The grid can handle the load. There have been studies done on this and the increased load from going EVs will only be a slight increase over the increased electrical generation we have to do anyway. It’s a gradual transition, not a thrown switch. The increased load can be easily accounted for. Remember that an EV charging off a regular outlet is basically the same load as a space heater and that’s only when it’s actually charging.

Wiring charging outlets for people to charge at will require a bit of work, but this is pretty straightforward stuff. Apartments can dedicate parking spots for EV charging. They’d probably pick spots where its easy to run wire from existing power infrastructure. They’d then charge you for the electricity at a reasonable markup or at cost plus a reasonable additional monthly fee. The apartment complex makes a bit more money with a small investment and the tenants get cheaper transportation. For street parking, cities are already looking into adding EV charging to their existing light poles. Worst case, they have to upgrade the wiring. But they probably already have plenty of excess capacity because they switched to LEDs, lowering power consumption. Again, they charge you for the electricity you use at a reasonable markup. The city makes money to maintain the system plus maybe a bit extra and residents get to charge their EV.

The transition from gasoline infrastructure to EV infrastructure won’t be and can’t be quick. There’s just too many gas cars on the road. But all infrastructure wears out and has to be replaced. As demand for EV infrastructure grows, gasoline infrastructure will decline as it naturally wears out and isn’t replaced. It’s unlikely it will ever fully go away, but it could decline to a point where its rare. But that’s decades away.

Yes, public transport is indeed a greener solution. It’s also entirely unfeasible for much of the US. Our cities are just too spread out for it to make much sense most places. For places with the density, it absolutely should be expanded. Even in Europe, people still live in the countryside, suburbs, small villages, etc. Public transit doesn’t make sense everywhere, even there.

Most non budget carriers give you a soda and a snack. But you also have to realize that they aren’t GIVING you anything - you pay for that, always. It’s just marked up and built into your ticket price. Leg room is 100% still available, you just have to pay more. The ticket for that is STILL cheaper (adjusted for inflation) than it was when lots of leg room was standard.

Won’t they? What if they can charge say $20/month + electricity cost extra for those parking spaces and pocket more money?

Oh, for sure. I haven’t needed to go to a public charger since I got my EV. And I don’t forsee making very many trips to one in the future. Home charging just changes so many things.

That’s why I figure 15 min, give or take, is low enough for it to not matter for most people. It’s not alot more than what even a quick gas stop would be. And that’s not some unobtainable thing. Tesla superchargers can already do it. Some Chinese brands are already at 10 minutes and pushing for <5 minutes.

Most of the DC fast charge specs are like 20-80% because that last 20% is usually much slower. Even with my home charging I don’t typically charge to 100% because it’s better for battery health not to. And yeah, alot of the planning apps don’t assume you’re going to be charging to 100% each time - they tell you what you need to charge to at each stop.

EV chargers need not be some special thing. Level 1 charging is more than sufficient for the vast majority of people. Can you find a regular outlet near where you park? Maybe with the help of an extension cord? Or maybe your complex could put outlets in.

Arguably, EVs work even better for places that don’t have infrastructure. Which is easier? Building a network of fuel stations (which need electricity) and keeping them supplied or putting in solar panels in people’s villages? I’d argue the second is generally easier now and is overall better for society - electricity comes with so many benefits beyond just being able to charge your car.

Then there’s upcoming EVs, like what Aptera is working on. Those will be able to add significant amounts of range each day using just the solar panels on the roof. Now you’ve got a car that needs no infrastructure at all (but can use it, if it exists).

Most of the time, they don’t need to be anywhere near as fast as gas (most, maybe even nearly all, people have or can have a way to charge at home). But there’s lots of people that don’t do long stops on their trips and just want to stop, fuel up, and go. The EV can be a bit slower, but anything over about 15 min is going to be a showstopper for alot of people.

Cutting a narrow trench so you can run electricity out to parts of the parking lot you can’t get to otherwise isn’t exactly a big deal. Utilities do that sort of thing all the time. We can patch parking lots - we do it all the time. Or even just put a pole and run the lines overhead. And, in many parking lots, you can just run the trench or conduit around the edge of the parking lot. You also don’t need every space to be electrified, at least at first.

I’ve got a Rav4. Costs about $40 to fill up. Just got a Subaru Solterra (same vehicle as the Toyota bz4x). Costs about $7 to charge, given my electric rates. Similar range (Solterra is a bit shorter). And that’s neglecting my solar.

Not as far as I know. But there ARE TVs that with no smart features. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJh72_O4pXE

I think the best we’ll see for high speed rail in the US is limited routes between relatively close cities with high demand. We’re already seeing that with the stuff Brightline is doing (though it’s debatable how high speed some of their routes could be called). For everything else, electric airliners are coming. They’ll start on short routes (like feeders to major airports) and they’ll gradually work their way up as battery tech improves.

Sounds like an Answerman skit: https://www.youtube.com/@TheOriginalAnswerman

Yo ho ho, it’s a pirate’s life for me.

Can’t say I’ve done that. Went to Boston for a work trip, spent the weekend exploring. Nice city, I can see the charm and why people would want to live there. But it also wasn’t a place I’d want to live in.

Not to defend the AI crowd, but ever go to a Goodwill Outlet store? They usually have at least 1 gaylord box (the giant box on a pallet watermelons come in) full of books. Not sure how often they cycle those out, but I’m guessing pretty regularly. Multiply that by every semi major city Goodwill has a presence in. Add in other thrift sores with a similar quantity of books. You’re talking ALOT of books. SO MANY books are thrown out everyday. Including by libraries. I don’t really have a problem if some of those get diverted for a bit to be scanned. Yes, it’s sad to see books getting destroyed. But there’s alot of stuff people just really don’t want. And, if you REALLY want a villain, maybe you can blame copyright law? That’s part of the reason AI companies destroy the books - it helps to make their scanning efforts more legal. Absent that, they could probably be convinced to spend just a little more for nondestructive scanning, assuming they could find a home for the books they scanned (the sellers of these things couldn’t, so good luck).

Some of us are quite well armed. There’s a saying: if you go far enough left, you get your guns back. There’s lots of gun clubs, all across the country, that are left wing. See Pink Pistols and the John Brown Gun Club.

I don’t see the problem here.

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One thing I wonder is what if he’s not technically dead, just practically. As in, his heart still beats, he still has some minimal brain function, but he’s lost so much functionality that he either can’t speak at all or can’t in any way ever be effective as a senator ever again.