Renewable energy sources - the good, the bad and the ugly

I agree. That's why I don't.

 

Are these power cables that people are laying across pavements from lamp posts tamper proof, I'm not sure I'd want to plug my car in out in the street at a lampost and sleep easy.
I'm pretty sure the yoof around here will come up with some form of entertainment with them.

 

All this talk of the virtues of EVs demonstrates the fundamental problem.

EVs are not a solution to anything. It's just another way to milk the masses for more money while pretending to save the planet.

If our government really cared about the environment, they wouldn't be pushing for EVs. Instead they'd be asking why we need so many cars on the roads. The covid lockdowns proved nicely how a large proportion of the population don't actually need to drive to work for example. I was one of the many thousands that worked perfectly well from home. Some objections to that are that not everyone can work from home. True. But if all those that can, did so, then we know from covid that that means the roads are less busy for those that do have to drive. Some people want to work in the office so everyone should. If people want to, let them, but let's remember each member of staff is paid to do a job, they are not hired friends for people that want to go into the office just for the banter.

Some people, especially the older folks, need a car because they live in rural areas. That's not a reason to need a car (the default answer), that is a need for a well connected, punctual, reliable public transport network.

I need a car. The company I work for insists I drive to their office to do a job I've proven I can do from home. I could get a train there, if I use the unreliable bus service to take me the two miles to the station where I can wait upto an hour for a train, which having spent more than I'd spend on petrol for the same journey, I can sit for longer than I'd sit in my car, to arrive 3 miles from the office instead of right there

I'm not suggesting we should all give up our cars. Certainly I don't want to give mine up. But I'd rather live in a world where we have viable choices than one where the car is a functional necessity.

With EVs, nothing changes except that it gets a lot more expensive and less convenient.

 

At some point the proverbial will the fan, somewhere along the line the road tax will have to be "adjusted", they are not telling us what they are going to do.
Also the likes of King Khan will not be getting any money from his ULEZ taxes and that will need to be got from somewhere because London, and other cities will be used to the income.
Taxes on fossil fuels are massive, that will have to come from somewhere.

So regardless of what type of vehicle you drive you will be penalised just for getting around.

If we all stopped driving the country would cease to be able to fund itself.

 

Charging per mile should have been brought in years ago, those that use the roads most should actually pay the most.
Road tax as it stands is totally unfair.
But then again, once they change things it will be seen as a really good way of making even more money out of motorists.

 

That would just penalise those that have to drive because of inadequate public transport, or those that have to commute to work.

In a way they do. The biggest part of your tax bill from driving goes on fuel duty. Unless you have a massive gas guzzler but don't actually use it much, then in that case I guess VED would be more than fuel duty in that case.

 

I used to commute to work, and I paid the fuel tax and road tax.
I'm still paying the same road tax and driving less that a fifth of the mileage.

Because I was working, paying per mile would not have been a problem as such, now I still pay the fuel tax, agreed its less, but the road tax is the same.
How is that fair?

 

On about electric cars...

Ameland rescue: Crew jump off ship ablaze with cargo of 3,000 cars

From the article...

'A Dutch coastguard spokesman said the fire was probably caused by one of 25 electric vehicles on board the ship.

A major salvage operation is in full swing in the North Sea and rescue teams fear the fire could continue to burn for days'

 

Yeah well, you've got me confused so I'm off.

 

How much fuel duty did you pay per year when you were commuting, compared to now?

I'm not going to defend VED but being purely objective, I feel like this is like council tax for cars. When you own a house, it doesn't matter if you're there all the time or if it's empty most of the year as you're sunning yourself in the Med.

My VED by the way is 30 quid per year. I don't begrudge paying that much. There are records in a database that have to be kept up to date and available to service the registration and legal compliance of my vehicle, irrespective of how much I use it.

 

I dont know how much fuel duty I was paying, I just filled up once a week, its not the kind of thing normal people bother to work out.
But I'm still paying £260 a year for the car to sit in the driveway, before that the car I had was ripping me off over £500.
Its criminal damage to charge that kind of money before you even drive anywhere.

 

We only use our car about once a month....if that.

Agree with you 100% pete, it's seems so wrong to just have to pay out so much for such little use.
Living where we do we need the car for the occasional ' big shop' and to get to our Dr's and both Hospitals. Wouldn't like to be without it but on the whole it just sits in our driveway.

By walking and using buses I think we should be 'rewarded' for doing our bit for reducing emissions /global warming.

 

Only use car once a week unless we need something straight away, we try to do as much as we can when we go out, our nearish bus stop is over 5 miles away and then if you get on the bus it does not return intill the next day so it only car use because of bad bus if any service