AlterNet: A Hydrogen Economy Is a Bad Idea Currently, a Toyota Prius may get 5 percent of its overall energy from its batteries and could only go a mile or so as a zero emission vehicle. A second generation Prius might get 10 percent of its energy from batteries and might have a range of 2-3 miles. Why not encourage Toyota and Honda and others to increase the proportion of the energy they use from the batteries?


Amazing ! Somehow a vehicle that doesn't get a charge from the grid gets 5% of its power from the battery. One of the unique skills they taught us in engineering school is how to draw a box. Such a simple tool a box, but incredibly useful. In this case, we draw a box around the car. We then evaluate how energy enters and leaves the boundary created by the box. From what I have read about the Toyota Prius, the only way that energy crosses the boundary is in the form of Unleaded Gasoline. Hence, not one joule of energy comes from the battery. All of the energy comes from the fuel which is converted into mechanical energy by the Internal Combustion Engine.

No matter what Honda and Toyota do with their battery in this car, they will never, ever make the battery provide any net energy into the system. The whole reason for the batteries existence is to provide acceleration when an extra punch is needed to get the car moving or to get it to pass another vehicle. By using a battery, they were able to use a smaller engine. Smaller engine equates to greater efficiency.

Although the author of this article is generally correct about the probable usefulness of a hydrogen economy, he doesn't quite understand the problems with "renewables" like wind and solar.

The master of numbers has this (bottom of page POWER MAD) about creating energy policy.

Time to throw out 'myth' of recycling -- The Washington Times Time to throw out 'myth' of recycling

Hey look at this, a group of Environmentalists are finally starting to make sense. They are starting realize a simple rule of resource management:

If it costs more to recycle something than it does to make it from raw resources, don't bother recycling.

When I lived in Idaho Falls, the recyclers didn't collect glass. There was a very simple reason. It cost them $30/ton to ship to the nearest glass consumer and they could only get $20/ton from that consumer. Here in Hull, WI they don't collect white or colored paper for same reason.