The Monday Roundup: Black Reparations discount, carfree downtown, EV reality, and more

Jonathan, Quinn Simmons was not fired, as far as I can see. He was “pulled from races” for now. He is still under contract with Trek-Segafredo.

Thanks Rivendell but I don’t need your charity.

It’s entirely possible to convert 90% of the US auto fleet to run on batteries in 3 decades so I’m not sure why this is being used as a “reality check”. Something like 2 dozen countries have committed to banning sales of combustion engine vehicles between 2030 and 2040. This gives plenty of time to achieve this.

The article also ignores the negative trend in per capita vehicle miles traveled in many advanced countries, yes, even in the US.

Finally, dealing with climate change will require a full spectrum of changes across many aspects of our lives. Public transit, telecommuting, reduction in working hours and, oh hey, BICYCLING among other changes will need to be advanced to make this happen. These will all chip away at the need to continue growing the auto fleet.

I genuinely don’t get how offering a discount based on a merchant’s subjective evaluation of a customer’s “race” is even remotely legal. It looks to me like Rivendell is just begging to be sued. Have they run their proposal past a lawyer?

Re EV REALITY
The reality is that if every car in the US went electric, power consumption would jump by about half. The US is only about 15 percent wind and solar now, so much of that power surge would likely be met by fossil fuel plants pumping yet more carbon into the atmosphere. Charging demand could peak at night and in the winter when solar and or wind power is less available. Massive hydro and nuclear expansion would be environmentally undesirable.

The solution is cheap and low tech. Much more biking and walking and riding highly efficient electric transit. This will save billions wasted on new freeways for carbon fired Teslas.

EV reality: About 5% of all cars in CA are EVs. If that becomes 90% and if they can buy the juice somewhere, will the wires not smoke? But perhaps they have a plan for that. For sure they’re catching up on the deferred maintenance. You don’t want to be sitting on a dead battery when you suddenly need to get the hell out of town.

THE grant petersen, 3 ‘e’s, comments on BP and gets a total of 8 up votes? That’s a tough room. Jaded perhaps.

What’s the better idea for recompensing a bunch of people who were, Under Law, subhuman chattle for 240 years and then blamed for it for 160 more.

Maybe a scholarship to Brown University?