| Author | Message | ||
     Electraglider_1997 |
http://www.motorcycle.com/events/electric-motorcyc le-racing-season-wrapup-91127.html | ||
| Charlie_zulu |
Kool. Those 10 seconds will probably drop to 5 in the very near future. Considering an electric as a commuter for my next ride. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I'd sure love to demo an electric bike like a Zero or Brammo. Fat chance of that happening for quite a while. Here in Nebraska we are a very unappreciated market when it comes to full on electric vehicles. | ||
| Dr_greg |
Here in Nebraska we are a very unappreciated market when it comes to full on electric vehicles. Seems strange, doesn't it. After all, that's where all this new wind-generated electricity that's supposed to power all these new electric vehicles is gonna come from... --Doc | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Those windmills are popping up all over the place. Don't like them at all. Neither do bats and birds. (Message edited by electraglider_1997 on September 23, 2011) | ||
| Eryngium |
The birds are getting whacked mostly by blunt trauma here in WI, but the bats seem to be having a problem due to pressure differentials. They're essentially suffering from something like the bends, like divers. They're finding dead ones around turbines with no evidence of external injuries (although some may be getting struck). It appears that the low (negative?) pressure behind a turbine blade causes their lungs to fill with fluid. Sounds like a miserable way for a cool animal like a bat to go. Birds get attention because they're attractive, but bats eat enormous numbers of insects. We can't afford to lose 'em. | ||
| Trevd |
Why aren't the environmentalists up in arms when thousands of birds and bats get killed each year by windmills? A few years ago, 1600 ducks landed in a tailings pond in the Alberta Oil Sands, and there were cries of outrage from "environmentalists" about shutting down the oil sands because it kills birds, etc... The provincial government even pressed charges, and there was a court case and all. Thousands of birds and bats die because of windmills each year - silence from the "environmentalists" and government. I guess it's OK to kill birds for politically correct reasons. | ||
| Eryngium |
Trev We (environmentalists - I definitely consider myself one; it just means I want a healthy place to live. Do you consider yourself a carcinogenist? Of course not.) are up in arms over wind turbine killed birds, but it doesn't stop them from being built. Believe it or not, we don't have unlimited power by claiming a particular "thing" is harmful. The number of birds killed by striking buildings at night, free-roaming cats, plate-glass windows (at the homes of well-meaning bird feeders), is well into the millions annually and they keep lights on in office buildings all over the country and people keep letting their cats run free. Yes, it is easier to get a response to an oil incident, because there is such a strong recognition of the many risks from oil. There is resistance to wind power, but is it worse than shearing off the top of a mountain in WV for coal. Is there such a thing as truly clean energy? Nothing is free. Considering the damage done in the tar sands region and the havoc wrought by the oil spill in the Gulf last year, we have to consider wind. Is it the right answer everywhere? Of course not. That's the rub - finding the right solutions in the right places. All WE (us bleeding-heart environmentalists) can do is to try and illuminate the problems and encourage people to make the deliberate choices. I won't tell you what you should do. I will encourage you to think about your choices, and recognize that some things can never be undone. And to answer an obvious question - I ride a bike in large part to reduce my oil consumption. And I ride conservatively. Emissions are an issue. Which is worse or more important? I can't answer that. I chose to reduce my fuel consumption first. When electric bikes become practical, I will absolutely consider one. paul | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Paul +1 | ||
| Blake |
Nothing inherently wrong in cutting the top off a mountain. | ||
| Charlie_zulu |
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