Climate Wars

Happy belated New Year to everyone. I've been hibernating after the holidays taking it easy and spending some quality time with the family. The EV has also been hibernating for the most part with occasional driving now and then. I've been top charging the battery pack once every 7-10 days just as I would if it was in storage. I can say that the sub zero (below freezing) temperatures have a very noticeable effect on the batteries. My best estimate is a 20% increase in voltage sag. To reduce this effect, I have some ideas for improvements to the battery box to incorporate some form of thermal management but this will have to wait until next summer/fall. For now, I am content leaving the EV at home during the winter and commuting to work using public transit. This is also good for rust prevention as the car is not constantly exposed to road salt and winter grime.

As usual, I've been reading quite a bit and watching more and more documentary films. I recently listened to a CBC Radio series called "Climate Wars" by Gwynne Dyer dealing with the geopolitics of climate change. There are some stunning conclusions made with different scenarios of what the future may look like for humanity and the state of our planet. Here again, I urge everyone to indulge and have a listen in.

There are three podcasts

"Ideas1", "Ideas2", "Ideas3",

and one video speech

"TVO".