[PLUG-TALK] Today's most accurate headline

[Paul Heinlein]

On Mon, 28 Dec 2020, John Jason Jordan wrote:

> On Mon, 28 Dec 2020 12:40:18 -0800 (PST)
> Rich Shepard <rshepard at appl-ecosys.com> dijo:
>
>> From the Washington Post: "A Tesla erupted ‘like a flamethrower,’
>> renewing safety concerns about the trailblazing cars"
>
> I hear many say they are fearful of electric cars because the batteries
> can burst into flame. The same people don't seem to be bothered driving
> around sitting on 20 gallons of gasoline.

I suspect that, as they gain popularity, electric propulsion systems 
will result in cleaner urban air and less groundwater pollution from 
leaks in the underground tanks at gas stations. (There may be a small 
redunction in noise as well, but even electric cars have tires 
whining away on asphalt.)

I also suspect that, like just about every human invention, they will 
not be an unalloyed good. I'm still interested to know how unrecycled 
batteries will impact the environment when disposed (in what could be 
very large quantities over time). Also, unlike 20 gallons of gasoline, 
which rarely becomes a weapon in its own right in a collision, 
batteries have a potentially dangerous combination of mass and 
chemicals:

https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/11/oregon-man-arrested-after-tesla-going-nearly-100-mph-crashes-sends-batteries-flying.html

Finally, I'm surely not alone in thinking that as electric vehicles 
advance technologically, manufacturers will use those advances to 
limit consumers' abilities to repair or modify their own vehicles.

-- 
Paul Heinlein
heinlein at madboa.com
45°38' N, 122°6' W