Despair only limits future action – Simon Clark

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This is going to be a quick hit, but I know I got a little cranky in the last post with some of the persistent myths around EVs, so these two videos are a good at debunking those myths.

Join Quentin Willson and Dr. Euan McTurk as they explore the latest in electric vehicles battery advancements. As a consultant battery electrochemist who has been working on – and driving – EVs since 2009, Euan is one of the UK’s leading experts on EV batteries, and most definitely has his finger on the pulse when it comes to emerging battery technology.

During this enlightening discussion, Euan shares the real story on EV battery fires and talks about some of the new battery technologies to watch out for, including solid-state batteries with their impressive range and safety credentials. Could these go mainstream sooner than we think? Quentin and Euan also share views on the battery industry as a whole, and what governments and energy suppliers can do to help the transition to these cleaner technologies.

This one is from 8 months ago, but still relevant:

Wise to the lies? Bored of BS? Fed-up of FUD? Misinformation about Electric Vehicles and Clean Energy is at an all-time high. Vested interests have almost limitless funds with which to pollute public discourse, and it’s easy to feel powerless to prevent that.

With your help that can change. The Fully Charged SHOW and FairCharge are coming together to Stop BS and to combat this ‘*fear, uncertainty and doubt’ through *fast-turnaround infographic rebuttals*, *proactively placing spokespeople on mainstream media*, and *engaging with political influencers*

I have a couple of  videos of people who have experience with EVs and cold weather, here’s one:

Max demonstrates the importance of battery pre-conditioning using his home charging station and charge scheduling with his Polestar 2 on a cold journey to the mountains from Colorado’s front range. Not all electric cars have this feature, but increasingly many do and it’s great for reducing the range hit of cold weather!

I love that he’s driving from Boulder, CO to Keystone, CO, which here, is a very typical weekend trip – up to the mountains to ski.

Here’s a longer, more wonky video from these guys on winter EV battery myths and charging tips.

I wish I could find where I bookmarked my MI guy, who has been driving EVs in winter for years. I’ll keep searching!

It’s not so much an issue on short daily commutes, but on those longer trips, you’ll need to take some extra steps in extreme cold.  In normal cold weather, I have not noticed any range loss – but my car does stay in the garage when not in use. In other info I’ve seen – you can lose charge (less than 20-ish miles) if your car is outside in the cold overnight or while you’re at work.  But even with that Polestar’s abismal range (what he’s driving in the video) – about 150 miles in winter weather – you will probably be fine for a typical day of driving. I will say, if you’re thinking of an EV – don’t skimp, get the heated seats because your cabin will take forever to warm.

Hope these three videos help dispel some common myths. If you click on the makers of the videos, you’ll find lots of informative videos on similar topics.

Finally, the next two installments in the Carbon Cowboy documentary:

USDA grazing specialist Doug Peterson has spent his entire career teaching reticent farmers and ranchers to focus on their soil health, even if, and especially if, that means adopting new ways to graze. Peterson walks the walk, practicing and experimenting new methods on his and his dad’s farm outside of Newtown, Missouri. Filmed near Newtown, Missouri

Michael Thompson, a young farmer in Kansas, is regenerating his soils with no-till, cover-crops practices coupled with Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP) grazing – giving his farm resilience during the severe 2011 and 2012 droughts. While his neighbors’ soils are washing down gullies and blowing away towards the east, Michael is building a farm he can leave to his children. His exemplary work was given the Kansas Farm Bureau Natural Resources Award. Filmed in Norton, Kansas

Climate scientist Michael E Mann & historian Timothy D Snyder  define doomerism:
Doomerism is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.
It is how authoritarians win. Let’s try to fight the doom.

This is a doom and gloom free zone.