Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2024 03:27:51 -0500 Mime-Version: 1.0 User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird Subject: Re: Yet Another Reason EVs are a Bad Choice Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv References: <_NGdnQo7bcjKpvf7nZ2dnZfqn_SdnZ2d@giganews.com> <20240613171620.0000412e@example.com> <20240613183255.00005d4f@example.com> Content-Language: en-US From: trotsky In-Reply-To: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Lines: 165 Path: ...!weretis.net!feeder9.news.weretis.net!usenet.blueworldhosting.com!diablo1.usenet.blueworldhosting.com!feeder.usenetexpress.com!tr2.iad1.usenetexpress.com!news.newsdemon.com!not-for-mail Nntp-Posting-Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2024 08:27:51 +0000 X-Received-Bytes: 9475 Organization: NewsDemon - www.newsdemon.com X-Complaints-To: abuse@newsdemon.com Message-Id: <17da0be1b5def855$191410$273357$d54a64@news.newsdemon.com> Bytes: 9854 On 6/16/24 5:10 PM, BTR1701 wrote: > On Jun 13, 2024 at 3:32:55 PM PDT, "Rhino" > wrote: > >> On Thu, 13 Jun 2024 21:56:00 +0000 >> BTR1701 wrote: >> >>> On Jun 13, 2024 at 2:16:20 PM PDT, "Rhino" >>> wrote: >>> >>> > On Thu, 13 Jun 2024 00:20:39 +0000 >>> > BTR1701 wrote: >>> > >>> >> I've noticed that several of the EV charging stations at my local >>> >> mall seem to have the cables ripped out. (There are also huge >>> >> swaths of L.A. that are now dark at night because thieves have >>> >> ripped apart streetlights to steal the copper inside.) So now even >>> >> if you happen to find one of the rare chargers that can 'fuel-up' >>> >> your EV, you're likely to find it useless due to thievery. >>> >> >>> >> ---------------------------------- >>> >> DETROIT (AP) — Just before 2AM on a chilly April night in >>> >> Seattle, a Chevrolet Silverado pickup stopped at an electric >>> >> vehicle charging station on the edge of a shopping center parking >>> >> lot. Two men, one with a light strapped to his head, got out. A >>> >> security camera recorded them pulling out bolt cutters. One man >>> >> snipped several charging cables; the other loaded them into the >>> >> truck. In under 2½ minutes, they were gone. >>> >> >>> >> The scene that night has become part of a troubling pattern >>> >> across the country: Thieves have been targeting EV charging >>> >> stations, intent on stealing the cables, which contain copper >>> >> wiring. The price of copper is near a record high on global >>> >> markets, which means criminals stand to collect rising sums of >>> >> cash from selling the material. >>> >> The stolen cables often disable entire stations, forcing EV >>> >> owners on the road to search desperately for a working charger. >>> >> For the owners, the predicament can be exasperating and stressful. >>> >> >>> >> Broken-down chargers have emerged as the latest obstacle for U.S. >>> >> automakers in their strenuous effort to convert more Americans to >>> >> EVs despite widespread public anxiety about a scarcity of charging >>> >> stations. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults say they believe EVs take too >>> >> long to charge or don't know of any charging stations nearby. >>> >> >>> >> If even finding a charging station doesn't necessarily mean >>> >> finding functioning cables, it becomes one more reason for >>> >> skeptical buyers to stick with traditional gasoline-fueled or >>> >> hybrid vehicles, at least for now. >>> >> >>> >> Two years ago, according to Electrify America, which runs the >>> >> nation’s second-largest network of direct-current fast chargers, a >>> >> cable might be cut perhaps every six months at one of its 968 >>> >> charging stations, with 4,400 plugs nationwide. Through May this >>> >> year, the figure reached 129-- four more than in all of 2023. At >>> >> one Seattle station, cables were cut six times in the past year, >>> >> said Anthony Lambkin, Electrify America's vice president of >>> >> operations. >>> >> "We're enabling people to get to work, to take their kids to >>> >> school, get to medical appointments," Lambkin said. "So to have an >>> >> entire station that's offline is pretty impactful to our >>> >> customers." >>> >> Until a month ago, police in Houston knew of no cable thefts. Then >>> >> one was stolen from a charger at a gas station. The city has now >>> >> recorded eight or nine such thefts, said Sgt. Robert Carson, who >>> >> leads a police metal-theft unit. >>> >> >>> >> In one case, thieves swiped 18 of 19 cords at a Tesla station. >>> >> That day, Carson visited the station to inspect the damage. In the >>> >> first five minutes that he was there, Carson said, about 10 EVs >>> >> that needed charging had to be turned away. In very large cities >>> >> like Houston, charging stations typically contain an especially >>> >> large number of plugs and cables, so thefts can be particularly >>> >> damaging. "They're not just taking one," Carson said. "When >>> >> they're hit, they're hit pretty hard." >>> >> >>> >> The charging companies say it’s become clear that the thieves are >>> >> after the copper that the cables contain. In late May, copper hit >>> >> a record high of nearly $5.20 a pound, a result, in part, of rising >>> >> demand resulting from efforts to cut carbon emissions with EVs >>> >> that use more copper wiring. The price is up about 25% from a year >>> >> ago, and many analysts envision further increases. >>> >> >>> >> Charging companies say there isn’t actually very much copper in >>> >> the cables, and what copper is there is difficult to extract. >>> >> Carson estimates that criminals can get $15 to $20 per cable at a >>> >> scrap yard. "They're not making a significant amount of money," he >>> >> said. "They're not going to be sailing on a yacht anywhere." >>> >> >>> >> Still, the more cables the thieves can steal, the more they can >>> >> cash in. At $20 a cable, 20 stolen cables could fetch $400. >>> >> >>> >> The problem for the charging companies is that it’s much costlier >>> >> to replace cables. In Minneapolis, where cables have been clipped >>> >> at city-owned charging stations, it costs about $1,000 to replace >>> >> just one cable, said Joe Laurin, project manager in the Department >>> >> of Public Works. >>> >> >>> >> >>> > >>> > I can think of several solutions to this problem, though some would >>> > require some research: >>> > 1. Find a material to use that isn't copper but works well enough. >>> > (That's the one that requires research.) >>> > 2. Wrap the cables in metal cladding to make it harder to cut. >>> > That's been done for years. >>> > 3. Instead of providing a cable at the charging station, let the car >>> > owner provide it; the charger would only contain a port/receptacle >>> > for the cable. Initially, the cable could be kept in the trunk like >>> > booster cables but eventually the engineers would figure out a more >>> > elegant way to keep it hidden away and just pull out of the car >>> > somehow. >>> >>> Then you're just going to have thieves breaking into cars and >>> stealing their cables the same way they're vandalizing gas-powered >>> cars for their catalytic converters. >> >> Probably. Still it would entail somewhat more risk than just pulling up >> to a vacant recharging station and cutting the cables with bolt cutters >> so it might discourage SOME theft while implementing the better >> solutions. > > Our society is in slow-motion collapse and the leftists in charge seem to like > it that way: That sentence must be word for word out of the white supremacists handbook. And when you think about it is there anything more oxymoronic than "white supremacist?" > > https://www.cbsnews.com/news/thieves-steal-metal-los-angeles-6th-street-bridge-ribbon-of-light-goes-dark/ > > Hundreds of people every day walk on Los Angeles' 6th Street Bridge, but at > sundown they disappear, and the "Ribbon of Light" goes completely in the > dark. > > "About 7 miles from end to end of copper wire that has been stolen," L.A. City > Councilman Kevin de León told CBS News. "So these lights are becoming ATM > machines." > > The eye-catching bridge-- which traverses the L.A. River and the 101 Freeway, > connecting the historic Boyle Heights neighborhood to the downtown L.A. Arts > District-- opened to great fanfare in July 2022 and at a cost of nearly $600 > million, but now has Angelenos shaking their heads in dismay. > > Over the past year, thieves have gradually stripped the lights, poles and > copper wiring that illuminate the bridge's arches. The stolen metal in total > is worth about $11,000, according to de León. > > Hundreds of fire hydrants across the city have also been stolen for scrap > metal since last year. Security video showed suspects using a truck to knock > one down and haul it away. > > "It's mind boggling that somebody would just come into a neighborhood and > steal a fire hydrant," Angeleno Krystal Cousins said. Many replacements now > have locks to prevent access to the bolts. > > Meanwhile, city officials don't plan on replacing the bridge's lights until > they can find a way to stop the thieves from picking the bridge apart. Copper is valuable. Do you have a fucking point? Ever?