Since everyone seems to be pushing electric cars as the solution it's worth noting that "we're not there yet"

Electric Car Happiness Will Turn To Fury When Real Range Becomes Clear
Neil Winton

A brand-new electric car is gleaming on your driveway and your first reaction is going to be excitement, followed perhaps by a smidgeon of smugness.

Make sure you enjoy that moment because the next one will be fury after you plug it into your house and the range attained after a full charge has no relation to the number suggested by the dealer, or the one written down in the car’s specification details.

Manufacturers are reluctant to produce much accurate information, and organizations like the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association wouldn’t respond to my questions. Meanwhile, BEUC, the European Consumer Organization, isn’t happy and wants action. EV manufacturers are hoping that by the time sales reach the same level as internal combustion engines (ICE), technology might advance to a point where battery-electric cars can compete head-on, but there seems little chance of that any time soon.

If you’ve purchased a Mini e 32.6 kWh and charge the battery, the shortfall might reach 32% - 98.5 miles versus 145 miles, according to my data. For a Vauxhall/Opel Corsa E 50 kWh it’s close to 25% (154.5 miles versus 209 miles). Buyers of the Polestar 2 78 kWh will be relatively happy. The range possible is only about 7% less than the promised 292 miles at 270. That won’t last though because when you tackle your first long-distance journey on the motorway/highway, you will be shocked to find that you will only get about 40% of ....

https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilwinton ... 9c8885773d

I Rented an Electric Car for a Four-Day Road Trip. I Spent More Time Charging It Than I Did Sleeping.
Our writer drove from New Orleans to Chicago and back to test the feasibility of taking a road trip in an EV. She wouldn’t soon do it again.

I thought it would be fun.

That’s what I told my friend Mack when I asked her to drive with me from New Orleans to Chicago and back in an electric car.

I’d made long road trips before, surviving popped tires, blown headlights and shredded wheel-well liners in my 2008 Volkswagen Jetta. I figured driving the brand-new Kia EV6 I’d rented would be a piece of cake.

If, that is, the public-charging infrastructure cooperated. We wouldn’t be the first to test it. Sales of pure and hybrid plug-ins doubled in the U.S. last year to 656,866—over 4% of the total market, according to database EV-volumes. More than half of car buyers say they want their next car to be an EV, according to recent Ernst & Young Global Ltd. data.

Oh—and we aimed to make the 2,000-mile trip in just under four days so Mack could make her Thursday-afternoon shift as a restaurant server.

Less money, more time

Given our battery range of up to 310 miles, I plotted a meticulous route, splitting our days into four chunks of roughly 7½-hours each. We’d need to charge once or twice each day and plug in near our hotel overnight.

The PlugShare app—a user-generated map of public chargers—showed thousands of charging options between New Orleans and Chicago. But most were classified as Level 2, requiring around 8 hours for a full charge.

While we’d be fine overnight, we required fast chargers during the days. ChargePoint Holdings Inc., which manufactures and maintains ...

https://www.wsj.com/articles/i-rented-a ... 1654268401

Over 1,000 Die as Record-Breaking Heat, Wildfires Scorch Europe
Spanish officials said 360 people died in the country between July 10 and 15, while more than 650 people have died in Portugal over the past week.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/07/17/over-1000-die-record-breaking-heat-wildfires-scorch-europe

Governments are very creative when it comes to taxation. I'm not concerned.

No question they'll find a way to make it up (and then some). The only question will be "who pays?"

I've read some recent articles that warn about purchasing an EV. Few charging stations, long charging times and long lines at the few stations that exist.

How Climate Change Is Going to Wreck (What’s Left of) Our Lives
The Five Pillars of Civilization, and Why They’re Beginning to Crumble

In the quaint Oxfordshire village of Northend, the future’s already here. It’s bleak. It’s made of water tankers, because the village has run dry.

“For Evans, who has lived in the small village of Northend for 12 years, it’s anxiety inducing. ‘This is the future, isn’t it?’ said Evans, who has learned to be more economical with her water usage now she is in her 70s. This is the reality for ....

https://eand.co/how-climate-change-is-g ... c384e5a7be