damage to the words ecology will be caused by the batteries noxious & dangerous chemical compounds that can NOT simply be thrown into a hole & covered over. This will require expensive new technology to be developed in order to deal with this by converting or otherwise destroying these poisonous compounds.
Compare this with 'end of life' conventional fueled vehicles which can be dismantled for spares & eventually recycled completely into other new products.
These are just a few of my thoughts. Don't get me properly started............

Maybe they just use the same recycling facilities they use to recycle the billions of lithium batteries from cell phones, power tools, laptops etc.
And as for recycling ICE cars the lead acid battery is far worse for the environment than lithium. Anyway, we're moving away from lithium to sodium, so it's a moot point
But EV's are the future for one often overlooked but simple reason.
https://www.worldometers.info/oil/

[Boffin486]

[QUOTE=Santa;138376]@Boffin486

Most informed comments that I have read point out that EVs are mostly charged at night when the grid is least used. Smart EV chargers are set to use cheaper off-peak power.

Hello Santa - you have missed my original (hypothetical) point of every single vehicle in the country (many millions) 'magically' becoming an EV of some sort that all plug in at the same time (or even staggered times) & expect the power supply of the country to be able to stand it with the entire, already underated, wiring network struggling to cope? Extra power stations (extra amperage availability) don't help here as the grid can't stand it and, whether it is off peak power or not (which only affects financial considerations), the drain on the grid will be the same. Check the newspaper stories on EV owners being told they cannot have a charge point installed as their entire streets existing wiring can only support having 2 or 3 at most.
This will not be tomorrow but it will be all too soon with the current ramming down our throats undertaken by the government that we need to buy (extortionately expensive) electric vehicles.
I personally believe that Hybrid vehicles are, and should have been from the start, the road that we should be going down. It is all very well to be told your EV has a 'fantastic' 250mile range which sounds great until you consider that if you actually go 250miles away, you will probably have to wait between 4 to 8 hours to recharge it so you can come back again. Hardly conducive to 'day tripping' or business use.
A hybrid vehicle, which will go significantly further, will at least (depending on it's design) keep the battery charged so you can simply turn around at the end of your journey & come home again.
Also bear in mind, these are my personal comments from the practical way I think (I'm an old school engineer) & will not neccessarily co-incide with anyone elses.

[Santa]

@Marc Following up on the recycling and disposal question, I came across this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2xrarUWVRQ

[Rolebama]

Recycling. Isn't that where the components with dodgy chemicals are sent to third world African nations so kids can remove them by hand? With a life expectancy of a few years. I seem to remember this happening with CRTs, Ni-Cads and fridge/freezers. These same kids are the ones mining Selenium and the like.

[Beelzebub]

Originally Posted by Rolebama

Recycling. Isn't that where the components with dodgy chemicals are sent to third world African nations so kids can remove them by hand? With a life expectancy of a few years. I seem to remember this happening with CRTs, Ni-Cads and fridge/freezers. These same kids are the ones mining Selenium and the like.

Judging by Santa's very informative video link above, you may be out of date.

I'd guess that manual recycling is now too expensive (even at 1 rupee a week or whatever), and probably simply too time-consuming to cope with the volumes involved.

[Santa]

@Rolebama

Watch the video I put in my post

[NMNeil]

@Santa So it's a big step forward in reducing the environmental impact of the ICE car.

Each year in the US alone we have to deal with 16.2 million used oil filters. Out of the 1.35 billion gallons of used motor oil drained from cars each year an estimated 200 million gallons of used engine oil is poured onto the ground or poured down a drain.
But with the rise of the EV that pollution will gradually cease, and no more of this sort of thing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oil_spills