JERRY AGAR

Another green energy fail

Posted By: Jerry Agar · 9/27/2012 6:25:00 AM

The electric car Justin Bieber and Leonardo DiCaprio drive has failed the Consumer Reports test. Worst over-all luxury sedan.

Some of the things CR didn't like had nothing to do with the electric car aspect; things like cramped back seats.  But you would not want to see them write, of an electric vehicle, "an engine that is noisy when running, long battery recharge times."

But then let's consider this statement from CR.  "And credit Fisker, as a small, start-up company, for bringing the Karma to market. It is a feat that many other firms have attempted and failed at, underscoring why the auto industry is dominated by massive, well-established global corporations. "

How did they do it?

With $193 million dollars in taxpayer funding. As has been the case with other green energy products, the taxpayers cough up massive amounts of money, and the companies fail.

“Most Karmas are going to be bought by the rich and famous,” said the Consumer Reports reviewer. “That’s good, because they can afford another car to drive if their Fisker’s in the shop.”

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  1. StephenS_5505 posted on 09/27/2012 08:27 AM
    By all means lets keep using gasoline engines that loose 62 % of their energy during the combustion process. The only reason this engine is still around is becuase its cheap to make.

    You may well squawk at the taxpayer dollers that go to the company but then yell just as loud at the billions that are given to the oil companies as well.
  2. Jerry Agar posted on 09/27/2012 08:31 AM
    No money is "given" to oil companies. They get the same R&D tax breaks all other companies get. If you want to argue against that, do so, but the money actually given to energy companies is to failing and failed green energy companies. The inefficiency of oil is outmatched by the inefficiency of green.
    1. StephenS_5505 posted on 09/27/2012 11:21 AM
      @Jerry Agar The bulk of these subsidies come in the form of special tax breaks and royalty reductions. The rest include loan guarantees and indemnification programs, as well as footing the bill for infrastructure that supports the industry.

      Ottawa and Alberta have already announced $1.4-billion in funding for CCS pilot projects involving a coal-fired power plant and an oil sands upgrader

      •Canada provides over $2 billion per year to oil companies

      1. Direct Expenditures: The direct
      expenditures were relatively small
      ($26.2 million or just 1.8% of the total).
      They included money for Nova Scotia
      and Newfoundland development funds,
      the Petroleum Technology Research
      Centre and aid to the Hibernia offshore
      oil project. One of the largest expenditures
      was $11.5 million for tar sands
      research and development


      Sure sounds like they do.

      BTW a solar cell converts 93% of the input to energy, oil is way behind that
    2. SteveB_10 posted on 09/27/2012 11:55 AM
      @Jerry Agar How about the billions in direct payment for carbon sequestration, which has proved to be a total waste of money.
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  3. enix posted on 09/27/2012 10:10 AM
    I do not understand why Jerry is so against green energy. Did the Wright brothers got it right in the beginning...NO...DID Karl Benz got it right the first time....NO...DID Stephenson Rocket got the early steam locomotive right the first time....NO ... eventually they all succeded and their ideas are now an integral part of our lifes.
    1. MichaelP posted on 09/28/2012 04:30 PM
      @enix i have never once heard Jerry say he was against green energy. I think his issue was more with the govt giving these industries (or any other industry) a bunch of money with no hope of a return on that investment.
  4. SteveB_10 posted on 09/27/2012 11:54 AM
    Big Oil gets billions and billions of subsidies every year, same with Big Coal and Big Gas. They leave their garbage for the world to clean up. They cause wars which cost trillions and millions of lives lost. So a few bucks to change the world to one free of oil slavery is a good investment..

    The Internet was a government deal, not a ponzi scheme Jerry, most drugs are government subsidized, not a ponzi scheme. The Haldron collier, I could go on and on demonstrating what a fool you are on this subject.

    The Telsa looks like the real deal.
    http://www.insideline.com/tesla/model-s/2012/2012-tesla-model-s-full-test.html

    What the title for Jerry's show should be.
    http://thinkingaboot.blogspot.ca/2011/05/idiot-wind.html
    1. Sean posted on 09/28/2012 12:08 PM
      @SteveB_10 Bullshit. Stop repeating the lies of the green industry.
  5. JUDY STAYZER posted on 09/27/2012 10:48 PM
    JERRY I LISTEN TO YOUR SHOW FAITHFULLY. YOUR THE ONLY ONE THAT MAKES SENCE TO ME, BUT HERE IS WHERE I AM CONFUSSED. WHEN A CONTRACT IS DONE. ISNT IT DONE. EG THE TEACHERS. WHY DO THEY FEEL THAT THEY CAN NEGOTIATE.. CANT THE GOV SAY THAT YOUR CONTRACT IS FINISHED AND HERE IS WHAT WE ARE GOING TO OFFER. EXAMPLE, WE WILL KEEP YOUR WAGES THE SAME AS WHAT IT IS, BUT ANYONE MAKING OVER 75 THOUSAND DOLLARS CAN AFFORD YOUR OWN BENIFITS AND EVERYONE RETIRES AT THE NEW NEGOTIATED AGE OF 68. DONE DONE DONE IF THEY OPEN UP THESE NEW JOBS TO THE TEACHERS I QUARANTEE THAT 50 PERCENT OF THEM WILL TAKE IT, SO ALL THE OTHER TEACHERS THAT DONT HAVE A JOB CAN BE INTERVIEWED FOR THE JOB. DO YOU KNOW THAT THEY ARE PUMPING OUT 800 TEACHERS A YEAR FROM UNIVERSITYS ONLY FOR THE MONEY, IM GUESSING, BECAUSE WITH THE TEACHERS THAT RETIRE AT 55, THEY CAN STILL TEACH AT A LUCRATIVE PAY JUDY
  6. JUDY STAYZER posted on 09/27/2012 11:10 PM
    HI JERRY I LEFT THE LAST MESSAGE AND FORGOT TO TELL YOU SOMETHING. I HAVE A CLEANING BUSINESS AND WORK FOR A COUPLE THAT WAS BOTH SUPERINTENDANTS FOR DIFFERENT SCHOOL BOARDS. ONE RETIRED TWO YEARS AGO AND THE OTHER RETIRED THIS YEAR. BUT NEITHER OF THEM RETIRED. INSTEAD THEY ARE GETTING THEIR PENSION AND ARE NOW HIRED AS CONSULTANTS, AND MAKING MORE MONEY THAN THEY WHERE BEFORE. DO YOU THINK THAT THIS IS RIGHT!!!!!!!!! MAYBE STEP DOWN AND LET THE NEW GENERATION TAKE OVER. BUT NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!. THESE PEOPLE HAVE ALSO JUST INHERITED A LOT OF MONEY FROM THE FAMILY AND CERTAINLY DONT NEED THESE JOBS. WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUDY
    1. GregH_5652 posted on 09/28/2012 06:14 AM
      @JUDY STAYZER Hi, Judt. On the left side of your keyboard there is a button reading "Caps Lock". Please don't use it.
  7. Ralf Braukmann posted on 10/01/2012 08:12 AM
    So we spent money on “green energy” wow. What a waste! Worst of all, the electric car is not new.
    In the late 1800s, France and Great Britain were the first nations to support the widespread development of electric vehicles. In 1899, a Belgian built electric racing car called "La Jamais Contente" set a world record for land speed - 68 mph - designed by Camille Jénatzy. About.com
    There are of course the hybrids – maybe not great yet but have you seen the i8 – 0 to 100 in 4.8 sec using 3.8 l/100km to do so. It is a step ahead
    There is also the hated wind power. Aside from the earth bound wind turbines, we now send airborne turbines into the constantly blowing trade winds. So who does all this strange wind stuff?
    Country Total capacity
    end 2009 (MW) Total capacity
    end 2010 (MW) Total capacity
    end 2011 (MW)
    China 26,010 44,733 62,733
    United States 35,159 40,298 46,919
    Germany 25,777 27,191 29,060
    Spain 19,149 20,623 21,674
    India 10,925 13,065 16,084
    France 4,521 5,970 6,800
    Italy 4,850 5,797 6,747
    United Kingdom 4,092 5,248 6,540
    Canada 2,550 4,008 5,265
    Portugal 3,357 3,706 4,083

    We are 9th after the UK. Oh I see we are behind the leading industrialized nations of the world. They must all be daft, eh?
    What we do need is a better way to store electricity. If you are looking for real waste, look at Orange, e-health, and a host of other government boon daggles. I wonder why we are never allowed to find out who got the cash.
    I have no issue with research the ends in failure. Here are a few quotes:
    I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. Thomas A. Edison
    A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. Albert Einstein
    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people. Eleanor Roosevelt
    Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today. Mark Twain
    Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Martin Luther King, Jr.
    Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. Thomas A. Edison
  8. SteveB_10 posted on 10/01/2012 03:38 PM
    In simple terms even Jerry can understand. Maybe Jerry's problem is he cant understand facts when his job depends on not understanding them. A common right wing job hazard.
    http://cleantechnica.com/2012/10/01/infographic-on-what-a-doe-loan-for-the-110-mw-crescent-dunes-solarenergy-project-creates/
  9. levon posted on 10/02/2012 10:44 AM
    Agar is such a waste of air time. He's an arrogant divider who is still chained to his American Tea Bagger mindset. I wish they boot this guy to the curb when his contract ends. As for green energy Agar is of the same belief system as the US VP candidate Paul Ryan who says since there is snow only proves there is no global warming. They're nuts.

    There is nothing wrong with solar power. It's new technology which has expanded all over the world. Look around and you'll see buildings all over Toronto and Ontario investing in solar panel technology.

    And what's wrong with electric cars? In Chicago (where Agar was fired from before coming here and we got stuck with him), they've added 600 charging stations throughout the city. It's now a race for all auto manufacturers to get electric cars into production.
    Mitt Romney tried to make a joke about green energy and said you can't tie a wind turbine to your car. Funny...btw you won't potus.

    So let gas guzzling cars go by the way of the 8 track. We can do better.
    1. DanM_2681 posted on 10/03/2012 08:56 AM
      @levon ...no one is oppossed to Green Energy. What many people are oppossed to is the use of taxes to be used for R&D and implementation before the technology is efficient.
      So let the entrepreneurs who have vision develop the technology and bring it to market when it is ready. Is that unreasonable?
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