How run a Prius with wind power

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eric Nothman @ Nov 13 2006, 04:01 AM) [snapback]348091[/snapback]</div>

 

LOVE IT! I've been thinking that if there was the political will this country could shift its entire auto fleet to wind power rather quickly by going to plug in hybrids powered by wind generated electricity. Of course this would require that all drivers see Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" first to acquire motivation. This boils down to a moral issue- we have an obligation to succeeding generations to not destroy the planet by letting global warming continue unchecked. I don't think I'm being totally radical by believing there is nothing more important facing humanity than the prospect of a 20 ft. rise in sea levels caused by the accelerated melting of the West Antarctic ice shelf. This thing has got to be turned around soon and political infighting/ business as usual ain't going to get it done.

 

I think it is a bit more complex than just giving Toyota $320 extra dollars.

First, by changing the price the demand for the car will change, possibly resulting in an increase in gasoline consumption because of fewer cars purchased. The "wind certificate" is not free, it costs $320 in this case.

Second, unless Toyota puts the $320 towards a wind generator, the extra money is not resulting in any energy savings. And even if the $320 is put towards a wind generator, the amount of energy generated by that $320 is not enough to offset the amount of energy used by the Prius to go 100,000 miles.

Darelldd is already achieving this result anyway with his solar panels and his Toyota Rav4EV, he is the one to emulate. Of course, he has invested a large amount of money and energy into that goal. Now if we could only get him elected President?

 

You're basically trying to legislate a tax on Prius purchase. This is counterproductive to saving real gallons of gas.

The prius has a certain value / price that attracts enough people that we still have a waiting list to get one in many places. Having every available prius on the road saving fuel is a good thing and if we ever get to a place where we have inventory on the shelf and hummers and tahoes on the road, we have a problem.

1. Toyota should double production.
2. The rest of the world's countries should make sure there are enough incentives for people to switch. $4000 extra trade in dollars for trading in a supersize class SUV or Pickup for a Prius. Across the board hybrid tax credit for buying new hybrids. If we begin to get inventory of used hybrids, put a tax credit incentive on those.

Tax credits are essentially equal to the federal government chipping in on the cost of your car. I guess if I'm a well paid desk jockey that could just as well be driving a Prius, this works in my favor at the expense of everyone else in the country so I support the idea.

Shouldn't I just be environmentally friendly on my own and buy the prius on my own behalf? I think so... But, I'm not turning down my tax credit 3 months from now when I file.

Don't attach this wind energy thing to a car. If this is what we need, make huge incentives for land owners / leasers who want to build big wind farms but find them still financially hard to do. It should be a no-brainer financially to put up 100 windmills.

 

Somebody once posted a (Photoshopped) picture of a wind-powered Prius. The car had a windmill on the roof, about ten feet tall. The foreward motion of the car causes the windmill to turn, generating the electricity to power the car.

Seriously, though, as fossil fuels are depleted, we'll have to move to renewable energy. The only real question is will we do it sooner, when it's more cost-effective, but the cost must be born by us, or will we leave it to the next generation, when it will be more expensive but the next generation has to pay? Judging by present fiscal policies, I'd say we're going to do the latter.

There's also the question of how much coal soot and coal-derived CO2 we'll dump into the air, and how much radioactive waste we'll create for future generations to deal with, before we make the switch. Again, I fear the answer is A lot more than we should. Future generations will curse us. If there was a god of judgement, he would probably curse us as well.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sub3marathonman @ Nov 13 2006, 06:27 AM) [snapback]348139[/snapback]</div>

Oh good lord. Don't even go there. I'd rather clean tolets in rental slums!

My goal is to show what is possible. Not gee-wiz tech of the future - but what is possible with 10-year-old proven technology. Cars can definitely run on wind and solar power.

And... well, I thought I had a point here, but I've lost it. I'm DEFINITELY presidential material!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Nov 13 2006, 03:37 PM) [snapback]348304[/snapback]</div>

Oh, NO, I didn't think flattery would go to his head so quickly. I think I've created a monster.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sub3marathonman @ Nov 14 2006, 11:41 AM) [snapback]348911[/snapback]</div>

What was the question again?

 

OK D'Ronnie