Re: Whoops! The Atlantic Makes Trump Look EPIC In Cover Intended as a Smear

On 10/23/2024 8:30 AM, Scott Dorsey wrote:

Scott Lurndal <slp53@pacbell.net> wrote:
<about LA smog>

Having lived there, I can confirm that it is far better than
the 70s and 80s.   I recall playing softball one saturday
in 1985 and having to stop between home and first to catch
my breath.

 And this is in great part due to government regulation of auto manufacturers,
first in California but then across the US.  Car manufacturers fought the
emission control requirements tooth and nail, and most of the early attempts
they made to meet them were incredibly poor and reduced both performance and
reliability.  Eventually they were driven toward closed-loop fuel injection
control and then the world changed for the better in so many different ways.
 Eventually the emission control requirements wound up resulting in a better
technology with higher performance and better reliability as well as a lot
less smog.
 

On the other hand, it's worse now that it was a decade
ago, simply due to population growth over the last
couple decades (and wildfires).

 Electric vehicles still pollute, it's just that the pollution is done at the
power plant many miles away where it isn't visible.  BUT, electric vehicles
only use pollution-causing power when they are running, not when they are
immobilized in traffic on the 101.  Cars in LA seem to spend as much time
stopped as moving, and so electric power is likely to be a win.

There's a lot of savings being glossed over here.
1. A lot of electricity isn't from fossil fuels.
2. A power plant is far more efficient than an ICE engine, producing
    much less pollution per joule.
3. Electric cars are about 90% efficient at turning joules
    into motion, vs ICE 20%.
There are a lot of other factors, such as pollution created by
fuel trucks carrying gas to stations, and inefficiencies in
transmitting electricity and charging batteries. What we
really want is the 'Well to Wheels' emission figures. Luckily
others have done the work, at least for CO2:
https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=bt2
For my car, the CO2 emissions (in the bastard
unit of grams per mile) are 72, vs an average new
ICE vehicle's 400.
So, not only is the pollution moved off of the 101,
there's much less of it to start with.
pt