Turn out the lights on the EV
- Will technology leapfrog depletion and save drivers from the cost of triple-digit oil?
Every auto producer in the world has an electric car in the works; General Motors, of course, will start producing its Volt later this year.
But in actuality, the car of the future is really a throwback to the past.
In 1899, an electric car was clocked going over 60 miles an hour. And a little over a decade later, a Detroit Electric managed to travel 211 miles on a single charge (by comparison, General Motors' Volt will go just 40 miles on a single charge before its back-up gasoline engine kicks in).
In an ironic twist of fate, it was the invention of the electric starter that all but killed the electric car, since you no longer needed the physique of a weightlifter to crank-start your internal combustion engine.
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Nonstop Records For U.S. Natural-Gas-Based Electricity
WASHINGTON - As the hot months linger, it will be natural gas that is leaned on most to supply the electricity that we need to run our air conditioners and keep us cool.
And this is surely a great and important thing: "Heat causes most weather-related deaths, National Weather Service says."
Generally, U.S. gas demand for power in summer is 35-40% higher than what it was five years ago, with so much more coming (see Figure).
The good news is regions across the country are expected to have plenty of reserves to keep up with power demand.
The only exception is ERCOT, covering 90%…
