Gear Heads Unite: U.K. to Ban Sale of Gasoline Vehicles by 2040

[North Woods Mobius]

I know that the French already announced something similar a while back, but c'mon ... it's the FRENCH. Now the Brits are going the same way. Is this the beginning of the end of the internal combustion world in which we all live...? Here's the link to the WSJ article: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-k-to-...040-1501062680

So far, this all seems focused on the automotive industry only as I have not seen anyone talk about boats - yet

[zabooda]

You need to watch your state legislation as many states are covertly working on the carbon taxes that will drive gas prices way up. Washington state has been working on it but the current President has slowed it down some. When that happens, I'm retiring and moving to Idaho.

https://www.carbontax.org/states/

[Pound]

I know that the French already announced something similar a while back, but c'mon ... it's the FRENCH. Now the Brits are going the same way. Is this the beginning of the end of the internal combustion world in which we all live...? Here's the link to the WSJ article: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-k-to-...040-1501062680

This is so dumb it defies belief. IOW, doesn't pass the smell test.

[kaneboats]

Not exactly true. Here's a clue in:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars...sel-cars-2040/

[sandm]

I think our reluctance toward electric cars is, rightfully so, rooted in the fact that for a good chunk of the US, our final b destination is too far from a for electric to become mainstream without some changes to the technology or how we travel. tesla is on a good start with charging stations across the us but our need for instant gratification will have to push charging batteries to an equivalent filling of a gastank before the US really embraces alternate fuel sources.

that or the gov't forces us into it and we all accept the fact that we can travel 85mph across the west but have to stop every 2hrs for an hour charge session.

[Pound]

And...Fossil fuels are just too cheap. Period. It's economics. Electric cars make us feel good about ourselves, but the devil's in the details. How do you generate the electricity to charge the batteries? from an electric plant that burns coal or oil? Not to mention the batteries themselves. They have to be dealt with eventually and contain very toxic substances. on and on. Even if they seriously had any ideas on "banning gas and diesel vehicles" those are two VERY huge industries (automobile and oil&gas that would be severely impacted and would fight tooth and nail against such legislation. Like it or not, it is what it is and until a truly disruptive technology comes along, it's here to stay.

[kaneboats]

No, we are all supposed to "believe in" green sources of energy. LOL.

[sandm]

here in utah the big push is solar cells on the roofs of houses. interesting to hear the sales pitch that they are essentially "free" even though you are financing them for 20 years.
all you are doing is trading a power bill for a solar payment as most people do not stay in a house 20 years to enjoy the then free power they would provide.
it's green but so is a lot of the power being sold on today's market, especially out west with solar in utah/nevada and hydro all over the west.

one of my managers used to sell them and he was giving me the sales pitch on the golf course the other day for the point of conversation. asked him 2 questions :
(1) all you are doing is trading your power bill for a solar payment?
(2) since the payment assumes that you are eliminating your power bill and replacing 100% with solar, what happens when the sun is not out? do you make enough power to sell back during the day that your night power is free?

the answers were yes and no and the conversation ended

[jmvotto]

Ethanol. Enough said....

[rdlangston13]

And...Fossil fuels are just too cheap. Period. It's economics. Electric cars make us feel good about ourselves, but the devil's in the details. How do you generate the electricity to charge the batteries? from an electric plant that burns coal or oil? Not to mention the batteries themselves. They have to be dealt with eventually and contain very toxic substances. on and on. Even if they seriously had any ideas on "banning gas and diesel vehicles" those are two VERY huge industries (automobile and oil&gas that would be severely impacted and would fight tooth and nail against such legislation. Like it or not, it is what it is and until a truly disruptive technology comes along, it's here to stay.

You failed to mention how bad lithium mining is on the environment. The UK is smaller than TX so I can see how electric cars may be viable alternative there but with an increase of electric cars sucking on the grid to charge you are going to end up burning more coal and natural gas. Electricity has to be generated somehow like you stated and the best means of generating electricity IMO is nuclear but we have not built a new nuke plant since like the 60s. The green people want alternative energy but they complain about birds being killed by wind turbines and solar farms destroying the natural desert landscape and dams altering the natural flow of rivers. They offer a million problems but no solutions.