Meanwhile, Trump's been threatening 500% tariffs on India, because India won't bend the knee to US strongarm tactics to take over India's agriculture and other industries.
FYI, e.g., US companies Amazon & Walmart already dominate India's eCommerce industry. US company Monsanto had total monopoly on India's cotton agriculture industry by decades of corrupt practices by Monsanto to take over the indigenous cotton seeds varieties, hybridize them (GM crop), patent them, and then charge Indian farmers for using those seeds. Indian govt rejected those farmers and freed Indian cotton industry from Monsanto's stranglehold. PepsiCo has also been doing same shenanigans to Indian potato agriculture.
India is worried that USA wants to decimate Indian indigenous agriculture and control India where it hurts most - its stomach (India has among the most fertile lands in the world. And it has huge agriculture exports. Whoever controls its agriculture, controls India.)
Indian government has been doing a lot of efforts in past decade for "Make in India" initiatives - manufacturing in India. So this is another avenue for foreign players to control India, if Indian government allows uncontolled FDI (foreign direct investments) into it (just like how Amazon and Walmart took over India's eCommerce industry.)
India is rightfully wary of Trump and USA. But it is yet to bend the knee.
When Trump threatened 500% tariffs on India last November, India silently raised tariffs on agri exports to USA, and Trump had to back off. But he's been making the same noises again because India doesn't agree to his bullying demands.
EU should have faced the Trump's 8% tariffs head on. Bullies should be taught their place by the majority.
[In the past is that Zoom said they were HIPAA Compliant, eg. had end-to-end encryption, and weren't. This was a huge issue at the beginning of the Pandemic when everybody started using them. This has since been fixed, but this wasn't their only lie or breach of trust.
A few years ago, Zoom tried to insert a clause in their ToS that would have allowed them to use audio, video or chat content for training AI. But due to a LOT of backlash they backpedalled on that and now they "just" use telemetry data, product-usage data, diagnostic data and similar data “that Zoom collects or generates in connection with your or your End Users’ use of the Services or Software”.
Zoom has had multiple instances of extremely sketchy behavior, including:
* Deploying a rootkit on Macs to allow silent reinstallation of Zoom after removal.
* Having vulnerabilities in said rootkit that took months to patch after trying to ghost the researcher.
* Using useless encryption.
* Lying about end-to-end encryption (they weren't even zero knowledge!)
* Routing entirely US calls through China.
* Lacking any reasonable access control to stop bombers.
They have been caught lying-- not corporate speaking, not fudging a bit, outright lying-- on multiple occasions and had to replace parts of their leadership structure to try to fix the bad PR around it.]
Isn't this the same state where the rich people water their plush lawns even in the peak of summer during drought?
And where 90% of the water for its huge capital city-district (Los Angeles) is not even sourced locally (say, by desalination of seawater, as it is a coastal city), but it's instead piped from hundreds of miles away, while banning the villages at the source locations from using the local rivers/lakes as all that precious water gets piped away to feed the thirsty city-district (Los Angeles)?
Ah, my bad, you are right. LA is not the capital of California. Thanks for the correction, appreciate it!
But I guess the relevance of my point still stands.
Rich regions need to do better at water management. They cannot simply keep crying wolf (whining about droughtsand water scarcity), when their bad water-infrastructure planning and bad practices (e.g., watering big laws during severe droughts) are exacerbating the problems.
From what I can gather online, Florida seems to have double the desalinatiom plants than California. So definitely, California can do a lot better at civic infrastructure, especially for water management.
No, this is the state where the vast vast vast majority of water is used in incredibly inefficient agricultural practices because those consumers were allocated water "Rights" in a stupid system over a hundred years ago and have never had to pay market rates for water and are therefore not incentivized to do anything to not waste water.
Instead, factions are heavily incentivized, by the way that water rights system works, to spend millions insisting that Californians must use an even smaller fraction of the state's water budget than they already do.
Wait, the richest state does not price water usage properly?! So rich elites are paying low price for water, even though the region can have droughts?
(I mentioned "richest state" because a rich state should tax the wealthy more, and subsidize basic amenities for the poor. So if poor pay less for water, it's okay, because the wealthy pay a pricier rate for water, so they don't tend to waste water.)
This is ridiculous. No wonder they are watering lawns and wasting water in other ways during droughts.
But what is even more ridiculous is when prudent citizens are fined for conserving water during drought.
In the era of solar power saturating the grid in daytime, the energy cost is far less of an issue - At least, I assume California has similar characteristics to Australia in this regard.
California is richest state in USA, it's is richer than many countries, it can afford such cost. Florida has more than double the desalination plants than California, and it is poorer than California.
Read the last line: [The impact of the Los Angeles Aqueduct Project to the Owens Valley region was immediate and detrimental to future agricultural work of local farmers. In 1923, in an effort to increase the water supply, the city of Los Angeles began purchasing vast parcels of land and commenced the drilling of new wells in the region, significantly lowering the level of groundwater in the Owens Valley, even affecting farmers who “did not sell to the city’s representatives.”[44] By 1970, constant groundwater pumping by the city of Los Angeles had virtually dried up all the major springs in the Owens Valley, impacting the surrounding wetlands, springs, meadows, and marsh habitats.[45] The consequent transfer of water out of the Owens Lake and Mono Lake decimated the natural ecology of the region, transforming what was a “lush terrain into desert.”]
"villages"? You're not from here are you? Makes me wonder if internationally you're getting general anti-American propaganda or if Republican anti-California propaganda is leaking worldwide.
If the richest state in the USA cannot do effective seawater desalination project to feed itself, but would rather drain out lakes and rivers from 400+ miles away (thus rendering those places unfit for farming, and forcing the locals there to get water from somewhere else long distance off), and the locals of that richest state happily waste that expensively sourced water during drought years, then it is plain and simple mismanagement of precious water resources.
If you aren't yet terrified of climate change, and if you think such mismanagement of natural resources is sustainable in the long-run, you need a rethink, my friend.
The droughts are going to get worse. Case in point: Madagascar.
The point raised is valid however. Los Angeles in particular notoriously bad track record when it comes to managing water resources and depriving upstream communities of them.[1]
Read the last line:
[The impact of the Los Angeles Aqueduct Project to the Owens Valley region was immediate and detrimental to future agricultural work of local farmers. In 1923, in an effort to increase the water supply, the city of Los Angeles began purchasing vast parcels of land and commenced the drilling of new wells in the region, significantly lowering the level of groundwater in the Owens Valley, even affecting farmers who “did not sell to the city’s representatives.”[44] By 1970, constant groundwater pumping by the city of Los Angeles had virtually dried up all the major springs in the Owens Valley, impacting the surrounding wetlands, springs, meadows, and marsh habitats.[45] The consequent transfer of water out of the Owens Lake and Mono Lake decimated the natural ecology of the region, transforming what was a “lush terrain into desert.”]
Cadillac Desert is the usual recommendation on how f'd water deals are in the West, the Owens Valley landgrab is merely the opening chapter. No argument there.
It's the urban/rural division subtext of the brown lawns and the economically-infeasible desal techno-saviorism that comes off a bit russian botish.
The big scale in water politics is in the colorado river compact and how water rights are bought up by foreign alfalfa farmers to effectively ship water overseas. Brown lawns is pennies in front of the steamroller. Pennies that are effective at stoking urban/rural divisions, but still pennies in the grand scheme of things.
And they're all wrong. The real use was with a (now decayed-away) wooden ball inside them which, when shaken, displayed texts like "certum est" and "iterum postulo".
When your ICE vehicle breaks down on the highway, you can get it towed and repaired at any half-decent car mechanic. If you don't like his cost quote or his service/repairs, you can get your car taken elsewhere (usually the mechanic can get it running in a short while, unless it is a major breakage problem) for a second opinion or service/repairs.
When your EV breaks down, you won't even bother to get it towed, because the only ones who can repair it are the (very expensive) showroom of the car manufacturer you bought it from, or their authorized (and very expensive) service center (and those will be very few of them in a city, and forget about getting such EV Service centers in the suburbs or rural areas). And you have to accept whatever cost quote and dependencies (additional upgrades to "fix" the "issue") he specifies. Good luck trying to figure it out or getting a second opinion, unless you have an EV industry expert as a friend or family member.
The EVs are white elephants. They look good while they last. But once they start breaking down, you will be paying through your nose just to keep it ticking along.
Whereas that 30-years old ICE car of your grandpa? That rustbucket can be repaired (eventually to full functionality and best looks) in your home garage by you and family/friends if you have the knowhow (or want to learn it), and can afford the time and spare parts cost (which are affordable for middle class, except if it is a vintage car or sports/luxury car).
EVs will be the deathknell for the hobbyist market and small-scale auto shops.
And don't even get me started on how easily and dangerously EVs can be hacked/hijacked by hackers.
That has nothing to to with EVs per se, as many modern ICE cars are just as impossible to repair for non-affiliated repair shops. And some EVs, e.g. the Nissan Leaf, are quite easy to work on for independent shops.
Except for the electronic subsystem, almost everything else in an ICE car can be repaired by a competent non-dealer mechanic shop.
I do agree though that modern ICE vehicles are becoming more and more complex, with electronic subsystems replacing manual subsystems, so non-dealer mechanics may struggle with such complex work and may even reject the work saying it's out of their ambit. This situation is getting aggravated as car manufacturers are pushing for hybrids, which have the partial advantages & disadvantages of both ICE & EV worlds.
But for any EV (including the Nissan Leaf), repairs & advanced diagnostics on the electric-drive components
(which is basically the main component of the EV), health checks on the battery (other main component), or repairs involving high-voltage systems, are typically out of the competency and ambit of a non-dealer mechanic, unless the mechanic shop is a dealer-certified EV-trained service center.
However, the routine mechanical work — things like brakes, suspension (e.g., sway bar links, shocks), tires, wheel alignment, cabin filters, etc. — can generally be done safely and correctly by a good independent mechanic, whether it be for an ICE vehicle or an EV.
The difficulty of working on the electric-drive components are massively exaggerated. Independent shops routinely swap worn-out Nissan Leaf batteries with salvaged or rebuilt battery packs nowadays. You can even get a 3rd party replacement pack with a different battery chemistry: https://evsenhanced.com/aftermarket-battery/
And then there's all the people putting Tesla drive-trains in classic cars. They couldn't do that if they weren't able to work on the electric drive.
> When your EV breaks down, you won't even bother to get it towed, because the only ones who can repair are the (very expensive) showroom of the car manufacturer you bought it from, or their authorized (and very expensive) service center
That's true, but it is has more to do with parasitic capitalism than EV technology, and could (and hopefully will）be solved with regulation. My understanding is that there is already significant regulation around ICE car parts which is the main reason why the situation there is better.
Regulation will do nothing because it is not meant to tackle such problems.
EV is basically a battery-powered motor on wheels.
The smartphone in your hands is a battery-powered communication device with a touchscreen.
If your smartphone doesn't work, can you take it to any phone repair shop and get it repaired for anything other than a battery replacement or screen replacement (or if the service center guy is technically competent, then maybe replacing the charging port if it is busted).
EU, India and few countries have enacted the Right to Repair law.
But if your smartphone is broken, your options to get it repaired are minimal, because its manufacturers have gone to extreme lengths to ensure that such devices are not easy to open (let alone repair).
Now extrapolate that Smartphone Repair problem 10x-100x, and you have the EV Repair problem.
EVs are DESIGNED and MANUFACTURED to be extremely difficult to repair even by excellent technicians and software experts.
EVs are the Razor Blade Theory in moving attractive action.
(Razor Blade Theory is basically a selling cheat but perfectly legal one; they sell you a razor blade with special handle/holder cheaply, but you have to keep buying razor blades from same brand (e.g., Gilette) & model that only work with that specific type of handle/holder. Over a period of time, the manufacturer will keep increasing the cost of the razor blades, because they know they have locked in the customers who have become accustomed to that type of handle/holder, blade quality & comfort, design, etc.)
You can buy an EV for an expensive upfront cost (it is sold as a premium (> ICE car) segment; just like smartphone brands have a premium price-tier segment), but running and repair costs is where the customers will be fleeced.. hard.
And please note that running cost (wear & tear) of an EV will not be covered by car insurance, so if your EV breaks down on the road, and you get it towed for repair, then the showroom/service-center (who usually have a tie-up and nexus with car insurance vendors) and insurance vendor will simply say the repairs won't be covered under extended warranty or insurance as it is normal "wear and tear".
And you'll have to swallow all those lies at face value, because you cannot even go elsewhere for a second opinion (because an EV of one brand, cannot be repaired at service center or showroom of another; if you go to another service center of same brand, they will cite you the same lies because that's their revenue model (Razor Blade Theory)).
EVs are a losing proposition for humanity, because unfortunately, even the supposedly green (not affecting climate change) EVs have toxic waste (typically the chemical batteries and plastics) that are never safely disposed off in climate-friendly ways.
ICE vehicles have some of these same problems, but their biggest advantages are their long mileage (per full tank of fuel), easier operation (not driving, I mean it is easy to top/fill up the fuel), easy maintenance (affordable repair options), and all-round viability that can even last a century with the right care.
However, you can bet that EVs are being designed for planned obsolescence, and that's a shame since humanity indeed needs some viable alternative to fossil-fuel-guzzling climate-polluting ICE vehicles.
> EVs are DESIGNED and MANUFACTURED to be extremely difficult to repair even by excellent technicians and software experts.
Correct. So we should pass regulation that makes this illegal (or otherwise prohibitively expensive for manufacturers due to legal responsilities which would be difficult to fulfil with such a design). We know that repairable EVs are entirely possible.
The same applies to smartphones and whole bunch of other hardware from washing machine to tractors, and is the basis of the "right to repair" movement.
If 40+ years of mobile phones have not solved such problems through regulations, I am afraid they won't be solved for EVs either.
Furthermore, once EVs become mainstream across the world, it will be China controlling the world [since batteries and chips & ICs (integrated circuits) need Lithium, Rare Earth Metals, etc., but China has the monopoly on them (especially on Rare Earths processing)].
That's why China is doing its best to dominate EV market (as hinted in the above linked article), because it knows no nation can dethrone it for the basic essentials of any EV.
It would be a bad idea for the world to be beholden to a single country for anything. Oh wait, the world is already beholden to China for most of the manufacturing. LOL.
> If 40+ years of mobile phones have not solved such problems through regulations, I am afraid they won't be solved for EVs either.
I don't think that follows. Nobody has even attempted to solve these problems for mobile phones. And the main reason for that is that it's a pretty new problem. Appliances 40 or 50 years ago were much simpler and typically quite repairable. It's only the recently that a focus on manufacturing efficiency and profitability have led to these kind of problems.
That's actually true in India, because India has a huge population. So no matter where you are in India, you are never too far from civilization. Some people have backpacked across India with just a few essentials.
Nepal and Bhutan has less population, so the density of humans vs nature is less there.
But if you stick close to the hiking trails in this vast & beautiful subcontinent, you can backpack easily from one rest stop to another.
And after some hours of tough trekking, when you encounter the warm welcome, bonhomie, food & drinks, music & laughter from the natives/locals, it is an amazing experience, worthy to be cherished. Faith in humanity - restored!
The Metro (trains) stations in my city have foot-operated levers (pedals) to control the elevators/lifts, doors, toilet taps/faucets (though the urinal themselves have sensors to auto-flush), etc.
Although, as a precaution, I carry a hand-sanitizer and fresh mask in my bag whenever I commute on such public transportation.
I guess the pandemic (and the eerie realisation that it can repeat anytime, since it was decidedly an artificial one) has attuned me to be more vigilant on my safety and health, so I try to be cautious and safe in public where crowds can gather.
FYI, e.g., US companies Amazon & Walmart already dominate India's eCommerce industry. US company Monsanto had total monopoly on India's cotton agriculture industry by decades of corrupt practices by Monsanto to take over the indigenous cotton seeds varieties, hybridize them (GM crop), patent them, and then charge Indian farmers for using those seeds. Indian govt rejected those farmers and freed Indian cotton industry from Monsanto's stranglehold. PepsiCo has also been doing same shenanigans to Indian potato agriculture.
India is worried that USA wants to decimate Indian indigenous agriculture and control India where it hurts most - its stomach (India has among the most fertile lands in the world. And it has huge agriculture exports. Whoever controls its agriculture, controls India.)
Indian government has been doing a lot of efforts in past decade for "Make in India" initiatives - manufacturing in India. So this is another avenue for foreign players to control India, if Indian government allows uncontolled FDI (foreign direct investments) into it (just like how Amazon and Walmart took over India's eCommerce industry.)
India is rightfully wary of Trump and USA. But it is yet to bend the knee.
When Trump threatened 500% tariffs on India last November, India silently raised tariffs on agri exports to USA, and Trump had to back off. But he's been making the same noises again because India doesn't agree to his bullying demands.
EU should have faced the Trump's 8% tariffs head on. Bullies should be taught their place by the majority.
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