HN Explorer

Russia-Ukraine oil spike: EV tactical response

5 points by AtlasBarfed ↗ HN
As of this posting, we are one cent under the record average high for gas prices, with higher prices projected to come. I would qualify this as a economic danger to our economy given it's state.

What can we do? The North Dakota shale oil industry was basically killed by Saudi overproduction/dumping a few years ago.

Lean on OPEC to increase production? Biden and MBS do not get along. They will likely reap profits.

Rollout BEV cars and trucks: not enough supply and not enough recharging.

I believe there is a short-term EV strategy though: the electric bike. With spring/summer coming, I believe the US should institute a 500$ - 1000$ purchase rebate on any electric bike. This is a means of maximizing available battery supply for the best result of transportation. It is the maximum number of EVs for the minimum impact on our grid. e-bikes can assume huge amounts of local trips, and with burlys/trailers, substantial amounts of errands for basic goods.

And it would be a way to directly support the Ukraine, by dropping the price of oil that Putin will use to fund it.

3 comments

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trinovantes
I think North America just has Stockholm syndrome with the oil & gas industry. I've been hearing a lot of talk about rising energy costs the past few weeks but few if any actually questioned why our society requires so much oil in the first place i.e. our terrible post-war urban design. Bikes or ebikes are simply not viable for most cities in Canada/US as most "bike lanes" are death traps that get little to no enforcement and maintenance.

Even if Putin's regime falls apart like the USSR, in the long run, I fear we'll continue funding the next Russian war machine for a future conflict.

gt565k
The price is rising due to speculation. The supply hasn’t changed. Like literally the price is going up because speculators think the supply of Russian oil and gas will be reduced, but it hasn’t yet!!!

The markets are a curse and a blessing…

powerbroker
Voluntarily drive slower. This was the first response by the federal government in the 1970's. You can get 5-15% better gas mileage if you slow down on the highways.