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You think your average American gets this? The average American let alone MAGA barely has enough attention span to find the teevee remote they're sitting on let alone understand basic macroeconomics.
The *OFFICIAL* Russia Is About To Invade Ukraine Thread
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We got scared by Chernobyl and 3 Mile Island - even tho Chernobyl was 40+ year old Soviet tech now (a quick google doesn't show when that reactor was completed, but #1 was completed in 1977 and the accident was in 1986, this was reactor #4) and 3 Mile Island was a resounding success, in that it was completely contained.
But, yes, the future is (or should be) nuclear and solar. There's a company here in Oregon, NuScale, developing micro-reactors, enough to power just a few square miles, that they would place around a city. If there's a problem with a reactor, it would automatically drop into a lead vault and sealed.
An Oregon company is going public to raise money for nuclear power ambitions
Portland-based company NuScale Power, which specializes in small nuclear reactors, is set to go public.
www.opb.org
Yeah Nuclear power has come a long way and can be done MUCH more safely than in the past and wasn't especially unsafe then. A big problem is that many regulations have been put in place that aren't really necessary with newer reactors but it's a hard sale to reduce regulation on new nuclear plants to the people who are going to be living near them.
LogGrad98
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I am all for nuclear. I am also saving a ton on gas by paying moderately higher electric bills to charge my car for my commute. I get nearly all the way to work one way in my PHEV and then at my work they have free chargers, so half of my commute is free to me.
I also fully admit I do not care one whit about my "carbon footprint". I just want to pay less to do my daily stuff. And my Clarity let's me do that in comfort and relative style.
I've argued with my wife saying that I think the electric car market is hurting themselves by constantly trying to sell cars based on range. If I had an electric car it would primarily be for a daily commute where I'd be unlikely to drive more than 50 miles, so a range of 90 miles would be way more than enough. It would significantly reduce the weight of the vehicle to have less battery, less battery would use less battery (AHs) per mile, the cost reduction by having less battery would be significant.
It sounds like both of you would be good candidates for such a car. It wouldn't have to be underpowered or ultra compact, it'd just have limited range (90 miles give or take). Would that be something you'd want or is it important to also be able to take the E-car on road trips? My idea is that a family would typically have another vehicle that either allowed them to carry more people, carry more cargo, haul stuff or go longer distances that was gas powered.
Al-O-Meter
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That is called the Nissan Leaf and it was the electric car with the highest number of sales for many years.
LogGrad98
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I looked at a lot of different options for a commuter in the electric space. I have been a prius owner for 15 years now (we have had 3) and I first was looking at Prius prime, but it didn't have the range for my commute one way even, let alone round trip. Then I looked at fully electric, like Tesla and others, but I didn't want it to be "land-locked" either so to speak. As in, I can't really take the tesla to visit my parents and family in Utah as I would have to stop somewhere for an hour to charge the dumb thing and I usually like to just drive straight through, so I knew I needed a PHEV. I finally settled on either the BMW i3 (used as they don't make it anymore) or the Hyundai Ionic, or the Honda Clarity. I drove all 3, found the Clarity to be the best ride and best interior space with the best range (up to 45 miles all electric) with reasonable range with the gas engine, and I found one for a great price, fully loaded with all available bells and whistles including on-board GPS, lane-keep assist, adapting cruise, all that crap, and I still get the $7500 tax credit this year, so I went that route.
It is exactly what I wanted. Fun to drive, zippy for its size (it is basically between an Acura TLX and an Accord, both in size and syling, and interior. Bigger than an accord by a little, and nicer interior, but not quite as big or nice as the TLX) and very comfy inside, with great seats and an almost ethereal ride that conveys what is happening on the road at the same time that it feels like gliding across a smooth floor in your socks. Seamless acceleration at a higher clip than expected thanks to the electric motor drive, and it has some real oomph if you switch to sport mode or just mash the electricity-pedal (not really the gas pedal anymore). And I get pretty much all the way to work on a charge and all the way home after charging it at work.
It can still go on long trips, as the gas engine is essentially a range extender, but man, on full-hybrid mode it is very anemic. The gas engine screams as it tries to recharge the battery and run the motors at the same time. You have to finagle with the weird hybrid- or hybrid-charge-modes to make sure you have the oomph to get up long hills and such, otherwise you are crawling along at 55 while the gas engine screams at you. Still a comfortable ride but a bit harrowing for longer trips. I'll still take it to visit the fam but I have to manage the electricity charge and output unless I want to hear the hybrid system getting mad the whole way. And I have to fill it up one or 2 more times than I would in my wife's van, let's say, or my Prius.
On full electric commute mode, as stated, I get about 200+ mpg, including burning extra gas on some slightly longer trips on weekends. I have had stretches in the year I owned it that I went almost 2 months without adding a drop of gas. But as a pure hybrid it gets about 40 mpg, maybe a little better, and is a rougher experience than it should be. But I bought it as a commuter and with the $7500 rebate it cost me less than a comparably-equipped Corolla or Civic, and as a commuter it is exactly what I wanted. I love driving it, I feel at home in the cockpit since it fits my larger size well, just a nice comfy ride home at the end of a ****** day at work. Nice stereo, nice interfaces with the driver.
Of course there are plenty of quibbles including weird exclusions from the safety package (like blind-spot monitoring...not even offered as an option), and the front USB ports are ready to take a cable plugged right into them, but they are anemic at best at 1.2 amps. Seriously powerful electric car with USB ports that will barely maintain a charge on a phone if someone is using it while plugged in. That's stupid. Also it has the seemingly popular "flying-buttress" layout between the passenger and driver seat that impinges on the leg space a bit and is basically useless for anything but storing crap. Can't even fit a box of tissues under there. But really I have been happy with it. Glad I got one before they were discontinued.
It has a range of 150-226 miles. To me 90 miles is a compromise. I think a 70 mile range vehicle makes even more sense.
In many parts of the world, including 49 of the 50 US states, the power could come from solar arrays.
If my car had been substantially cheaper, I could have rented something for the occasional trip to Iowa/Wisconsin.
Al-O-Meter
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The new ones do but the original generation had a range of 73 miles.