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drvolts's profile
David Roberts
David Roberts
David Roberts
@drvolts

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David Roberts

@drvolts

I run a newsletter called Volts, about clean energy & politics. Subscribe & join the community at http://volts.wtf !

Seattle, WA
volts.wtf
Joined March 2009

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    1. David Roberts‏ @drvolts 22 Apr 2020

      My new post: US Postal Service trucks average 28 years old & badly need to be replaced. Electric mail trucks would be cheaper to fuel, easier to maintain, & produce radically less noise, air, & carbon pollution. Sounds like some good stimulus spending!https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/4/22/21229132/electrify-postal-trucks-usps?utm_campaign=drvox&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter …

      218 replies 2,652 retweets 10,753 likes
      Show this thread
      David Roberts‏ @drvolts 22 Apr 2020

      The Postal Service is the single most popular agency in the US federal government. I wonder how many Americans know that Republicans are about to -- intentionally, knowingly -- allow it to go bankrupt and crumble entirely.

      1:28 PM - 22 Apr 2020
      • 268 Retweets
      • 867 Likes
      • Dr.LiaVotesBlue Douglas J. Monroe Donovan-D Charlemagne 🇱🇨 Why is this OK? Maggie Kain Zebster43 Eggcredible Dr Holy Cow MSc BA MD says I💙U, Georgia!🗽 Kelly
      24 replies 268 retweets 867 likes
        1. New conversation
        2. David Roberts‏ @drvolts 22 Apr 2020

          David Roberts Retweeted Justin Gerdes

          https://twitter.com/JustinGerdes/status/1253210032507777024 …

          David Roberts added,

          Justin GerdesVerified account @JustinGerdes
          Good idea from @drvox: In addition to electrifying its mail truck fleet, the @USPS should turn post offices in "community sustainability centers": https://bit.ly/2wZJHh9  pic.twitter.com/6Tdlv21l1V
          4 replies 26 retweets 165 likes
          Show this thread
        3. David Roberts‏ @drvolts 24 Apr 2020

          1. Since I'm given to believe that not everyone reads entire articles (shame on you), here's a quick thread drawing on my piece: reasons electric vehicles would work well for the Postal Service.

          3 replies 17 retweets 52 likes
          Show this thread
        4. David Roberts‏ @drvolts 24 Apr 2020

          2. Internal combustion engines run on a series of explosions, which waste a ton of energy as waste heat. The conversion of electricity to movement is about 90-95% efficient; converting liquid fuels to movement tops out at 40-45%, usually much lower.

          2 replies 8 retweets 43 likes
          Show this thread
        5. David Roberts‏ @drvolts 24 Apr 2020

          3. Consequently, electricity is a cheaper vehicle fuel, everywhere, already. Says the DOE: “On a national average, it costs less than half as much to travel the same distance in an EV than a conventional vehicle.” USPS could save several hundred million $$$/year on fuel costs.

          1 reply 7 retweets 47 likes
          Show this thread
        6. David Roberts‏ @drvolts 24 Apr 2020

          4. EVs have greater torque than ICE vehicles -- they are way faster off the line. Also, they can generate energy for themselves through regenerative braking. EVs are perfect for stop&start driving. Hm, what vehicles need to start quickly & stop a lot? Mail trucks!

          3 replies 11 retweets 61 likes
          Show this thread
        7. David Roberts‏ @drvolts 24 Apr 2020

          5. EVs are quieter than ICE trucks and emit zero air pollutants. Electric mail trucks would reduce noise & air pollution in *every district in the country*. As public spending goes, it would be massively egalitarian.

          1 reply 9 retweets 50 likes
          Show this thread
        8. David Roberts‏ @drvolts 24 Apr 2020

          6. EVs also emit less greenhouse gases than ICE trucks. And yes, before you start, that's true *everywhere in the country*, today, already, even in places with carbon-intensive grids. It will only be more true as the grid gets cleaner in coming years.

          2 replies 6 retweets 37 likes
          Show this thread
        9. David Roberts‏ @drvolts 24 Apr 2020

          7. EVs contain fewer mechanical parts, in less direct contact (also: no explosions!), so they are much, much cheaper & easier to maintain. That's not nothing for an agency with a bunch of 30yo trucks & a $2 BILLION annual maintenance bill.

          2 replies 3 retweets 35 likes
          Show this thread
        10. David Roberts‏ @drvolts 24 Apr 2020

          8. Didn't address this in the post, but yes, I'm aware no EV battery is likely to last 30 years. We don't really yet have a great sense of average battery life (original Teslas are still going), but a) batteries can be easily switched out & b) they are always improving.

          6 replies 4 retweets 31 likes
          Show this thread
        11. David Roberts‏ @drvolts 24 Apr 2020

          9. A giant fleet of EVs will need charging infrastructure, which doesn't exist in many places (esp. rural places). But this is an opportunity, not a limitation. Imagine if we installed chargers at every PO in the country & made them available to the public at cheap/flat rates!

          2 replies 9 retweets 69 likes
          Show this thread
        12. David Roberts‏ @drvolts 24 Apr 2020

          10. It would radically increase the confidence of potential EV buyers. And just in general, exposing every single American to EVs & EV chargers (via their friendly neighborhood mail carrier) would prove an enormous accelerant to EV familiarity & adoption.

          1 reply 4 retweets 53 likes
          Show this thread
        13. David Roberts‏ @drvolts 24 Apr 2020

          11. Electric mail trucks (like electric city & school buses) are a no-brainer, generating social benefits wildly out of scale with their cost. The only barrier is money: to wit, the USPS doesn't have any.

          2 replies 5 retweets 49 likes
          Show this thread
        14. David Roberts‏ @drvolts 24 Apr 2020

          12. As it happens, though, we're in the middle of a historic depression, resources are sitting idle, borrowing is cheap AF, and every single economist says the feds need to inject massive amounts of capital into the economy. Again: big spending is not a problem, it's *the point*.

          1 reply 8 retweets 66 likes
          Show this thread
        15. David Roberts‏ @drvolts 24 Apr 2020

          13. The feds paying the upfront costs to convert the USPS fleet to EVs would pay itself back in operational savings, help save the USPS from bankruptcy, boost jobs & domestic industries, and improve public health in every corner of the country. Plus it would just be cool as shit.

          3 replies 27 retweets 72 likes
          Show this thread
        16. David Roberts‏ @drvolts 24 Apr 2020

          14. Sadly, Trump & Republicans are in power. Trump hates the USPS because he's scared of voting by mail. Rs hate the USPS because it's a constant reminder of the potential of good government. So this probably won't happen; they'll probably let USPS die. ☠️ </fin>

          4 replies 23 retweets 89 likes
          Show this thread
        17. David Roberts‏ @drvolts 24 Apr 2020

          Trump wants to use an emergency loan to break the Postal Service union, stock USPS leadership with cronies, and force the agency to raise package-shipping prices (which every independent analyst says would hurt USPS business).https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/23/10-billion-treasury-loan-usps/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most …

          5 replies 43 retweets 58 likes
          Show this thread
        18. End of conversation

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