AOC: Pros and Cons

[Ted_Hoffman]

@R_Daneel_Olivaw

Thus ridding us of a significant portion of our waste problem. Still has low level waste with around a 500yr containment time. But way better than the 10,000 year uranium waste.

Load it all on a rocket, fire it into the sun. Or Mercury. Or into interstellar space at some star we want to pick on.

[NormalDan]

Natural gas!!

[R_Daneel_Olivaw]

Nah.

True story here. Standard Oil used to have a waste product from its kerosene manufacturing process. It was a highly reactive clear substance and caused all sorts of problems for them. The somebody found a use for it in engines (gasoline). Same thing happened with later leftover sludge from oil processing (plastics).

I figure we should be able to find some use for the lower level waste from thorium piles. If nothing else use it to feed the radioactivity eating moss they found in Chernobyl and use it for animal feed.

[WhenFCAS]

I’m so confused. Everyone is talking about some train rails, and EV’s. lol
This thread is no longer about pros and cons of AOC.

[NormalDan]

@twig93

I don’t think it’s possible or desirable to convert our nation’s entire energy production to wind, solar & hydro by 2030, but that does seem to be pretty close to her goal (exceptions for other power sources she’s ok with.)

It’s not really possible by 2050, and it’s definitely not desirable. The supply swings would be insane, you’d need a lot of batteries and excess capacity.

[Ted_Hoffman]

… the hell? We don’t have an “arg, thread hijacked” emoji?

[NormalDan]

AOC’s claim to fame, aside from being snarky, is the GND. The rest follows.

[twig93]

@NormalDan

Natural gas!!

I hear we can buy it from Russia!

[twig93]

I threw up a little in my mouth typing that… can’t even really joke about that.

[twig93]

Yeah, I read something about a study showing that by the year 1950, Manhattan was going to be 6’ deep in horse manure.

That’s right, cars are clean compared to their predecessors.

[twig93]

@WhenFCAS

I’m so confused. Everyone is talking about some train rails, and EV’s. lol
This thread is no longer about pros and cons of AOC.

It’s about the pros and cons of the policies she promotes.

[knoath]

@twig93

**In which EV can I go 1,000 miles while spending only 10 minutes stopped for refueling?

It takes 3 minutes to get a new fully charged battery.

Chinese smart-battery swap stations can change EV batteries automatically | South China Morning Post

[NormalDan]

The US is on track to become the world’s largest exporter of Natural Gas. We have it coming out of all kinds of orifices. The EU just wasn’t set up to import it from the US (nor were we really set up to export it that much) because Russia was so much closer and Germany thought it might make Putin come around.

[twig93]

Wow, that’s cool. That technology coupled with substantially greater range will make widespread adoption of EVs a lot more feasible.

There’s still the issue of what to do with the spent batteries, but at least people won’t be expected to take a massive step backwards in terms of convenience. Which simply isn’t going to happen.

[twig93]

@NormalDan

Germany thought it might make Putin come around

That was some ass-backwards thinking.

In the US I think killing the pipeline also makes it harder to export, but I honestly haven’t followed it that closely.

[John.S.Mill]

@twig93

That technology coupled with substantially greater range will make widespread adoption of EVs a lot more feasible

more feasible for you…
plenty of people find EV feasible already

And no, I’m not coming for you. And I own a gas car too. I’m just saying, what makes EV feasible or not is not measured by your personal usage of a car. EV can be feasible way before it has 0 charge time and 500000mile range, just like autonomous vehicles can be feasible way before it has 0 accidents

[NormalDan]

Yeah, talk about great irony. Biden kills a pipeline to MA natural gas power plants on day 1 and now he’s gone to Saudi to beg them to pump more oil.

[twig93]

@John.S.Mill

more feasible for you…

And a lot of other people. I’m not the only person who goes on road trips.

[twig93]

@John.S.Mill

EV can be feasible way before it has 0 charge time and 500000mile range

Sure. A 400 mile range with climate control, and a smart phone plugged in & using GPS and the radio all going, coupled with a full refuel in under 15 minutes is really all that’s needed. That’d still slow people down, but it’s not a radical decrease in functionality.

just like autonomous vehicles can be feasible way before it has 0 accidents

Eh, that one’s got to be pretty dang close to 0 before it has a chance. The tolerance for accidents caused by an AV that most humans would have avoided (such as mistaking a truck for sky or a bicyclist for a plastic grocery bag) is going to be pretty much zero. There will be no rational thinking about “yes it killed this one person over here but it prevented these other 10 deaths over there”. Human lives aren’t fungible and 98% of the population will not see it that way, even if and when it becomes true.

They don’t just have to be a little better than human drivers to be accepted. They have to be a LOT better.

And unlike EV, your choice absolutely affects me. I mean if you want to buy a Tesla with a 270 mile range that’s your choice and I’m fine with it as it doesn’t really affect me. But if you choose to put MY life in danger with an AV that might make stupid fatal mistakes a legal-to-drive human wouldn’t make then that does affect me and I will have something to say about it.

And while I understand the concept of “net reduction in fatal accidents”… don’t expect the average Joe to find comfort in that.

[twig93]

AV, however, is veering off topic from AOC.