Plastic bags, climate change, renewable energy,

Tubbsy

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Haha, it’s not that hard. They’re a fair bit bigger than an SWB Defender if that’s your reference.

And the rear seats fold forward.
 
nzhumpy

nzhumpy

Googlemeister who likes bikes and scandal
Tubbsy said:
Haha, it’s not that hard. They’re a fair bit bigger than an SWB Defender if that’s your reference.

And the rear seats fold forward.
Click to expand...
It wasn't, but looking at that pic 3 people +a bike each would be a bit of a squish.
 
Tubbsy

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Ah I see.

No, three people and bike is no go.

Two people, two bikes.

You saying you have more riding buddies??
 
nzhumpy

nzhumpy

Googlemeister who likes bikes and scandal
l
Tubbsy said:
You saying you have more riding buddies??
Click to expand...
Ahhhh nope, I'm a dead set lone ranger these days, all the bastards I used to ride with have buggered off interstate or decided that some other trivial matter is more important than game of bike, I don't get it but each to their own.
 
Elbo

Elbo

pesky scooter kids git off ma lawn
Speaking of cars, why has there been this sudden shift from backing euro diesel cars as the way forward, to electric cars? Are they even any more efficient/sustainable once you take into account all the production and disposal input? Its still just more consumption.

I feel like the planet would be better off if everyone just kept their current fuel guzzling cars and stopped buying new every few years.

Saw a doco the other day on an intentional community experiment in Gippsland and they asked someone about sustainability and his answer was he's not sure we should be aiming to sustain our current level of growth and consumption. All this talk of sustainability without significant behavioural change is just that; talk.
 
redbruce

redbruce

Eats Squid
Elbo said:
Speaking of cars, why has there been this sudden shift from backing euro diesel cars as the way forward, to electric cars? Are they even any more efficient/sustainable once you take into account all the production and disposal input? Its still just more consumption.

I feel like the planet would be better off if everyone just kept their current fuel guzzling cars and stopped buying new every few years.

Saw a doco the other day on an intentional community experiment in Gippsland and they asked someone about sustainability and his answer was he's not sure we should be aiming to sustain our current level of growth and consumption. All this talk of sustainability without significant behavioural change is just that; talk.
Click to expand...
1. Diesels cant meet new Euro emissions targets.

2. A good question. I've seen publications that support both sides of argument. Whole of lifecycle analysis is difficult.

3. The elephant in the room for sure.
 
Haakon

Haakon

has an accommodating arse
There two essentially separate issues with diesel - one is greenhouse gas emissions (co2 and ch4) where they are a “bit” better than petrol (higher emissions per unit of fuel but used to be better because less fuel used. Modern petrols have mostly closed that gap though).

The other is emissions of things that kill people - oxides of nitrogen (bad in diesel because higher combustion temperatures under higher compression when burning the nitrogen in air) and particulates (because long chain hydrocarbon...).

The greenhouse gas “advantage” was overplayed by politicians with the hearty support of car makers and oil companies because it was essentially business as usual. There were also some fuel security aspects (in France for example that kicked off the whole diesel shitshow...) with a ready diesel supply but shortage on petrol access.

EVs are better - for both co2 and health related emissions. Even in Victoria.

More energy goes into making them (at present, that’s changing) but they “pay themselves off” very very quickly if you have your own solar panels and even in Victoria you’ll break even at worst on co2 while still accessing the improved air quality benefits.

They’re better. Also, an EV bought today only gets cleaner as the grid slowly improves - an ICE only gets dirtier as it ages.

They’re not the solution to traffic though...
 
rowdyflat

rowdyflat

chez le médecin
As Haakon says the current problem with diesels is the emissions and microparticulates that get deep into the lungs and blood stream .
Estimated that diesels produce 50 x what a petrol engine does.!!
Pure EV cars have fewer servicing requirements ie electric motor and are simpler but depend on using clean electricity to charge the batteries .
My theory is to keep my old cars going as long as possible then get electric.
Hybrid electric cars are fairly complicated.
 
Dales Cannon

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
There are some boundaries being pushed with new petrol engines that will pretty much render diesels irrelevant in terms of fuel efficiency however in any case as above the respirable particulates are bad ju ju. Direct injection and higher compression ratios are two things working to this end. Direct injection allows fuel delivery after tdc which means that the preignition that would have occurred with the high compression ratios is no longer a big deal. Still some fine tuning and issues to sort but they are well on the way. The new Mazdas and new BMW engines are going to be game changers.

The emissions would kill off the diesels anyway. The level of emissions from older cars is higher but when you look at whole of life they make more sense if maintained well.
 
Haakon

Haakon

has an accommodating arse
Problem with new high compression direct injection petrols is that they are higher in particulates for the same reason as diesels... Euro 6c (I think) will require particulate filters on petrol as well.

ICE is about tapped out for emissions and economy gains, even Mazdas SkyactiveX compression ignition petrol is only an incremental gain. It’s had its day and was fun while it lasted.

Soooooo much easier and way more effective to hit emissions with electrification.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top