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JimC
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Postby JimC » Wed Jun 10, 2009 5:46 pm

In the General forum there is a topic "Do sheep dream of electric cars" or someting similar. I read the post as it is a fairly witty paraphrase of Philip K. Dicks' novel.

I wasted my time checking the link and it has nothing to do with battery vehicles. It is very misleading and in my opinion an annoyance.

Can it be looked into with the possibility of being removed.

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JimC

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timpootle
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Postby timpootle » Wed Jun 10, 2009 10:19 pm

I'm sorry you feel like that, Jim.

The subject line exactly says 'Book: "Do humans dream of electric cars?"'

The body text is a link to the book being sold on Amazon, where there is a cover picture and description.

Although there is a copy of the book in my house, I haven't read it yet so I can't say how relevant to battery vehicles the book is. However, it's subject is sustainable transport, which is of interest to many of our members. Therefore I will not be removing the topic.

*Further clarification sent by PM*
Tim Crumpton

JimC
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Postby JimC » Fri Jun 12, 2009 6:27 am

Hey Tim, I stand by what I said that it is misleading and an annoyance but if nothing else it has sparked a debate.

I would reply that this site is (batteryvehiclesociety.org) not (sustainable energy.org). There are plenty of sites that are available for sustainable energy but I have never seen a better site than this one for battery powered vehicles.

From the blurb it does have the potential to be an interesting read, basically it proposes a radical rethink on how transport should be used and all private use of vehicles is bad (including battery powered ones). As a goal to work towards the idea has some merit but to consider it as a goal to achieve is I think impractical and shows luddite factions at there very worst.

I am sure that you are quite correct in assuming that the majority of people have some interest in sustainability, I certainly do. I am very passionate about sustainable energy, fishing and farming (not necessarily organic).

I live in an apartment in the centre of town and is not practical for me to come off the natonal grid howver I am going to put solar PV panels on the roof and a simple battery charger in my shed to charge my quad. If I ever get the time I will make some quick release connections for my batteries so instead of recharging them in situ on the bike I will simply swap them over with fresh ones.

To get back to your post, would it be possible for you to edit it making it clear that the link is for more sustainable use of transport and is not directly relevant to battery powered vehicles.

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JimC

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timpootle
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Postby timpootle » Fri Jun 12, 2009 8:30 am

I have added your opinion to the thread, as a warning to others. I think this should have the effect you desire.

HTH HAND
Tim Crumpton

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timpootle
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Postby timpootle » Fri Jun 12, 2009 9:34 am

JimC wrote:... I have never seen a better site than this one for battery powered vehicles...
Best
JimC

Really? Wow. Thank you for saying so.

I agree that it is very hard to gather all the information you need for any project, particularly EVs it would seem. The information is spread very thinly across the internet. If this site helps gather some of that together, so much the better.
Tim Crumpton

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ChrisB
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Postby ChrisB » Fri Jun 12, 2009 6:18 pm

Tell you what........... how about we move it into the home energy section if you feel that strongly about it:wink:

Would that be better :?

Thank for the kind comment about our site, the main reason we started the forums off was due to the lack of UK based info, yes theres loads of info out there and other non UK sites which is fine but I personally got quite frustrated with the fact folks would chat about doing this and that when a lot of the equipment they where using was either very highly priced in the UK or just not available :cry:



ChrisB
I reject reality and substitute my own !!!!!!

Jon Fray
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Postby Jon Fray » Fri Jun 26, 2009 5:37 pm

JimC sorry that you found that a waste of time.

Jim, honestly I don't think you could claim that you wasted much time looking at that book on Amazon. It takes about 20 seconds to see what it's about. And yes, it is relevant to the Battery Vehicle Society and its members because, as far as I understand, (and I read about the book in a SUSTRANS publication) that essentially, SUSTRANS see electric cars as being a waste of time or a distraction/ diversion from addressing more pressing issues to providing truly sustainable transport.

I'm not saying that the book is good, bad or indifferent. I just find it interesting to see the way the politics of transport and environmentalism is being discussed now.

Here's another link if you've got more than 20 seconds to spare; it contains text such as the following "For the £250m allocated to electric car incentives in the Budget, you could introduce TravelSmart to around 12.5m households, or around half the population of the UK. TravelSmart results show that we could not only reduce car trips by ten per cent, but also boost the economy (by enabling people to be more physically active with all the benefits to our health and energy budgets), and reduce congestion"

http://www.sustrans.org.uk/resources/in ... ctric-cars

Essentially it's challenging the idea that electric cars are a good thing. I thought members of the BVS would be interested to know what is being said/ published. That's all. Didn't mean to waste anyone's time.


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