Every Now and Then...

...I dip into the comments section of a CBC.ca article. And then I remember why I don't do that more often.

The article: Vancouver charges ahead with electric-car plug-ins.

It makes me happy, if a bit disappointed at the scope of the operation - 20% of new development? 20%, scaling up to 100% over the next ten years, maybe, and including retrofitting existing apartments/condos. The electric car is the perfect urban vehicle - quiet, no emissions, and limited range isn't a deal-breaker. Anything that can be done to encourage its adoption is a good thing. (Plus, think of the number of streetcorners that can be reclaimed from gas stations!)

And then we get to the comments. First, this gem, from "MaryRedcord":

Yet another example of a Canadian special interest group of latte sucking yuppie wimps that has taken over and obtained access to government policy. As a result of this each stall will cost $2000 eh. Think again. Do the freaking math folks. Those are after tax dollars. In addition the cost will be added to your mortgage. Your real cost will be about $5000 a stall which is stupid beyond belief. People will likely pay for the charges via their credit cards pushing the costs even higher. Eventually a cost will be reached which exceeds the cost of gasoline. Oh and stand by for a taxpayers paid incentive for electric cars. That will add more cost to you as it will go onto the deficit.

The fix is easy. Keep the special interest groups away from government policy making. Oh and you can bet the instructions will be in at least three or four languages too. Anybody heard of an extension cord? You can buy one at crappy tire for about $20.

You betcha!
Dumbkoffs!

So. No calculations, assumption of persecution/conspiracy by "latte-sucking yuppie wimps" (presumably real men drive carbon-spewing trucks), implied pie-in-the-sky assumptions that the price of gasoline will remain fixed, hint at bigotry (languages), total lack of knowledge regarding electric car power consumption/charging rate (extension cord) and an insult, in passing, to a proudly Canadian institution whose products have always served me well. Did I miss anything?

Oh yeah. Hint of Palin worship.

Next on the docket, we have the arrogantly-named "BCHimself":

As we all dance around the "May Pole" celebrating the newest of electrical marvels does anyone realize that BC has the "easy" potential to produce hydro electricity at virtually "no cost" to you & I.
We have so many rivers and large volumes of water in the province why are we not producing more electricity from these sources , then issue the hydro electricity to those that want to charge their vehicle batteries "free of charge" ?
The mental migets that are in Victoria and Ottawa by the drones is simply amazing !

Now, aside from this man's abuse of "quotation marks"... what, does he think that hydroelectric dams and generators are free? Perhaps we've been doing it all wrong; clearly, all we have to do is plug the grid into the rivers. All this mucking about with dams, and that's all there was to it this whole time. Boy, do we feel stupid. By the bye, BCHimself - "mental midgets"? Glass houses and stones, boy.

Who's next? "wallycat" contributes:

Plug ins for the street people to recharge their cell phones, I pods, and most importantly to plug in their electric blankets on the cool evenings.

In apartment building and condominium parking lots? In Vancouver? There are easier places for homeless people to get electricity - especially given that part of the reason these charging stations are going to be more expensive than your conventional wall socket is that they will be high-capacity electrical sockets, akin to that which powers an electric stove; not a standard "plug in the phone" socket. Sorry, next contestant?

Ah. "IronMaiden" wins the "not contributing to the conversation" award with this bit of inspired prose:

If we could make a battery powerfull(sic) the power the space shuttle that would be great.

"Hassel99" provides us with the expected "long tailpipe" argument, along with "anything short of perfection is unacceptable":

Keep in mind most of our electrcity(sic) comes from still comes from fossile(sic) fuels and every time the province trys(sic) to promote "green" Energy "run of rivers, there is major public resistance by the same people who want to use electric cars, its a vicuous(sic) cycle.

Figure out how to power everything cleanly first before you dramaticly(sic) increase our need for said power.

Charming.

"Otto2010" doesn't realize why the charging stations would cost as much as the article indicates:

Again I ask the question; Who then pays for the electricity they use to charge their electric cars? When I go to the gas station, I pay for my own gas. It seems to me that if these people get to plug their cars into common property (strata payed) outlets, then the other tenants/owners in the buildings will be paying for their electricity as well. Why should they get free "Fuel" just because they decided to buy electric?

Well, me boyo, part of that cost is for separate metering. For just that reason. Next?

From "Tyee.Mike":

I think this is a great plan, lets put plug-ins everywhere so people can plug in their electric cars FOR FREE. Ya thats it it will be just like gas cars, where you park someone always leaves you with 5-10 litres of gas so you can fill up.

I guess impark and the various parking companies will give you all that power for free right. We should power up the parking meters too. Just hand out the 'fuel' for those people who are wealthy enough to afford an electric car.

Maybe some additional planning could be done before jumping on the electric bandwagon. There are a lot of questions before forcing developers to add the cost of these installations to their buildings.

Guess what, Mike? The folks doing the legislature here? They're smarter than you. If you could figure that out, you can bet they already have. Next!

Our last contender (because I'm tired of reading them) is "DavidSt. Denis", who, like so many others, wishes to broadcast his ignorance online:

As for the electric car, it just doesnt appear to be feasible to operate. I can see stalled vehicles in Metro Vancouver all over the place. And as for long journeys by highway - forget it! No logistics to ever be able to support them and they travel way to slow for highway/freeway speeds.

Lessee. First, just 'cause the fuel changes doesn't mean that drivers won't keep an eye on the tank. Are there stalled ICE cars all over Vancouver? No? Then shut it. Now, the second point is almost coherent - there are not, in fact, too many places that have charging outlets for electric cars. But if you're willing to make a trip of it, it's not actually a problem. With a 300km range, you'll get to wherever you're going, and if you stop for lunch, you might be able to plug into a conventional outlet to charge up. The speed comment, though; that one is just too big a lie to let slide.