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"Oil Addiction"
Written By blrsri - 23 April, 2008
words made more famous by President Bush..but this is indeed a very bad habit that the world has got into.
Addiction and bad habits have been traditionally limited to bad effects for the individual and in some cases few people around(passive smokers). But in the case of oil, this affects the environment so bad that our existence itself is threatened by it!
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As the trends go we can see that the emerging economies are doubling their oil consumption by 10 years..this is going to
grow even faster for India in the coming years and this is very scary.
Our oil porduction has remained constant at around 600 thousand barrels per day while our consumption is more than 4 times that number.
We in Bangalore might not be aware, but every winter the global oil prices are more controlled by the heating demands in the US..Japan too having cold winters depends on heating, but has managed to use alternate ways for managing this.These measures to conserve is not just related to household energy consumption, they have made drastic changes at work too to reduce dependency on oil..
As a result we can see with the trends their oil consumption has actually come down in the years though their population and economy is growing!
What are we doing in India? trying to lay fuel lines from Iran and other countries to satisfy the appetite
of the fuel guzzlers? It is high time we stop and retrospect and change ways to save energy more particularly oil!
What can we do?
Metro - public transport not depending on fossil fuels directly is the best option for mass transport
Bicycles - best form of transport which will also help in maintaining good health
Electric scooters - These are already in the market and are quite efficient
Reva - this is the only battery driven car in the markrt now
It was Earth Day yesterday, its high time we think about the world around us and do something to kick the habit.
COMMENTS
tsubba - 23 April, 2008 - 11:28
silkboard - 23 April, 2008 - 07:49
How are the electric scooters doing in Bangalore? I saw a few of them launched here, but don't see many vehicles on the road yet.
I have been waiting for an electric auto rickshaw as well, I thought Reva should try to do one. But they never did. However, just last week, I remember reading about some company launching electric autos (Lohia's I think, or Greaves, not sure).
I think range and the 'hidden' cost of regular (2-3 years) battery replacement are the reasons that may keep informed people away from electric scooters right now. But I dont see any serious marketing effort yet, only remember 1 TV add (yo?), and a few newspaper inserts, thats all. Why? the EV industry is not confident yet?
narayan82 - 23 April, 2008 - 09:26
Reva did badly because:
- It was not a popular vehicle in the styling segement
- The battery life was 3 years, and new battery was about 75% the cost of the car
- It was quite highly priced for a tiny car (> rs.2.5 Laks)
Yes, Electric vehicles will make a huge difference.It would great, if we could manage to convert all the Autos to Electric. The chinese do have such a 3 wheeler in place.
I had this idea, about making Revas into Autos.
- A large consignment/Order with govt. subsidy would bring down the cost.
- A ergonmical re-design will give it more space and passenger comfort.
- Charged Batteries can be supplied at Petrol pumps, which can be exchanged for drained ones.
But, I just dont think there is enough motivation from the government to control oil price through alternative methods, and I also hear about lobbying from petroleum industries, againt EVs.
Some other ideas for promoting EVs:
- Convert all domestic garbage vehicles to EVs (the autos that pick up garbage) - these can be charged at night. and they dont cover a large distance in a day.
- Electric Busses - these have over head lines running on roads, so this way it also becoomes a dedicated bus lane. I travelled in one of these in Salzburg, Austria - and the only disadvantage is a screeching coaused by interference with the PA system.
blrsri - 23 April, 2008 - 10:40
1. TVS scooty teenz
2. Hero has ’Velociti’- Scooter with extra speed, and ’Optima’- Scooter with extra range
and many more..I have seen them on road and are pretty decent..its hard to distinguish them as they look very similar to their petrol counterparts..
About Reva, I know few folks who are driving one for a few years in blr and they are happy with it..on the way to work today I saw another one which was the Reva-i and the owner had stickered all around.'I hate pollution' 'see, car doesnt have an exhaust'
Reva has a market in the European countries where subsidies are high..Its already on second hand market..http://www.greencarsite.co.uk/4sale/00028.htm
With this years budjet electric cars and vehicles are cheaper..so we should see more on our 'get kothambari' visits!
Are electric vehicles really a solution?
Rithesh - 23 April, 2008 - 11:08
Electric vehicle are really not a solution to this problem.
Shifting to electric vehicle will increase the consumption of electricity, and when demand grows significantly, costs also increase. A significant number of our power generation plants use diesel, gas or other petroleum products as fuels. Also coal prices though not entirely dependent on oil prices, are also increasing.
European countries basically promote the use of electric vehicles to reduce the pollution in cities (which actually increases else where - near power plants). I dont really see any advantages, so that we could push for more incentives for electric cars. Also we should not forget the environmental hazards of the batteries used in these vehicles.
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