Hybrid truck recharges from overhead wires in Germany - GIF

[Floradawg]

Here, in Arizona, about half (46%) of our electricity is still generated by natural gas, but nuclear also is a major source (27%). Coal is fast dwindling, as coal fired plants and coal mines shut down, primarily because coal plants cost so much to operate and coal is an expensive and dirty fuel. Solar, in fact is outpacing coal now, and we generate a reasonable share from wind (fast expanding) and hydro.

In the U.S., as a whole, natural gas makes up about 43% of the supply, while coal still supplies about 15%, but that number is dropping quickly. Renewables are up to about 30%, while nuclear is around 10%. Natural gas is still being used because it's currently cheap and plentiful. Oil supplies only a fraction of a percent of all electricity production.

I would like to visit Arizona. I have been to New Mexico and it was pretty cool. I will have to plan a trip there. There is beauty in all 50 states. I am so appreciative of being here. I took a road trip across Texas last year. It's really interesting how the terrain changes as you cross it. It's BIG! Everything's big in Texas. One thing I remember is on the back of a semi trailer on the bottom left was an arrow pointing left and it said "El Paso". On the bottom right was an arrow pointing right and it said "El Smasho".

[Frank S]

I see the grid charged electric vehicles as merely a transitional phase in the next evolution of personal and commercial transportation. At least in the cesspools called cities. Which may even not be as long lived as people may think. Smaller tighter cities within these large cities will eventually come into being if several governments around the world have anything to do with it. The 15 minute cities seem to be on the rise where everyone lives within 15 minutes of their work.

There's no question that electric vehicle propulsion is probably here to stay, until a new source of energy is discovered. What that may be is only in the minds of Sci fi authors right now.
What I don't believe though, is the electric vehicles will primarialy receive their recharge from the grid. Currently the options to recharge them are limited three's wind but probably only if you live in remote rule areas and if the wind even blows. there's solar of course. the efferences of solar PV has greatly improved in that past several years but still probably less than 20% but you need quite a large area of coverage And apartment dweller in a high rise can forget that but most probably should be using public transportation anyway. Last is hybrid powered. Many manufactures are going to them and some going back to them but again as you said these currently require either fossil fuels or agriculturally produced which winds up taxing the already depleted soils requiring them to be heavily fertilized. most of the chemicals of which comes from petroleum. Methane capture form land fills could partially supplement as a fuel source for the hybrid vehicles . The Germans have been capturing and burring methane from land fills for 50 years. Or there is hydrogen, Hydrogen is actually not a bad way to go. it can be produced from many sources but currently methods of production consumes nearly as much energy as it can produce. Excepting from natural gas. elemental hydrogen is an energy carrier when burned it produces water

For long haul freight transportation a company in Canada i think. Makes something they call Edison trucks 'google them'. they are an electric powered truck with a diesel generator have reign. braking and a battery.
If anyone can successfully create brown's gas 'google it' without it requiring more energy to make than it produces then that could be an alternative.

[Floradawg]

Also, Frank, if nuclear power plants had not been so demonized it could be the way to go since it can generate large amounts of power per plant size and contribute nothing or very nearly so to anything that harms the atmosphere. Yes, the waste has to be disposed of safely, but it takes up very much less volume than most people would think. Nuclear power is also very safe considering the amount of time it has been in use. A lot of attention goes to the accidents but there is a lot of it being used safely out there. France gets about 70% of its electricity from nuclear plants. Actually, I'm not personally opposed to the use so called fossil fuels, especially natural gas, because I don't believe there is a climate emergency. There are some good results to be expected of a limited warming of the Earth. Better agricultural results and less people dying of cold weather. Yes heat kills people too but not nearly as many as freezing weather. These are my thoughts which I'm sure many would disagree with. But that is what having a discussion is all about.

[schuylergrace]

Arizona is a great place for a visit, even an extended one. But after 26+ years of living here, I'm pretty much done with all its drawbacks, the incessant heat being the main one. About the only thing the state doesn't have is an ocean beach, but those are close by, too. You can ski sometimes up until June, and the mountains up north and down south are beautiful all year round (but in very different ways). The low and high deserts are amazing with beautiful landscapes everywhere and all sorts of wildlife. We have lakes, too, and everything from one of the largest cities in the country to actual ghost towns. I've spent much of my time exploring all the corners of this place, but I miss cooler, wetter climes. Here are shots of one of our magnificent dust storms (haboobs) overtaking Phoenix one afternoon and another I shot in infrared of Four Peaks with snow on top, just a few miles north of my home in Mesa (a Phoenix suburb).

[Floradawg]

What do you think is the best time of the year for a visit? I appreciate the info. When I went to NM with my wife at the time, now deceased, we went all over the state, and it was great. She had terminal cancer, and she had always wanted to go.

[schuylergrace]

What do you think is the best time of the year for a visit? I appreciate the info. When I went to NM with my wife at the time, now deceased, we went all over the state, and it was great. She had terminal cancer, and she had always wanted to go.

Any time from mid- to late October until the end of April is a wonderful time to visit and tour the state. Keep in mind that, as winter comes on, the norther part of the state is subject to snow and ice storms, which can limit travel, but the Grand Canyon and the high deserts of the north are beautiful in snow. South of the I-40 is usually fine for travel, even in the middle of winter. Further south and to the west, along the Colorado River, we're still in the 110F temps in late September and early October, which is why I don't recommend summer travel here. That said, the mountains up north, around the I-40, and down south near Tucson can be quite pleasant in the summer, but there are generally wildfire threats and actual wildfires you'd have to deal with. If I were to pick the nicest times, when the weather is pleasant in the warmer parts and there'll be some snow in the higher elevations, I'd go for November and March. Hope that helps.