[Collecting more than 100 signatures .. a parliamentary move to reduce the dollar exchange rate - Urgent]

On 6/25/2022 at 9:24 PM, HowieC said:

When did the supposed 5 years start?

When they changed the exchange rate in 2020.

 

I posted an article on this a while back. In the article the individual from the financial committee said that the rate change was initially for one (1) year but powers in government overruled that and it became 5 years. So the idea that the CBI is its own entity and change the exchange rate on its own accord went out the window with this revelation. Secondly, Maliki also stopped the rate from permanently changing in 2012. So the GOI has always had a hand in the exchange rate for awhile now.  

[Next month.. the job number excludes “alien” and double salaries]

And those pesky Martians who work in Iraq are not going to get counted.

 

 

 

FYI: @1:14 Marvin has the solution for the Earth's fuel problem!

[Iran: 7 countries participated in the assassination of Soleimani]

13 hours ago, nannab said:

 

Well I guess you better start arresting all of these bad people/countries.  I double dog dare ya. 

RV first.

[Collecting more than 100 signatures .. a parliamentary move to reduce the dollar exchange rate - Urgent]

In 2012 the rate was under 1200. IT was 1166 before going to 1190 then to what it is now.

[Iran: 7 countries participated in the assassination of Soleimani]

Too few participated, a lot more should have participated.

[Jeddah Summit..full support for the sovereignty and stability of Iraq]

Yeah send the giggling VP 

 

 

 

 

[In the presence of the European Union.. Iraq is considering lifting the ban imposed on its airlines]

On 7/7/2021 at 12:48 AM, 3 bucks new rv rate said:

how far? 1 mile? or 10 miles? or 100 miles? or 1000 miles?  or 10000 miles? 

 

 

[Bidumb versus Jimmah Cahrtah]

Jimmy Carter's Malaise speech:

 

 

 

Remember when there was "Global Cooling"?

 

 

 

Biden from Jun 17, 2022

 

 

 

Never let a man-made crisis go to waste!

[Internal negotiations to resolve the positions of the presidents of the republic and the ministers]

My thoughts on this mess:

 

[Disparity in the exchange rates of the dollar between Baghdad and the provinces]

If you knew the damage to the Earth that it takes to mine for rare metals (strip mining). People argue against strip mining for coal but yet are silent on strip mining for rare metals. Yeah people think "going green" is great but it makes the world brown instead. Don't get me wrong there has to be advances for things to progress but at this time oil is our best solution and only efficacious solution we have to make our cars go vroom!. Here is what is going to happen if we go green too early, the tech isn't quite ready but its ready enough to be dangerous. That not quite ready will sour a lot of people towards green products. Many, many, many products , not just green a good example of this is actually the gaming industry as so many games have rolled out and failed within a week to a year of the "go live" date, have been great ideas in the beginning. The shareholders then rush to get them out the door and sell them at profit that they end up failing in the end. Yes, I understand the lifecycle of a product which needs money to continue the R&D phases of that cycle. This isn't just a green issue its an issue with consumer confidence and loyalty. When a product is tainted its best just to close up shop and start somewheres new. And when those are lost, its 10 to 50 times harder to recover from. EVs have advanced well enough to be on the roads but they aren't quite there yet. Sometimes and I do mean sometimes, it takes a product release to find a viable solution for the problem caused by the release of a product. Take for example the battery issue in laptops. Hundreds of thousands of laptops hit the trash bin of history every year. Laptops are great but the batteries are not. These batteries, the ones that are still productive, are recycled into other uses like solar batteries (1514 batteries that look like AA batteries.) or other types of batteries. The dead ones end up in landfills tainting our water supplies and soils. (best simpsons show was when they did the nuclear waste cleanup and featured the fish with two heads and 8 eyes funny yes, over exaggerated yes, but not far from the truth) However, you cannot always look for the jon q public to find the solution when it costs people their lives. And right now it is costing people their lives, our children's lives  and the environment. 

[Disparity in the exchange rates of the dollar between Baghdad and the provinces]

On 6/10/2022 at 3:16 PM, Rochester said:

I once saw a museum display on the Nabataeans. An ancient Arab people. Went out of business. Few people have even heard of them now. But everyone knows of their building, in a movie with Harrison Ford. A few things changed on economics in the ancient world, the Nabataeans disappeared into the desert sands of time.

 

So I have no doubt that will happen to the present Arabs.

 

I have a small investment in electric batteries and am looking at nuclear energy to invest in. Between the two, the writing is already on the wall for oil. It will just take time. Not happening tomorrow. I'll buy a Tesla if this Dinar works out. Take my Muslim neighbor for a spin. I won't personally destroy their way of life based on oil, but millions of people just like me, we will. You are likely right on the roll out.

 

A copuple of other things:

 

Nuclear energy is the type of bad as is "Orange Man Bad" type of bad. Everyone knows it can do wonders and is the most efficacious form of energy but nobody likes the "tweets" so it must be bad, therefore the peoples will lack and suffer.  The US of A no longer builds nuclear power plants because of policy and it takes 50 damn years to get permission and permits to build (not to mention court proceedings) before the first brick is laid. 

 

Tesla - Model S has braking problems as in it takes 2 to 3 times longer to come to a complete stop at speed with  its Regenerative Braking System. Not good in emergency braking. Oh sure the car will stop, eventually. And what type of environmental impact does the dust from the brakes cause ? Might want to wait on that Tesla. And if you haven't seen my post on EVs as far as they are worse for the environment (not talking Tesla only) then you need to really look into it. Everyone touts EVs are great but as we enter Summer and are threatened from power companies and the media with rolling blackouts, nationwide, it's going to be tough to get your Tesla to go vroom vroom when you have no power to your house or the city is in a blackout. In other words, if you cannot even keep your lights on, how in the heck do you expect to get your car to go vroom? Solar is unreliable in every way, as is wind. You might live near a stream or river but hydroelectric so heavily regulated (even on private property) so that it makes it not feasible for anyone.  That is not to mention what happens to the batteries 1) After you are done using them; 2) their cost currently its cheaper to buy a new EV then replace them);3) diminishing range due to their diminishing effectiveness over the life of the battery (you might be able to go 100 miles today but next year only 80 miles on the same charge), 4) What happens when you get into an automobile accident and hazmat has to be called out to either cleanup from the accident or put out the fire, or both (if it requires a hazmat suit to put out the fire, it's bad for you and the environment). But hey Kermie said it best it is wonderful being green.

[The World Bank sounds the alarm in Iraq: The food security crisis is worrying]

14 hours ago, Goggles said:

 

Does the non oil sector not have enough financial utilities available to buy into some solar back-up? They have a mass abundance of sunlight to make it work, right?

Solar is great if you have abundant sunlight but what is even greater is the infrastructure to capture and deliver that energy that goes along with solar. And Iraq lacks vital infrastructure for even that. Unless solar is turned into electricity and delivered through the air (Tesla anyone?), Iraq needs vital power infrastructure to make any mode of energy work. And therein lies the rub. 

[Iran sends its final response on the nuclear deal to the United States]

Anyone else asking which spy from which country got caught in this "industrial accident"?

[Disparity in the exchange rates of the dollar between Baghdad and the provinces]

6 hours ago, DoD said:

Aren’t you glad the government has nothing to do with the exchange rate…me too. 

You are right but wrong at the same time. It is not the Iraqi gov't that has nothing to do with the exchange rate. Now what other gov'ts and/or gov'tal entities would? Word to the wise.

 

6 hours ago, Rochester said:

I once saw a museum display on the Nabataeans. An ancient Arab people. Went out of business. Few people have even heard of them now. But everyone knows of their building, in a movie with Harrison Ford. A few things changed on economics in the ancient world, the Nabataeans disappeared into the desert sands of time.

 

So I have no doubt that will happen to the present Arabs.

 

I have a small investment in electric batteries and am looking at nuclear energy to invest in. Between the two, the writing is already on the wall for oil. It will just take time. Not happening tomorrow. I'll buy a Tesla if this Dinar works out. Take my Muslim neighbor for a spin. I won't personally destroy their way of life based on oil, but millions of people just like me, we will. You are likely right on the roll out.

 

The writing is on the wall for oil? Nah! We will never totally get rid of the use of oil. Most people think oil is just to make cars go vroom! Oil is so embedded into everything that the writing on the wall is just a letter in a cacophony of letters to make a sentence. The day we get rid of oil will be the day we get rid of margarine for our english muffins.

 

[Disparity in the exchange rates of the dollar between Baghdad and the provinces]

4 hours ago, Rochester said:

Iraq is such a corrupt country. Once the oil law passes, people will find ways to take advantage of that change, as it will impact the exchange rate. Word will get out. Rumors will fly all over the place. People will want to profit from insider information. So I'm guessing, once the oil law passes, they won't wait to change the rate. It will happen together. Bang. Immediate. Otherwise if there is a time lag between passing the oil law, then changing the rate, people will have an opportunity to take advantage of that delay, as speculators waiting for the price to rise, buying cheap to sell dear, as we have done. Or maybe once they know the law will pass, they might actually change the exchange rate slightly BEFORE the oil law passes. All this is just speculation, on my part.  My two cents. Here's a beer for you: 

1. Passage of the law.

2. The law then must be put into the Gazette and the requisite time needs to pass.

3. Implementation of the law. This will require time and money to do.

4. The rate won't change with the legislative passing of the law. Nor will it change when the law goes live. Nor will will it change when the law is implemented. Why? It's Iraq! They will then want to do a study on the rate change at this time and after that will want to do a study on the study of the study of the rate change. And when the desert sands have reclaimed the buildings and the bones have long since returned to the earth, they will say, "We need to do a study on the rate change."

5. Sometime between the end of time and then will they change the rate. However, that is defined as "soon".

[A lawsuit before the Federation to demand “dissolving Parliament” and “holding new elections.”]

 

[IMF loan]

RV to get an EV and you will be SOL but POTUS will send his VIP but you will still be FUBAR in BFE.

 

On 2/4/2022 at 6:25 PM, pontiyak said:

 

 

The best things in life RV

 

yak

 

TTFN.

["On low fire." A sudden and important statement by the Prime Minister's advisor on changing the exchange of the dollar]

One time at summer bank camp (really it was band camp) I was talking to a friend I cannot name but we will say he was from that land in the desert sun where the Tigris and Euphrates come together. Anyways, we got to talking about the condition of his family over there and I asked him why after thousand of years do they still live where potatoes will not grow. He told oh those polly guys keep tell us that the rain is coming just wait it out. It will be here they guarantee one year and then every year after that they will get more 5 inches of rainfall a year, more than enough to grow potatoes - just keep working the sand...err land. So we toil and boil and boil and toil yet we don't get very far he says. Of course with enough hope you can turn sand into black gold, I tell him. He just laughed and as he lifted his horn to his lips said that really blows.

[Here's a novel idea]

(part 3, finale)

I am not against EVs. I am just against them now as a product for the masses. Technology for EVs is still in its infancy and probably could use more babay formula. We need to fix/add to or whatever is needed to ensure our lights stay on as opposed to operating like the electrical grid of Iraq. (see that christmas tree pole of wires?) Not only are the batteries and the car not right for the environment as it is currently designed, we are threatened with our own lights not being able to be powered with the current electrical grid. So how are we going to handle the increase in electricity brought on by EVs? Got to cook it up and fry it in a pan somehow? And solar and wind power just not efficient enough to do it! We could put a wind turbine on the hood of every car, oh wait nvm, too noisy and a detriment to the birds especially bald eagles. Great guy Musk but more innovation and more power plants are needed. Power plants need something to heat the water to turn it into steam to make the turbines spin (this hasn't changed since  the early 1900s). Guess we need to get to rubbing two sticks together, oh wait we can't burn wood - nvm. 

 

It was a novel idea. But hey keep working and let's put the good ole American ingenuity into the issue and see what we come up with next. Now where is that modified Delorean from the third Back to the Future movie. I have a key FOB here somewhere... Janice! Janice! You see my keys for the Delorean? Have any trash that can fill the tank?

[Here's a novel idea]

(part 2)

The Cremation of My Tesla EV
Inspired BY ROBERT W. SERVICE Poem The Cremation of Sam McGee
There are strange things done in the midnight sun
      By the men who drive an electric car so bold,
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
      That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen q-u-e-e-r sights,
      But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
      I cremated my Tesla EV.

 

Now my Tesla EV was from Tennessee, where the cotton blooms and blows.
Why I  left his home in the South to roam 'round the Pole, God only knows.
The EV was always cold, but the land of gold seemed to call us  like a spell;
Though Tesla would often say when his engine revved ever so "he'd sooner drive in hell."

 

On a Christmas Day we were cruising our way up and down the Dawson trail.
Talk of your cold! through the batteries’ fold it stabbed like a driven nail.
If our wipers we'd run, then the windshield froze till sometimes we couldn't see;
It wasn't much fun, but the only one to rev a spell wasmy Tesla EV.

 

And that very night, as I lay packed tight in that EV beneath the snow,
And the dogs were fed, and the stars o'erhead were dancing heel and toe,
The Tesla spoke to me, and "Cap," says he, "I'll cash in this trip, I guess;
And if I do, I'm asking that you won't refuse my last request."

 

Well, the Tesla seemed so low that I couldn't say no; then the EV says with a sort of a low tone:
"It's the cursèd cold, and it's got right hold till I'm chilled clean through to the batteries’ bone.
Yet 'tain't being dead—it's my awful dread of the icy grave that pains;
So I want you to swear that, foul or fair, you'll cremate my Tesla remains."

 

A pal's last need is a thing to heed, so I swore I would not fail;
And we started on at the streak of dawn; but God! the Tesla gauge was ghastly low
The tires rumbled through the whitened snow, and Tesla raved all day of the roads in Tennessee;
And before nightfall a corpse was all that was left of the Tesla EV.

 

There wasn't a positive charge in that land of death, and I hurried, horror-driven,
With a frame half hid that I couldn't get rid, because of a promise given;
It was lashed to the passenger seat  and it seemed to say: "You may tax your brawn and brains,
But you promised true, and it's up to you to cremate those last remains."

 

Now a promise made is a debt unpaid, and the road has its own stern code.
In the days to come, though my lips were dumb, in my heart how I cursed that load.
In the long, long night, by the lone firelight, while the huskies, round in a ring,
Howled out their woes to the homeless snows— O God! how I loathed the thing that did not turn the environment green.

 

And every day that quiet aluminum and steel seemed to heavy and heavier grow;
And on I went, though the dogs were spent and the grub was getting low;
The trail was bad, and I felt half mad, but I swore I would not give in;
And I'd often sing to the hateful thing, and Tesla  hearkened with a grin.

 

Till I came to the marge of Lake Lebarge, and a derelict there lay;
It was jammed in the ice, but I saw in a trice it was called the "Alice May."
And I looked at it, and I thought a bit, and I looked at my frozen chum;
Then "Here," said I, with a sudden cry, "is my cre-ma-tor-eum."

 

Some planks I tore from the cabin floor, and I lit the boiler fire;
Some coal I found that was lying around, and I heaped the fuel higher;
The flames just soared, and the furnace roared—such a blaze you seldom see;
And I burrowed a hole in the glowing coal, and the help of a crane, I stuffed in my Tesla EV.

 

Then I made a hike in my hazmat suit, for I didn't like to hear that Tesla  sizzle so;
And the heavens scowled, and the huskies howled, and the wind began to blow.
It was icy cold, but the hot sweat rolled down my cheeks, and I don't know why;
And the greasy smoke in an inky cloak went streaking down the sky.

 

I do not know how long in the snow I wrestled with grisly fear;
But the stars came out and they danced about ere again I ventured near;
I was sick with dread, but I bravely said: "I'll just take a peep inside.
I guess that Tesla’s cooked, and it's time I looked"; ... then the door I opened wide.

 

And there that Tesla stood, looking cool and calm, in the heart of the furnace roar;
And the grill of that Tesla EV, wore a smile you could see a mile, and Tesla said: "Please close that door.
It's fine in here, but I greatly fear you'll let in the oxygen—
Since I left Plumtree, down in Tennessee, it's the first time I've been warm."

 

There are strange things done in the midnight sun
      By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
      That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen ***** sights,
      But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
      I cremated my Tesla EV.

[Here's a novel idea]

With Americans threatened with rolling blackouts this summer and no plans to increase electrical and energy supply, with wind and solar only accounting for less than 5 percent of the total energy needed across this great nation just to keep the lights on and those being inefficient, let's put everyone in an electrical car (EV). Electrical cars (cars that run on batteries) are the worse thing for the environment much less energy hogs. They drink up electricity faster than an Indy car guzzles racing fuel. Yeah anything that requires a HAZMAT SUIT has to be good for the environment! OR having 3,000 gallons of water at the handy to have the car placed into it after donning a hazmat suit and waiting for a crane to pick the car up and putting the entire car in a bath of those 3000 gallons. Electric cars are great for the environment! Here is an article put out by US Fire Administration (betcha didn't know of this gov't agency if you weren't a first responder or know someone who is!) We are are on track for green  red and black energy for the red white and blue. 

 

Know the threats before you attack an electric vehicle fire

 

There are over 1 million electric and plug-in cars on U.S. roads. The batteries used in these cars have special safety concerns for first responders if there is a car fire.

These cars can experience multiple classes of fires:

• Class A (tires, fabrics, plastics).
• Class B (fuel).
• Class C (lithium-ion batteries in hybrid and electric cars).
• Class D (magnesium, titanium, aluminum and lithium).

Electric vehicle fires can be thousands of degrees hot. Applying water or foam may cause a violent flare-up as the water molecules separate into explosive hydrogen and oxygen gases.

There are several common risks for first responders associated with electric vehicle fires:

• Electrical shock (up to 400 volts).
• Extremely high temperatures and thermal runaway.
• Toxic fumes.
• Lithium burns (respiratory and skin reactions).
• Toxic runoff.
• Reignition up to 24 hours after initial extinguishment.

Reduce the risk

Many companies are meeting first responders' need with exotic chemical agents that encapsulate (just what I want in my drinking supply, clean water yay!) the burning material. But what do those responders who don't have immediate access to 3,000 gallons of water or expensive chemical agents do in the meantime?

The following guidelines will help you to mitigate the risk when you encounter an electric vehicle fire:

Pre-attack

• Park uphill and upwind.
• Establish an appropriate incident command structure.
• Identify the type of vehicle involved – standard vehicle, EV, hybrid electric vehicle, high fuel economy, etc.
• Use a thermal imaging camera to help with the 360 size-up.
• Establish tactical priorities (rescue, fire, extrication, victim care).
• Consider that this could be a combined fire, extrication and hazmat incident.

Attack

• Wear full personal protective equipment and self-contained breathing apparatus.
• Secure a large, continuous and sustainable water supply — one or more fire hydrants or multiple water tenders. Use a large volume of water such as master stream, 2 1/2-inch or multiple 1 3/4-inch fire lines to suppress and cool the fire and the battery.
• Treat all conductive surfaces as if they are energized until they are proven to be safe.
• Stabilize the vehicle.
• Power down, if possible.

Post-attack

• Have enough fire personnel and apparatus on scene for an extended operation to monitor the battery’s heat or possible reignition.
• When turning the vehicle over to a wrecker or towing company, brief their personnel on the hazards.
• If possible, follow the wrecker to the storage area, and place the battery-powered vehicle in a space, preferably an area 50 feet away from other vehicles, buildings or combustibles.

Training to assist you

Several organizations have developed training and response guides to assist first responders. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) produced an emergency field guide, NFPAs Alternative Fuel Vehicles Safety Training and the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium offers a full catalog of training opportunities. Electric vehicle manufacturers have also added emergency responder information to their websites and vehicle documentation.

New hot stick technology on the way

The U.S. Fire Administration partnered with Oak Ridge National Laboratories to develop a hot stick that can detect the presence of hazardous Direct Current (DC) voltages. The patent on this prototype has been licensed and product testing is underway. We anticipate a new product will be announced to the market soon.

___________________________

Study: Electric Vehicles Involved in Fewest Car Fires

 

BySean Tucker 01/28/2022 9:28am

Electric cars have been subject to several high-profile recalls over fire risk. Yet, a new study shows they are less likely to cause a vehicle fire than either gas-powered cars or hybrid vehicles.

Analysts from AutoInsuranceEZ examined data from the National Transportation Safety Board to track the number of car fires and compared it to sales data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The result? Hybrid-powered cars were involved in about 3,475 fires per every 100,000 sold. Gasoline-powered cars, about 1,530. Electric vehicles (EVs) saw just 25 fires per 100,000 sold.

There is some logic to the results. After all, gasoline-powered cars depend on combustion to move. The energy transfer electric cars use to move doesn’t involve anything burning.

Researchers also tallied fire-related recalls filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2020. Gasoline-powered cars were subject to far more recalls for fire risk. EVs came in second and hybrids were a distant third that year. However, we should caution that limiting recall research to 2020 means the analysts missed most of last year’s escalating series of Chevy Bolt fire recalls.

“Despite the focus on EV fires in the news,” the researchers concluded, “they are not inherently more dangerous than gas or hybrid vehicles, although electric fires tend to be more difficult than gas fires to extinguish.”

According to the National Fire Prevention Association, an estimated 560 people died in car fires in 2018. Collisions triggered the majority of fatal fires. Car fires also caused an estimated $1.9 billion in property damage losses in the U.S.

 

_______________________

Just what are we going to do with those used toxic chemicals, anyhow?

 

EVs are known to have the least amount of vehicles on the road. Those percents  of the amount of EV fires are surely to change once more and more common day driving is done by more and more EVs hitting the road!

 

And how long do those batteries last? The range of the vehicle decreases with age (8-10 years!)  compared to an ICE vehicle (Which only decreases with lack of maintenance, it either goes with a tank of gas or doesn't; sometimes it goes then sputters to a stop)! Because the batteries wear down!

 

Here is an article trying to spin the EV as the way to go but the devil is in the details (EV stands for Electrical Vehicle and ICE stands for Internal Combustion Engine for those not in the know) I guess that trip to the southwest of the United States is out and we are not even talking a Death Valley drive through. Even with drones (LiPo batteries as found in EVs) heat is the enemy. Lest not forget Alaska trips! Ice (frozen water type) Road Truckers are going to be out of a job come winter in the Land of the Midnight Sun where the men moil for gold.

 

So now we are getting into liquid cooled or heating the batteries which is also adding more toxic chemicals to the environment upon spillage or even a drip leak. EVs are bad for the environment! Buying new batteries will cost more than the car itself! Better to just buy a new EV. How much is recycled and how much is ending up in the junkyard and what does that do the environment?

____________________________

 

Your Guide to EV Batteries: Premature Death, Range Loss and Preservation

 

Cars.com photo illustration by Paul Dolan

By Joe Wiesenfelder

January 24, 2022

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The topic of electric car batteries has countless facets, from the types of cells and various chemistries to the prospects for future improvements, but it’s unlikely that any shopper would choose an electric vehicle based on whether its battery pack uses, say, cylindrical instead of pouch-style cells. So we’ll do what Cars.com always attempts to do, which is focus on what matters right now to current shoppers and owners. Speaking of focus, shoppers have concerns about EV batteries — and they should — but those concerns often focus on the wrong thing. Let us steer you toward the issues worth considering.

• Premature Death and Replacement
• Range Loss Is Guaranteed by Age
• Extreme Temperatures Obliterate Range … in Different Ways
• DC Fast Charging Compromises Battery Life
• How to Preserve Your EV’s Battery Capacity and Range
• Don’t Shop by Kilowatt-Hours

Related: More EV News and Advice

Premature Death and Replacement

Let’s get this out of the way. Shoppers correctly surmise that the battery packs in electric cars are very expensive parts and thus prohibitively expensive to replace, but there’s a misconception that they’re likely to fail someday. There’s no question that their cost would make the typical owner walk away from the car altogether rather than replace a battery pack. (Most individuals won’t bother having a conventional vehicle’s engine or transmission rebuilt, a cheaper endeavor than battery replacement, even though the used-car market happily rebuilds those components and resells the cars if their owners give them up.) But complete battery pack failure is rare. We learned the same thing over the course of 20 years after hearing the same concerns about gas-electric hybrids. Further, electric cars have powertrain warranties amounting to at least 100,000 miles or eight years, as required by law, so in the event of failure, the battery should be covered for the original owner (used-EV buyers should always make sure the warranty transfers to them before buying). Battery death is not worth worrying about unless you’re buying a used EV or are someone who insists on keeping a vehicle for decades, for both this reason and those below.

Range Loss Is Guaranteed by Age

What all EV shoppers and owners should be aware of, even concerned about, is that all rechargeable batteries lose capacity with use and time, even if you do everything right. For what it’s worth, most modern EVs are designed to do things right to ensure that your car never behaves like a two-year-old smartphone, and there’s even more an owner can do (more on that below). But it’s inevitable that a battery’s capacity — meaning the car’s range — will diminish over time. Anyone considering one of these cars and determining how much range they will need should know and account for this.

In the earlier days, automakers clearly stated in owner’s manuals that EVs would lose capacity over time. For example, the manual for the 2011 Nissan Leaf Cars.com purchased in 2011 warned:

“Nissan estimates that battery capacity will be approximately 80% of original capacity after five years, although this is only an estimate and the percentage may vary (and could be significantly lower) depending on individual vehicle and Li-ion battery usage.”

If this were true, it would mean the Leaf’s initial EPA-estimated range of 72 miles would be 57.6 miles, and after 10 years, if the degradation remained consistent, the range would be 43.2 miles. The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV’s manual said, “Depending on use, the battery may degrade as little as 10% to as much as 40% of capacity over the warranty period.”

We’ve learned more since then from various studies and companies that collect data from real vehicles in the hands of consumers. Recurrent, a platform that monitors more than 7,000 connected vehicles in the U.S. (so far) and offers used-EV reports for shoppers, suggests that EV batteries lose less capacity than the worst cases predicted above by Chevy and Nissan.

“Every electric vehicle loses range differently, including cars of the same brand or year,” said Recurrent CEO Scott Case. “The good news, however, is that several early EV models show us that batteries last longer than people expect. Across all of the EV models that we track in the US, there is a noticeable S curve in the data, where cars lose a few percentage points of range from their original EPA estimate relatively quickly, generally in the first two years, then range loss levels off for the next several years as the battery stabilizes. After five years, it is common to see a 5-10% drop in range. Some vehicle models follow a fairly linear 1.5-2.0% per year, while most others drop 2-3% in the first couple of years before leveling to 1% per year. In the Tesla Model S, for example, we see that many lose less than 5% of range from 50,000 to 200,000 miles.”

Based on the 10% drop after five years, which is the higher end of Recurrent’s range, we’re looking at closer to a 20% loss by the time an original battery warranty expires, presuming that the degradation continues at the same pace. (A better performer would be closer to 10%.) Geotab, an Ontario-based company that tracks battery health in many EVs, including commercial fleet models, pegs average battery degradation at 2.3% per year. For supporting evidence, look no further than EV manufacturers, some of whose battery warranties guarantee 70% of the original capacity within the warranty period, which seems to agree with the potential for 80% to remain, plus an extra 10% safety margin to account for the many variables that could result in worse-than-average range loss. According to Recurrent, warranty claims based on capacity loss are rare.

To illustrate how differently EV battery packs can age, Recurrent has seen low-mileage used EVs with less than half their original range and nine-year-old cars with nearly all of their original EPA-rated range. The variability is based on the make and model, how they’re charged and driven, the temperatures to which they’re subjected and even more factors, unfortunately. Read on to learn what some of these issues are and what you can do to get the most out of your EV’s battery.

Extreme Temperatures Obliterate Range … in Different Ways

It’s no coincidence that EVs have been most popular in warmer climates. Their range diminishes temporarily in colder temperatures. And that’s all electric cars.

It’s both because their battery packs lose capacity when they’re colder and because cabin heat is necessarily electric, which robs range. In 2011, our Nissan Leaf with an EPA-estimated 73 miles of range dropped to around 50 miles during winter in Chicago. A AAA study has since quantified the range loss at 20 degrees Fahrenheit to be roughly 40% lower than at 75 degrees for the average EV.

So this is an important consideration if you’re determining how much range you need and you live in a colder climate. You can maximize your range by preheating the cabin while the car’s still plugged in, using grid power, but the overall effects of cold on range are unavoidable.

Also, lithium-ion batteries work below freezing but they don’t like charging at that temperature. This doesn’t mean they can’t be charged, but charging might be slower and less efficient as the car uses some energy to keep the battery warm. Regenerative braking might also be compromised by subzero temps, depending on the model, because that also constitutes charging.

The good thing about normal winter cold is that its effect on battery capacity is temporary. High temperatures, on the other hand, can result in accelerated capacity loss. Though this is a widely known phenomenon, the degree isn’t well known, as usual, because there are so many variables involved. According to Geotab data, after four years, an EV in a temperate climate shows less battery degradation than one in a hot climate, but the difference is less than a quarter of a percent. Perhaps it’s because Geotab’s division between temperate and hot climates is simply fewer or more than five days per year over 80 degrees F. Or perhaps it’s because almost all EVs sold today have active thermal management — liquid cooling (and often heating) of the battery pack, which keeps it healthy and efficient, especially when plugged in to charge.

A comparison of one 2015 model EV without active thermal management, the Nissan Leaf, with another 2015 that has it, the Tesla Model S, might be the most useful: Geotab reports the Leaf’s average degeneration rate at 4.2% and the Model S’ at 2.3%.

Note that driving an EV in high temperatures also diminishes range temporarily, but the degree isn’t as pronounced as with cold. Where’s the sweet spot? A battery temperature around 70 degrees F.

DC Fast Charging Compromises Battery Life

With almost no exceptions, EV manufacturers enable public DC fast charging (sometimes called Level 3) but warn that it’s best done sparingly to prevent premature capacity loss. Once again, “sparingly” defies definition and numbers regarding the potential degradation are elusive. The most definitive figure we’ve seen was from Kia, which attributed 10% degradation over eight years to DC fast charging. (When asked, a Kia representative said this was based on research, not experience with its own EVs.)

 

The Combined Charging System (CCS) connector enables public DC fast charging of many electric vehicles. | Cars.com photo by Joe Wiesenfelder

If correct, 10% might not sound like a lot, but remember that it would be on top of normal capacity loss and also combine with any range decreases from weather extremes or other factors. Add 10% to 20% then throw in some cold weather, and before you know it, your EV’s range is 30% of what it was when you purchased it eight years earlier — at least temporarily.

How to Preserve Your EV’s Battery Capacity and Range

There are things an owner can do to help preserve an EV’s battery capacity, and fortunately today’s EVs are designed to do some of these things automatically and to facilitate others.

 

Like most EVs,, the Tesla Model Y lets you limit how much the battery charges. | Cars.com photo by Joe Wiesenfelder

Don’t Fully Charge or Discharge

The key to long battery life is not to use its full capacity, at least not all the time. Vehicles already do some of this themselves, which is why you might find two capacity specifications, in kilowatt-hours, for the same battery pack — such as gross and net or nominal and usable, where the first number is higher. The automaker maintains a buffer to ensure longer life and as a hedge against range loss. What you can do as an owner is not run your battery below a 10% state of charge unless you have to and not charge above 80 or 90% on a regular basis. Most EVs let you set a level at which the car will stop charging for this reason. For longer trips, you simply override the limit and charge fully.

 

The Volvo XC40 Recharge Twin recommends limiting charging to 90% capacity for ordinary use. | Cars.com photo by Joe Wiesenfelder

Keep It Cool

You might not have a choice about where you live and drive, but you can choose where to park, and it’s best to park an EV in the shade or in a cooled garage when one’s available. Regardless of where you park, keeping the vehicle plugged in ensures that it can cool itself if necessary (most models), under the most extreme conditions, using grid power. There are other reasons …

Keep It Plugged In

As noted above, keeping an EV plugged in doesn’t have to mean charging it to 100%. It does allow the vehicle (depending on the model) to protect its battery from excessive heat or cold and precondition the cabin for comfort without compromising range. It also prevents deep discharging from lack of use, which can be more damaging to battery life than routinely driving it empty before recharging. The mysterious disproportionate loss of range in EVs that appear to be relatively new and/or have low odometer readings is usually associated with sitting discharged for weeks on end, perhaps repeatedly. The EV revolution has turned used-car buying on its head because what looks like a peach on paper (a few years old with very low miles) could be one if it’s a conventional vehicle, but if it’s an EV, it might be a dud.

Use It

An extension of previous warnings about not letting an EV’s battery discharge, it appears there’s no downside to working an EV hard. Geotab reports that using an electric car daily to the extent of its abilities — so long as you’re not resorting to damaging behaviors in order to do so, such as frequent DC fast charging — hasn’t resulted in accelerated battery degradation. Yes, the miles and charging and discharging all count, but there’s no additional penalty associated with frequent use.

Don’t Shop by Kilowatt-Hours

For the same reason we’d warn against buying one SUV because it has slightly more horsepower or a larger gas tank than another model, we warn against comparing battery kilowatt-hour specifications between models. There are so many other variables — such as weight, efficiency and aerodynamics — that these specifications alone don’t mean what they might appear to. The first SUV might not be quicker if it’s heavier, and the one with the larger tank might not go farther between fill-ups if it’s less efficient. The battery specification example is the same story, with one possible exception: when comparing different versions of the same model as opposed to a Ford versus a Tesla.

If a manufacturer has a smaller and larger capacity battery pack available for the same EV, then those differences should be meaningful. The “larger” battery is almost certainly heavier, but you can bet the automaker accounted for that or the upgrade wouldn’t do much good.

When choosing an EV, and especially when comparing different models, always use bottom-line specifications. For acceleration, look for 0-60 mph times, not the kilowatt (or horsepower) ratings of the motors. Range is tricky, but always start with EPA-estimated figures rather than making assumptions based on the kWh ratings of two vehicles’ batteries.

 

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“The active battery recycling market is in its infancy, as car batteries are so reliable and long-lived,” explains Graeme. “But we can expect to see huge growth in recycling technologies. It makes neither economic nor environmental sense for EV batteries to be dumped in landfill – it just won’t happen.” (So sayeth the Raven Nevermore!)

The current methods of smelting and leaching (So we are already polluting our waterways and soil with toxic chemicals, hey here's a novel idea let's pollute our air!) will be finessed in coming years, as will the battery designs to optimise the separation and recycling process of end-of-life batteries. In the UK, the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) has launched a £7million competition for on-vehicle solutions that address challenges associated with the transition to zero emission vehicles, including improving sustainability.

The former Chief Technical Officer of Tesla, J. B. Straubel, has launched Redwood Materials, one of a crowd of new start-ups racing to solve a problem that doesn’t exist yet; how to recycle electric car batteries that will be past their prime. (Okay pu the cars on the road and kick the can of what to do with the batteries later. Check!)

 

_________________

(to be continued)

 

[CBI Daily Auction & Currency Exchange Rates - Executed Sunday - 5/22/2022 for Monday - 5/23/2022]

14 hours ago, horsesoldier said:

 

...and sell them ( & their daughters too ) if there's a profit to be made. How do I know this ? Because Iraqi's I have known have told me they have witnessed this: they speak of their outrage & sadness that this still goes on.

Iraqis are not the only ones who do this. It is rare in the United States but does happen. It happens in India, Taiwan and other places that you would never think of. One of the biggest is when an overseas bride wants to bring her children with her and the husband refuses to relinquish parental rights. The other parent demands that the husband to be pay that parent a large sum of money. Some wouldn't think of this as selling of children but it is. Take a look at the dowry system. Is that a system of selling a child? In some ways yes. One can find profit in everything as it just depends on how sleazy they want to be to find it.  (everything I have said is still going on in 2022 and beyond with no changing the system although India seems to be budging a little.)

[Hillarious Clinton Approved Giving Trump–Russia Allegations to Reporter: Testimony]

Notice the spin right now is "There is no 'evidence' " that Hitlary gave the order for the dossier. Not a denial but a manipulation of the words (spin) that shows how she is getting away with it. She has always used these words when she has been guilty as hades knowing there won't be court in the land to convict her without hard evidence. 

[Washington threatens China with a military response if it invades Taiwan]

9 hours ago, Smokey Mtn. Dinar said:

Senile Obiden probably "thinks" that he can fool us. If we look at what he is doing around the world, we won't see the way he is destroying America.  Impeach that senile old fool, and lock him up in a jail for the criminally insane!  😡 

Impeach Biden and you get Kamaltoe. You have to impeach 0Bummer as it is his third term along with Vlad Jarette who is sucking dry the blood of the people of the US.

[CBI Daily Auction & Currency Exchange Rates - Executed Sunday - 5/22/2022 for Monday - 5/23/2022]

Well the speaker of the quote has been right so far. The exchange rate did not revert back 1-yr later (December 19, 2021)..