EVs: who needs 'em?

Nobody, really. But then, you have to understand what the undisclosed function of the useless toys is: bolstering the smarmy self-righteousness of urban “liberals,” granting them permission to endlessly congratulate themselves for how deeply, deeply concerned they are about “saving the environment."

You May Not Need an Electric Vehicle After All
We are repeatedly told that the future is electric. The internal combustion engine is on its way out and will be replaced by battery-powered vehicles, or so some of our elected officials want us to believe. They are hoping to see a seismic shift in production priorities all in the name of climate change and saving the planet. A few states are outright banning the sale of gas-powered cars not too far down the road. But is all this really necessary?

Toyota just released a study showing that we don’t need EVs to dramatically lower carbon emissions. According to the study, all that is really needed is a fuel economy (eco) mode component in cars.

By covering 400,000 miles in eco mode, Toyota was able to demonstrate a savings of 5,091 gallons of gasoline and $18,304 in fuel costs when matched against the national average. Tailpipe emissions of carbon dioxide reduced by 26%. Studies have shown that if continuously in eco mode a vehicle can save at least 2-3 mpg, which amounts to five or ten percent.

This could be a game changer.

Of course, there are drawbacks or modest inconveniences of employing the eco mode function. In order to use less fuel, eco mode requires the car adjust its throttle response, shift earlier than usual, and keep the engine running at lower RPMs. The car is less responsive with this reduction in power output.

But this is much less invasive than forcing the auto industry to manufacture electric vehicles by demonizing the fossil fuel industry and compelling the EV market to be heavily dependent on subsidies and tax credits. Such a combination is hardly a recipe for success. We are not ready to go fully electric, and may never be, what with the severe limitations EVs carry with them: the amount of time required to charge, their short range, the lack of infrastructure, repair costs, and low top speeds. Not to mention the steep price tag. Plus, EVs are not as green as they portend to be.

Nope, nowhere near, in fact. And that isn’t the only 800-pound gorilla in the room that nobody wants to talk much about, either.

Potential For Catastrophic US Electric Grid Failures This Summer A Reality
A report finding that the nation’s electrical supply faces potentially catastrophic failures this summer has the attention of federal lawmakers.

Members of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee heard testimony last week from experts on what Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, called a potentially disastrous problem facing the nation.

“When the electric grid fails, it puts our other essential services at risk or makes them unavailable. The consequences are catastrophic,” he said. “There's no disputing the fact that electricity needs to be produced at the instant people call for it.”

The report by the North American Reliability Corp. found that the generation resources on the grid can keep up with normal demand this summer. The problems start if there’s a period of increased heat, which is common in summer.

Since wind and solar energy are intermittent and can go offline for days at a time, renewable resources need backup from hydroelectric, nuclear, coal and natural gas.

Coal-fired power plants, the report states, are being retired before enough new generation sources are being put on the grid.

Travis Deti, executive director the Wyoming Mining Association, told Cowboy State Daily that the Biden administration has a “myopic” view that we can power the U.S. largely on unreliable sources of energy.

“We can scream it from the mountaintops that you need reliable baseload power in this country and that comes from fossil fuels, but the administration is serving their environmental masters,” Deti said.

That would be the selfsame sooperdoopergenius “environmental masters” who are pushing so relentlessly for those government-mandated EVs which will shortly be overwhelming the decrepit, struggling power grid when millions of them are plugged in to charge overnight.

In addition to decreasing reliable generation, more demands are being placed on the grid with increased electric vehicle use and electrification of stoves and heating.

Ummm, sorry to bring it up and all, but…ban gas stoves, anyone?

“A substantial increase in electricity demand is all but certain when we look at the numbers. This increased demand on the electricity sector will make reliability and affordability even more vital,” said Dr. Melissa Lott, senior scholar and director of research at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.

Even more vital, yes—also completely impossible, a fool's hope, a fantasy.

As both Eric Peters and I have insisted many times, across many posts: at bottom, this isn’t about EVs, or gas stoves, or so-called “fossil fuels,” or even “stopping” Climate Change (formerly Global Warming, formerly Global Cooling, formerly The Weather)™ at all. Ultimately, it’s about what it’s always and forever about with all totalitarian dictators: power. Absolute power, unchecked power, over you; over their subordinate partners in corporate America; over the economy generally; over absolutely everything and everybody. Their megalomania is without boundary or limit. You will do what your Masters tell you to do, without question, hesitation, or resistance. Period, full stop, end of story.