Lowering carbon footprint

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by benb

Cars are not as significant as you think.

There are some other items which you wouldn't expect which are REALLY bad.

Thats why I wonder anything we do, collectively, makes a dent, even if everyone does a little bit.

[benb]

Originally Posted by .RJ

Thats why I wonder anything we do, collectively, makes a dent, even if everyone does a little bit.

The Bill Gates book is full of #s and they are fading in my memory as I think I read it back in May?

IIRC vehicles are like 15% of global emissions.

Concrete and Steel production were bigger than that.

Methane from cattle ranching was huge too IIRC.

The solutions for Concrete and Steel involve:
- Electric solutions for heat inputs
- Clever science to produce new methods to produce the end product that either sequester the CO2 or eliminate it's production from the chemical reactions

For cattle it's probably (unfortunately for some) reducing beef consumption, switching to plant based meat subsititutes, etc..

It's not like us switching to EVs/eBikes is not helpful. It's just that the media completely ignores all the other stuff and makes it sound like driving gasoline powered cars is 95% of the problem.

On a completely selfish level I can't wait to never visit the gas station again. Can't wait for the cost savings and I hate sitting around at the gas station. It's going to be a net time win for me to drive an EV as 95% of the time my charging will be in my garage or when I'm in a business/store. Gas stations are just useless waiting time, often in bad weather.

Also I just did a pile of maintenance on my car this week, close to $2k. I'm totally cool with most of that going away with an EV, though the biggest thing I just spent money on was new rotors/pads and fluid at all 4 corners and that won't go away, but that's something that I seem to only need close to every 100k miles.

[Hilltopperny]

Originally Posted by jtbadge

A handful of corporations are responsible for the overwhelming majority of greenhouse gas emissions and are actively invested into shifting blame onto the average citizen. Enough hand wringing and tsk-tsking other people over their well intentioned personal choices.

Indeed!

Sent from my LGL722DL using Tapatalk

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by benb

the biggest thing I just spent money on was new rotors/pads and fluid at all 4 corners and that won't go away, but that's something that I seem to only need close to every 100k miles.

Regenerative braking should help extend the life of pads and rotors.

Elon Musk, at one point, suggested that you would never have to replace brake components on a Tesla; the Tesla owner's manual suggests otherwise, with a specific discussion of the wear monitors...

...not that I own a Tesla...I found the discussion via Google.

[Dude]

For me, I'm in the suburbs, can roll my bike right into a garage each night and travel relatively short distances each trip. A single battery on the lowest mode gets me about 25+ miles. With 100lbs of children on the back I'm usually using not the highest assist, but one below that. That gets me about 18-20 miles.

Knowing that my single battery is enough to do whatever I need as long as I'm responsible about charging it. Plus, batteries are freaking expensive and I couldn't justify the cost. With the Tern GSD, it's pre-wired for a second battery so I could always add one if I felt the need to.

Originally Posted by tctyres

This is cool. Thanks for posting. How did you guys figure out the battery sizing for your needs?

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by .RJ

Thats why I wonder anything we do, collectively, makes a dent, even if everyone does a little bit.

Marginal gains are marginal gains, and if you stack them all up, they can add up to a lot.

That doesn't mean that we shouldn't pursue more sweeping policy changes, but we don't need to throw out everything that's short of it.

[benb]

That whole "100lbs of children" or "100lbs of groceries" is the whole key thing that would let me eliminate some car trips.

My car trips are mostly around town. Even when I was going to the office it's 4 miles from my house to the office. My son is 1-2 miles from the house and needs to be picked up at the end of the day.

One day this week so far I escorted my son to school on his his bike and we left his bike locked up there. Then I picked him up at the end of the day on my bike and we rode back. Highlight of his week for sure, but it's hard to do that every day.

I am about to go pick him up in the car any minute. His bike is not at school. If i had one of these e-Cargo bikes (or really any cargo bike, but it'd be hard) I could eliminate one of these car trips today even though it didn't work out this morning to ride to school.

Also a good part of the school year it's dark at pickup time.. maybe not so great for biking home from school. But in the morning it would be OK. A way to pick him up and let him ride on the back like a motorcycle would allow would make more trips OK.

These stupid short trips cause my car to get horrific gas mileage, it's very very wasteful. I'm getting 30% less than City EPA rating for the car. Replacing them with eBike trips would be pretty great.

If I actually had one of these we'd have to think about the risk of riding on the back of a cargo/eBike. But in the case of school 95% of the trip to/from school is on a dirt trail completely separated from the roads, so way safer.

In a few more years he will be ready to ride by himself and will likely do so a lot and that will eliminate a lot of family car trips and make it easier for me to bike commute on a regular bike.

[bfd]

Originally Posted by C40_guy

Regenerative braking should help extend the life of pads and rotors.

Elon Musk, at one point, suggested that you would never have to replace brake components on a Tesla; the Tesla owner's manual suggests otherwise, with a specific discussion of the wear monitors...

...not that I own a Tesla...I found the discussion via Google.

I recently picked up a Model 3 and it's true, I almost never touch the brake! The regen allows you to slow down the car so much that I can usually roll to a stop and hold the car without touching the brake. Regen feels like when you take your foot off the gas in a stick shift car, while still in gear, the car uses the engine to decelerate. Same sort of feeling. In fact, the first time I drove a friend's Tesla, I was looking for a clutch pedal to step in as the car was slowing down just like with a clutch. lol

Of course, YMMV!

Good Luck!

[Davist]

Saw a tidbit on the "you wouldn't expect it" side.. 40% of global CO2 emissions come from buildings, yet only 60% of buildings are occupied.. wow.

[rain dogs]

Originally Posted by .RJ

Sure, if thats the options then its an easy choice. But I'm not sure those are the only two options or if thats just the story people tell themselves because they want the e-bike.

At some point, every car owner is going to present themselves with the question: "Is it time for a new car?"... or a 'new-to-me' car/vehicle.
We don't need to make it more complicated than that.

[Octave]

Originally Posted by OldCrank

<<< No one is forcing you to eat Brazilian mangoes or California avocados. >>>

Hey YEAH!
Nothing but New Hampshire avocados on my toast from now on.
And Connecticut almonds at the farmers market!

Oooh right, I shop at a lower cost market.

Sorry, I guess my point was lost. It certainly wasn't meant to be a personal slight or commentary on where you shop. I shop at a local low cost bulk market, as well.

How about: no one is forcing you to eat avocados or almonds at all. Regional consumption isn't that difficult. Lots of nuts grow in the NE - try swapping the almonds for hazelnuts? Butternuts and walnuts are both native to Maine. Shagbark hickory, black walnuts, northern pecans, and some types of chestnuts are all hardy in Vermont. Connecticut grows a fair few filberts/hazelnuts, too.

The point is that it is easy to justify behavior by saying you have no other choice, but in a society that puts "choice" as a premium of the utmost regard, it is sometimes hard to gain perspective on what is really necessary. Fat, protein, carbs, salt... you can find them all locally if you accept that the modern diet obsessed with diversity is not the only way to live.

[dustyrider]

This looks shorter than I expected. Is it a twitchy steerer unloaded?

[mcteague]

As an American, the biggest carbon credit you can accrue is by not reproducing.

Tim

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by prototoast

Obviously everything has tradeoffs. Obviously the bike costs resources to produce, but then lowers emissions with every trip. Assuming he has a car and plans to continue having a car, by shifting more miles off the car and onto the bike, presumably he can now go more years between buying new cars. As such, the resources of the new cars would more than offset the resources of the bike, since car production is more resource intensive.

Sure, a few people buying e-bikes and some buying e-cars WILL have an effect on 'emissions' but unless there is some sort of crisis, as in fuel shortage or something else(certainly not a pandemic) that forces people to make these huge changes..sorry, I don't see it. It's all about convenience, and $ for the vast, vast majority of people..here in the US and certainly elsewhere, particularly in countries where the 'daily grind' is pretty much just surviving.

https://lifewater.org/blog/9-world-p...SAAEgJZf_D_BwE

If we really want to do something about climate change, this may be a great first step that could lead civic leaders to more strongly promote bike use in their congested cities. We saw a glimmer of what might be possible during the height of pandemic, let us not slip back to old habits.

Considering the huge divides between people right now on things pretty simple, like public health, I don't see how 'civic leaders' do anything to promote bike use or anything like that. Perhaps make dino-powered car use more inconvenient or more expensive...but..sorry, I am cynical and pessimistic when it comes to these sorts of threads.
Things proposed by 'my side of the isle'-thumb's up..proposed by the 'other side of the isle'-thumb's down..even on the same issue.

Another point, that points to 'convenience'..at 70 YO, I can assure you I won't be buying an ebike to go to the grocery, I'm sure I'm not alone.

Thats why I wonder anything we do, collectively, makes a dent, even if everyone does a little bit.

Perhaps if 'collectively' but the majority of people on planet earth aren't going to 'do' anything...Even in the US..like oh so much else, it's a political football..'They say it?', automatic NO, even if it IS the right thing to do for our and our children's collective survival. Too much money, influence, bribes..all short term stuff...

The earth is in real trouble, no doubt about it but too many people(majority?) chose to fiddle...and argue....while rome burns.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by mcteague

As an American, the biggest carbon credit you can accrue is by not reproducing.

Tim

That's true globally also but again..considering the statistics, it's not gong to change anytime soon. 'People' and too many of them, are the real problem. And all the things needed to support these billions, is what is killing this planet.

The average global birth rate was 18.5 births per 1,000 total population in 2016. The death rate was 7.8 per 1,000. The RNI was thus 1.6 percent.

Take a trip to rural, anywhere 'earth', talk to a few animal ranchers...propose a big reduction in the things that produce a YUGE amount of greenhouse gases..see what they say(Meat production is a $200BILLiON++ industry in the US..worldwide..MUCH higher)...

WE need this and maybe not even that will stop this slide.

Klaatu barada nikto