Clean Energy Exploitations & The Death Spiral Of An Auto Industry
Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,
Biden is so wrong, even the liberal Guardian sees it. But it’s full speed ahead with massive subsidies for something counterproductive...
Ronald Stein at the Heartland institute says Unsold Electric Cars May Be Signaling a Death Spiral for the Auto Industry
As the future is fast approaching, virtually all the automobile manufacturers, through government mandates to reduce the emissions of their fleet of vehicles, are going all-in to only manufacture EV’s in the coming years. To meet low emissions for their fleet of vehicles, we’re most likely going to see fewer and fewer hybrids as the auto industry manufacturers need to eliminate the gasoline engines in hybrids to meet those lower emission targets.
The problem is that manufacturers are loading up the “supply chain” with EV’s on dealer lots, but they’re not seeing the “demand” for EV’s coming from the public.
Demand Flop Reasons
driving range,
vehicle reliability,
price,
the availability of electricity for the buildout of the charging infrastructure,
charging time,
the cost and lifespan of batteries and their environmental impact,
the actual impact EVs will have on reducing carbon emissions,
the growing statistics about uncontrollable fires of lithium batteries in EV’s,
problems with battery recycling and end-of-life management,
concerns that the EV free ride of usage of highways and not paying fuel taxes is about to end with the Vehicle Mileage Tax (VMT), i.e., more costs for the EV owners of the future,
concerns that home chargers are destined to follow the UK and be on separate meters so that EV charging will be at higher rates to help stabilize the electrical grid, again more costs for the EV owners of the future.
None of the above is new except perhaps that last bullet point. I have written about the above concern list many times, but it is an excellent synopsis.
Additional Problems
Another problem for the automobile industry is convincing the buyers that its ethical, moral, and socially responsible to buy an EV, especially since most of the exotic mineral and metal supplies to build the batteries are being mined in developing countries with limited environmental regulation nor labor regulations.
Interestingly, the 2021 Pulitzer Prize nominated book “Clean Energy Exploitations – Helping Citizens Understand the Environmental and Humanity Abuses That Support Clean Energy does an excellent job of discussing the lack of transparency to the world of the green movement’s impact upon humanity exploitations in the developing countries that are mining for the exotic minerals and metals required to create the batteries needed to store “green electricity”. Complimentary to the book is a 2-minute clip from Michael Moore’s 2020 documentary film, Planet of the Humans, that’s been viewed by more than 14 million, that illustrates how so-called green electricity is made
It’s not often I agree with Michael Moore on anything, but his video ought to be an eye opener for those who mistakenly believe EV will do anything for the environment.
The video start at the 36:44 mark, a good spot for the exploitation that goes into producing the minerals needed for EVs and how solar energy is destroying the desert.
California Leads the Way
Most states lack the year-round temperate climate that Californians enjoy, the distribution of EV ownership throughout the nation should be a concern to the auto industry. With 40 percent of the EV’s in America being in California, that leaves the other 60 percent being among the other 49 States, or approximately 1+ percent per State.
To support the State’s EV growth, California imports more electricity than any other US state, more than twice the amount of Virginia, the second largest importer of electricity. California typically receives between one-fifth and one-third of its electricity supply from outside of the state.
The other 49 states have virtually non-existent EV charging infrastructures, and a few of them may be exporting their electricity to California!
UK Madness
As of May 30, 2022, in the UK, new home and workplace chargers being installed must be “smart” chargers” connected to the internet and able to employ pre-sets limiting their ability to function from 8 am to 11 am and 4 pm to 10 pm.
In addition to the nine hours a day of downtime, authorities will be able to impose a “randomized delay” of 30 minutes on individual chargers in certain areas to prevent grid spikes at other times.
The UK Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021 came into force on June 30, 2022. All home installed electric vehicle chargers are required to be separately metered and send information to the Smart meter data communications network. Potentially this legislation allows the electricity used for charging EVs to be charged and taxed at a higher rate than domestic electricity. The technology enacted also enables the rationing of electricity for EV charging because the government can decide when and if an EV can be charged, plus it also allows the EV battery to be drained into the grid if required.
Carnage of Child Labor and Ecological Destruction ‘Elsewhere’ acceptable to Wealthy Countries
Next, please consider Carnage of Child Labor and Ecological Destruction ‘Elsewhere’ acceptable to Wealthy Countries, also by Ronald Stein.
The Administration is laser-focused on ending the “climate crisis” by switching to “clean” electricity. It has few qualms about importing the critically needed materials from foreign countries, primarily China – regardless of economic, defense, national security, ecological or human rights implications. It just wants the dirty aspects of “clean” electricity far away and out of sight.
In California, Governor Gavin Newsom has been vocal about his commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the state. However, some of his recent actions of “leaking” emissions to other countries violate many sections of the written legal framework of The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB32).
The silence is deafening from billionaires like Bill Gates, John Kerry, Mark Zuckerberg, George Soros, Michael Bloomberg, and President Biden.Through the encouragement of tax incentives and subsidies to go to EV’s and electricity from wind and solar, they are providing financial incentives to China, who already controls the supply chain for the minerals and metals to go green, furthering our total dependence on China to achieve the green goals of America.
“The wealthy country elites continue to demonstrate their lack of ethical, moral, and social responsibilities, by using subsidies that encourage the continued exploitations of people with yellow, brown, and black skin and the environmental degradation occurring elsewhere, out of view of those living in wealthy countries,” says Stein.
The destruction, however, is not just elsewhere.
How an Oasis Becomes a Dead Sea
The Guardian comments Solar Farms Took Over the California Desert: ‘An Oasis Has Become a Dead Sea’
Kevin Emmerich worked for the National Park Service for over 20 years before setting up Basin & Range Watch in 2008, a non-profit that campaigns to conserve desert life. He says solar plants create myriad environmental problems, including habitat destruction and “lethal death traps” for birds, which dive at the panels, mistaking them for water.
He says one project bulldozed 600 acres of designated critical habitat for the endangered desert tortoise, while populations of Mojave fringe-toed lizards and bighorn sheep have also been afflicted. “We’re trying to solve one environmental problem by creating so many others.”
Madness in Michigan
Last week a reader called me regarding use of solar panels in Michigan. Since he began fighting such projects a few years ago, he has been targeted by IRS audits.
The harassment continues despite him winning the battles.
Michigan is probably one of the worst places to place solar. I suggested to my reader to look up Michigan cloudiness. Check this out.
A 2013 study concluded that over a 31-year period, Michigan winters are filled with clouds more than 50% of the time. That means the months of December, January and February are quite cloudy. Places like Wisconsin, however, are less than 30% cloudy on average in the winter.
A 2023 update shows it’s even worse. PBS reports Michigan winters are super cloudy and getting worse.
For nearly two weeks, clouds blanketed large swaths of Michigan, occasionally accompanied by rainfall that transformed our winter wonderland into a muddy mess.
The bad news is gloomy, muddy winters could become increasingly normal in Michigan as climate change chips away at Great Lakes ice cover, strengthening the forces that drive lake effect clouds, rain and snow.
And how much of the time would those solar panels be covered in snow?
Even with subsidies, there is no way solar projects in Michigan can possibly work.
Solar Energy Is Not Cheaper
I am sick of all these lies about solar being cheaper. On a new facility, in sunny place, it might appear so on the surface. But that ignores the fact that existing plants are up an running and will need to be mothballed, if and when there is storage capacity to deal with the inconvenient issue that sun does not shine at night.
Destruction of productive facilities for something only marginally better makes little sense. And it makes no sense at all when one factors in required grid updates, child labor exploitation, and also the destruction of US deserts, the latter discussed in detail below.
What to Expect When Politicians Try to Pick Technology Winners
On May 25, with a spotlight on the EU, I commented on What to Expect When Politicians Try to Pick Technology Winners Part 1
Biden’s Solar Push Is Destroying the Desert and Releasing Stored Carbon
The Left ignored environment destruction, even in the US.
On May 28, 2023, I noted Biden’s Solar Push Is Destroying the Desert and Releasing Stored Carbon
Biden is so clearly wrong, even the extremely liberal Guardian sees it. But it’s full speed ahead with massive subsidies for something counterproductive for the goal.
Electric Vehicles for Everyone?
On July 19, I asked Electric Vehicles for Everyone? If the Dream Was Met, Would it Help the Environment?
My follow-up post was What Do MishTalk Readers Think About “Electric Vehicles for Everyone?”
Math Does Not Add Up
The EV math does not add up in the EU or here. But the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), better known as the Eurozone, has economic debt brakes and budget rules that make matters more painful for the 20 EMU countries.
In the US, deficits pile up as do the economic impacts of a massive wave of Bidenomic regulations and mandates.
We pretend that deficits don’t matter and mainstream media not only looks the other way, but is in on the act with countless fearmongering stories.
Inflationary Madness Marches On
On August 17, I commented Yet Another Biden Regulation Will Increase Costs and Promote More Inflation
It involves a new Biden regulation that will increase the price of all government projects. Click on the link for details.
Rooftop Solar Panel Madness
The one place where solar might makes sense is roof top solar panels. But even there, we have environmental madness, taxing the hell out of panels, making them too expensive to use.
For discussion, please see The Cost of Soup is About to Increase, Thank President Biden
The above article discusses soup and solar panels. Soup is the sideline.
US policy is so convoluted that we aim to put solar where it makes no sense at all, and kill the idea where it does.
Meanwhile, If you actually believe you are doing something positive for the environment by buying a Tesla, you are an environmental fool.
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