I just heard a snippet on the news that the Lib Dems are voting to adopt a plan to get ALL privately owned petrol and disel cars off the roads by 2040 as part of their 0% carbon Britain campaign.
Brave (and I think a bit stupid) policy to go public with.
I guess they know that they're almost f*cked after getting into bed with the conservatives regardless so have made the decision to go all the way and get totally fucked by ingratiating themselves with the 30+ million motorists in the UK.
Brave indeed TH but not as daft as it might seem at first blush.
2040 is 27 years away and with the progressions that are being made with battery fuel cells almost daily and more common useage of carbon fibres and other lightweight materials, it is not outside the bounds of possibility that this could be achieved.
Only this week, BMW announced a new concept in electric cars where the emphasis is on hiring rather than buying and a rapid response to battery replacement in a 'green flag' style response if you find yourself without power or a means to recharge.
And who knows? In 30 years, hydrogen (or something else) fuel cells may become de rigour and like the 'smash alien robots' advert, will have the metal Martians rolling about laughing at people using gas guzzlers for personal transport.
Maybe an an enlightened government might even reintroduce a requirement for a person with a red flag to walk in front of such 'beasts' to warn those in close proximity of the impending danger to their health by breathing in carcogenic fumes :lol2:
some of the motorbikes and scooters which are coming out have nearly 100 miles range before they need a recharge.
they are very quiet and some have engine noise soundtrack so they can be heard.
if you go to youtube i think the dominos pizza electric scooters video is still on there and its really bad.
no engine noise just a voice repeating over and over 'dominos!dominos!'
but so far the battery replacement are expensive and some bikes are around £10,000, have a 60 mph top limit.
sadly at the moment that sort of money buys a superbike or large tourer and thats what people go for.
the cost will come down and im interested to see how good they get.
I've been driving Toyota Hybrids for the last 5 years, no different to an ordinary car except no road tax and very very quiet and smooth to drive.
Full electric wont take off until the range has been extended. After all, there is no point in someone in Australia buying an electric car with a 100 mile range when their nearest neighbour is 200 miles away!!
But I think that's the point rob. As more and more people demand a better technology, new innovations will emerge and the price will come down.
Must have developed Flower's power...
My response to rob appears before he even asks the question :hunk:
The Monster Raving Liberal Party will have no say in anything political from 2015 onwards.
I would not trust them to do the right thing, and my Daughter is proof of this as she is currently paying £9000 a year to study at Uni, when the Liberals promised they would keep it at £3000 a year. When push came to shove the Liberals railroaded over their most important Manifesto promises, for an extra few years in bed with the Tory party.
They will be remembered for being the limp party and come 2015 I believe they will lose virtually all of their current MP's. So I really would not worry about what the Monster Raving Liberal Party say, as they will be finished as a party in a couple of years time.
Clegg is a slippery and slimy toad, who has the eyes of a liar and a fraud....the same eyes as Tony Bliar has.
I'm interested in why you think there isn't enough oil left?
Present consumption is a 10th of what it will be when the population of China and India start to use the oil in the same way we do. When that happens more all will be used in 10 years than we have used in the last 100, that should be a frightening thought for everyone.
But here is an interesting fact Canada has enough oil in its Shale for barrels, about the same as that currently contained in Saudi desert regions...or enough oil for Canada and America for the next 80 years.
We're a long way from running out yet. And there are so many more interesting ideas on the horizon for even more extraction.
