The not-so-green electric car

[GRG55]

Re: The not-so-green electric car

They work well -clean, reliable, quiet. Unfortunately that overhead wire is wildly expensive.
It's been 20 years since I worked professionally in transit, but back then we figured a million dollars a mile for a trolly bus line, not including the rolling stock.

I'm sure it is quite expensive. That's undoubtedly one important reason the overwhelming majority of the world's installed base of buses and trains are powered by diesel fuel. [Of course the other big reason is that the big, bad oil companies buy up all the trolley car companies and close them down, so we are forced to use their dastardly oil ;-) ]

My hometown of Vancouver [the riot capital of Canada] had electric trolleys moving people from the residential West End into downtown as early as 1890, and because of that legacy for many, many decades it was the B.C. Electric Company [later the B.C. Hydro and Power Authority], the provincial electric power utility that ran the transit system [including all the diesel buses] in Vancouver. That didn't end until 1980.

[zoog]

Re: The not-so-green electric car

I'm sure it is quite expensive. That's undoubtedly one important reason the overwhelming majority of the world's installed base of buses and trains are powered by diesel fuel. [Of course the other big reason is that the big, bad oil companies buy up all the trolley car companies and close them down, so we are forced to use their dastardly oil ;-) ]

My hometown of Vancouver [the riot capital of Canada] had electric trolleys moving people from the residential West End into downtown as early as 1890, and because of that legacy for many, many decades it was the B.C. Electric Company [later the B.C. Hydro and Power Authority], the provincial electric power utility that ran the transit system [including all the diesel buses] in Vancouver. That didn't end until 1980.

Many of the early public transit rail systems were operated by electric companies. The rest were created by real estate developers to encourage people to buy homes in the neighborhoods they were developing.

Today, with a few exceptions, private companies want nothing to do with the immense costs and complicated logistics, so these systems are primarily built and operated with public funds. The fares, despite regularly going up, don't even begin to cover the costs... locally about 20%.

[Starving Steve]

Re: The not-so-green electric car

Long term, humans have liberated millions of years worth of life-giving carbon. It is a benefit to the planet. Humanity will probably carry on in much fewer numbers, but the planet will still be here, greener than ever.

Advantages of burning coal to generate electricity in coal-fired power plants: Cheap, abundant, easy, very labour intensive, and very inefficient so you burn tonnes and tonnes and tonnes of coal. Burning coal makes the eco-frauds and eco-hipacrits very happy. And the carbon-dioxide from coal-fired power plants makes the trees very happy. Plus radioactivity from coal is not an issue with the eco-frauds, nor with the media, and lung cancer caused by breathing-in coal filth keeps doctors and hospital staff employed. Clean coal uses water to scrub the coal smoke in the chimneys of power plants, plua evaporating water in the deserts of the south-western U.S. seems to be no issue with the eco-frauds. Another advantage of burning coal is that the dirt and filth keeps makes the skies grey and tends to moderate intense sunlight. The eco-frauds would not complain about filth and haze, because they have better things to complain about to generate photo-opportunities, etc. Still another advantage of coal is that less oil would have to be imported from OPEC.

No wonder coal stocks are trading on the NYSE for about 24 or 25 times trailing earnings. And no wonder why half of America's energy comes from coal already!!!!

Being a pragmatist in the tradition of Stalin, I like getting things done. So coal-fired power plants are going to be the future.

Best stock: Arch Coal? Cramer recommends it on Mad Money.