NOV 23

Any way you slice this, our economy is in very dark and disturbing times. We are standing on the edge of an abyss with one foot half way already down into it. It seems like as a nation we are running around like chickens with our heads cut off. Everyone knows we are in deep despair but no one seems to be able to agree on what to do about it. So much attention has been given to the mortgage crisis that little attention or credit for what the high cost of fuel this past year has played in our downward spiral. That one single factor caused families to break the budget at the pump alone. Consumer goods in every capacity from production to shipping passed the increased costs on to us. (and most products now cost more and come in smaller packages) Electric companies sought and were granted huge price increases. We cut back, quit going out to eat as much or at all, quit spending on frills and even necessities, that sadly resulted in even more jobs being lost. It has been a real catch-22 in the economy. Record jobs and homes are being lost still. Unemployment is climbing every day. While most of the public seem to be doing the happy dance around the pumps, and reporters are reporting the happy dance, little is being reported about OPEC's plans to keep cutting production and they will until they get prices back up where they want them to be. The average family is so far behind they will never get caught up. Jeff Wilson has an interesting book just out called The Manhattan Project of 2009. I heard him on a radio talk show interview and he blew me out of the water. I got his book on Amazon. I think we are going about this whole thing wrong. WE keep spending billions on bailouts and stimulus checks. Why not invest in creating improved grids, infrastructures, and creating millions of badly needed new green collar jobs? The last stimulus package cost us 168 BILLION and did NOTHING to stimulate our economy. That would have gone a long way toward starting up alternative energy projects and creating new jobs. www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com on a lighter note check out what they are doing in California.Check out this link to read the news. This is so exciting for those who realize the importance of seeing out country transfrom away from fossil fuels and to cleaner, cheaper electric cars. I read about this in Jeff Wilson's book The Manhattan Project of 2009. I am thrilled and surpriesed to see it taking place so soon. Link to news story below or simply type electric car infrastructure california or better place into search engine. http://www.freep.com/article/2...

Yoni,

I know that for most electric cars, the life of the battery, how much range it gives the car, etc. are crucial, make or break issues. Even though electric cars have been around for a long time, their range isn't great and the batteries are expensive to replace. The great thing about Better Place, as I understand it, is that they make it so that doesn't matter.

The idea is that when you buy a contract with Better Place, they provide the energy for your car - including the battery. The owner never owns the battery. This means that if you get an older one when you swap at a changing station, it doesn't matter, because you will likely swap that one out again soon enough. I guess the risk Better Place faces is that if their batteries are expensive and don't last long, that they might not do the depreciation right in their accounting, it could hamper their ability to be profitable.

I do believe that Better Place will face enormous challenges. I've written an article discussing some of them here: http://www.thefiniteworld.com/node/96. But I'm not sure the battery will be that big of an issue.