From The Pirate’s Cove:
$150 Million More Pissed Away On Volt
By William Teach October 9, 2012 – 3:36 pm
The Obama administration loans for “green” energy have been such a disaster that we have to wonder if anyone will want to invest for decades. Here’s another example
(Fox News) President Obama touted it in 2010 as evidence “manufacturing jobs are coming back to the United States,” but two years later, a Michigan hybrid battery plant built with $150 million in taxpayer funds is putting workers on furlough before a single battery has been produced.
Workers at the Compact Power manufacturing facilities in Holland, Mich., run by LG Chem, have been placed on rotating furloughs, working only three weeks per month based on lack of demand for lithium-ion cells.
The facility, which was opened in July 2010 with a groundbreaking attended by Obama, has yet to produce a single battery for the Chevrolet Volt, the troubled electric car from General Motors. The plant’s batteries also were intended to be used in Ford’s electric Focus.
The plant is owned by a South Korean company, and, even better, the actual batteries in the Chevy Diego, er, Volt, are made by the same company IN S. Korea.
Emphasis mine. Well, maybe it’s a good thing that the Chevy Dolt uses batteries made in the Republic of Korea:
Study Finds Green Cars Worse For Environment Than Traditional Cars
October 7, 2012 | By Lonely Conservative
The Daily Caller reported that a new study by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology found that “green” electric cars are worse for the environment than traditional automobiles that run on gasoline or diesel. I don’t even think they took into account what happens when electric cars catch on fire.
Specifically, the study found that electric car factories can emit more toxic waste than gas-burning car factories. And greenhouse gas emissions rise exponentially if coal is used to produce the electricity necessary to charge “green” vehicles, according to the study.
The researchers compared the overall life-cycle impact of petrol or diesel-powered cars and electric vehicles and concluded that the latter can significantly damage the climate.
“The global warming potential from electric vehicle production is about twice that of conventional vehicles,” the report said. “It is counterproductive to promote electric vehicles in regions where electricity is primarily produced from lignite, coal or even heavy oil combustion.” (Read More)
This must comes as news to President Obama who has invested billions of taxpayer dollars into green cars, including Chevy Volts which GM manufactures at a loss.
Via iOwnTheWorld
This is what happens when business “investment” is driven by ideology rather than business considerations, economics, and just plain common sense. If the Chevy Volt was a car that people actually wanted to buy, people would be out there buying them. Sales of the Dolt have been increasing recently, but are still so low that General Motors will be closing down the production line until the supply of Volts more closely matches sales.
That just goes along with the fact corn ethanol is more polluting, less fuel efficient, much harder on engines than gasoline while turning a food source into fuel, increasing the cost of both and increasing the cost of vehicle upkeep while requiring faster vehicle replacement.
In addition, the EPA is still fining oil refineries for not putting a nonexistent fuel source into its gasoline, causing higher prices at the pumps (which hits the poor the hardest).
The problem is not so much with the Volt as it is that we are still burning dirty coal to generate almost half of our electricity.
This negative impact to the environment, and to global warming, will be decreased by switching electricity generation to the cleaner and cheaper natural gas, as we also continue to increase the use of solar and wind energy sources.
And on global warming due to CO2 emissions, it is proceeding more rapidly than the models predict, causing sea water level rising and climate changing more rapidly as a result. Isn’t it about time that we start taking this life shattering phenomenon more seriously?
For example, read here what the NASA Earth Observatory is saying about our global warming and climate changes.
Global Warming is so Nineties. It’s yesterday’s Fashionable Worry.
That article was pure conjecture. You might as well consult a wizard in a pointy hat with stars and moons on it, or a fortune teller with a crystal ball.
Eric’s right. In the 70′s we had “a new ice age”, then in the 80′s we had “the over population/famine scare”, then the 90′s brought us AGW and of course Y2K. Get over it liberals, come up with something new to suck money out of the working man and kill capitalism. This myhological crap you all come up with is tiring. Hey, how about an astroid the size of the moon headed toward earth because capitalism caused a shift in our magnetic poles? The same ass holes who fell for the rest will fall for that. Trust me.
Submarine
sez:
Hey, how about an astroid the size of the moon headed toward earth because capitalism caused a shift in our magnetic poles?
Actually in the last 30 years or so, the North Pole has shifted dramatically. So much so, some airports had to renumber their runways.
Here’s an article on the pole shift.
http://modernsurvivalblog.com/pole-shift-2/alarming-noaa-data-rapid-pole-shift/
WW is still blathering about doing something about global warming immediately. But, it simply doesn’t matter if we act now or in 50 years.
This has been pointed out repeatedly to WW; he just continues to refuse to listen and continues posting his lazy talking points.
You’re killin’ me Yorkie! Killin’ me!
Except that’s the magnetic North Pole. The true North Pole is where it has always been.
And there’s no such thing as a submarine, a zep, a hero, a torpedo or a he-man in the world of sandwiches! They are all HOAGIES! There can be only ONE! Even the tag on my car says so “HOAGIE J”. (now that’s commitment). BTW, I tried to get June to get a tag “KIM-CHEE” but having no sense of humor she refused. Freekin’ Koreans!
That’s what you get for marrying an ornamental. Now, if her name had been May, you m…ight have had a better chance.
Hoagie says:
October 11, 2012 at 10:15
You’re killin’ me Yorkie! Killin’ me!
Not really trying to do that. Just knew that it had happened. Probably only navigation people know it. But with GPS, it’s about to make the compass almost obsolete, or until the GPS sattelites fall from the sky. Then navigators will need their compass, sextant, and chronometers again.
Eric says:
October 11, 2012 at 10:22
Except that’s the magnetic North Pole. The true North Pole is where it has always been.
True.
Earth’s magnetic poles reverse themselves about once every half-million years, and there have been stories that another switch is due — meaning: within the next couple thousand years — so watch out!
We also get wobbles in the earth’s axial tilt. Currently it is 23.4º, but is deceasing at 47 sec per century; the normal range is between 22° 13′ 44″ and 24° 20′ 50″. Changes in the axial tilt will lead to changes in seasonal variations, and are undoubtedly George Bush’s fault.
The South Magnetic Pole has shifted in the 40 years or so, but NOT to the extent of the North Pole.