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China's New Craze: E-bikes
lawrencekhoo writes "I was in Shanghai recently, and found to my surprise that bicycle crazy China is now electric bicycle crazy. Electric bikes were everywhere, and outnumbered normal bikes on the road. You could even buy them in the department stores.
Basic
models sell for about 1200 Yuan (about US$150), and more
elaborate
scooter-like
models
for up to 5000 Yuan. Apparently, this craze has been
building up for a few years.
Something like it is even
happening in parts of the US.
According to one user, electric bikes are popular because they're cheap, and can take you all around town on one charge. Who would have guessed that China would lead the way in green transportation?"
Those look really good, especially for older people with reduced mobility (which seems to be one of their major target demographics). But what I would love to be able to buy would be some kind of hybrid model. The motor would reduce the exertion required, while being able to pedal would extend the distance you could go on a single charge.
I didn't see anything in the posted links that said whether they were electric-only bikes or hybrid, but it does look like you can already get electric hybrid bikes: Electric Bikes Northwest. I would happily buy something like that over a car, assuming I could afford either, which isn't the case anyway...
Of course China is paving the way for green transportation. Having enormous populations in congested cities with low average incomes is a great motivation to produce cheap transportation.
Unlike most places in the US, many Chinese cities do not have streets made for large amounts of vehicular traffic, so bicycles have become important to them. Then, when you consider the cost of gasoline compared to the average Chinese person's salary, what's so bad about electric bikes? Besides, in a country of a billion people, if only 10% of people use this technology, that's more electric bikes sold than all the cars sold in the US. (Plus no required age to use one).
When I first came across this technology years ago I wondered why it didn't seem to very popular. I soon realized that here in America nobody would ride one of these because of the social implications. Your either such a lazy fat bastard that you need a motor on your bike or your too weak and pathetic to just ride a normal bike or your a broke looser who can't afford a motorcycle or car. Who is gonna ride even a good electric bike (which even now there are few of) with these sort of implications attached.
vampirical
Yes, finally China is making strides towards more pollutive transportation.
After many long years of primarily using bikes, they are now charging these bikes with power from coal power plants. Once a billion or so people have these, our green goals will finally be completed and mother nature will be thoroughly defeated.
Who would have guessed that China would lead the way in green transportation?
Not surprising. Now I would have definitely been surprised if the United States were the one leading the way in green transportation.
As electric bicycles aren't exactly what China needs at the moment, seeing as they need, you know, electricity. Most of China's electrical power is generated from coal in factories which have pollution controls making the U.S. coal factories look impeccably clean. Along with this the Chinese are becoming just as car crazy as us wacky Americans only once again to fuel their 8% annual economic increase they have instituted almost zero pollution control laws. Those shiny cars they drive may look modern but most are 20+ years behind when it comes to emissions; just take a look at the haze over Shanghai, it's like Los Angeles circa 1990. At their current rate China will overtake the U.S. as the World's leading emitter of greenhouse gases in a relatively short amount of time.
So like I said, not exactly leading the green revolution.
Ahh, I was sure that this "Green transportation" thing would spawn quite a few comments. But as astounding as it sounds, electricity-powered vehicles *can* be 'greener' than directly fossil-fuel powered.
:)
... :) Obviously, a difficult question to decide.
Why?
If you consider nuclear power as a 'green' energy source, it's easy. Some do, I'm personally not sure...
If you don't:
1. A certain amount of electricity is from renewable fuels already.
2. The energy conversion efficiency is greater in power plants (about 42%) than in combustion engines (about 25%) and the conversion efficiency of an electro motor is good (about 90%).
3. Waste heat from power plants can be used (for efficiencies up to 60%)
Of course, one has to throw the building energy costs for the power plant, the motor cycle etc. into the equations. And there is bio diesel...
Oh yeah and you have to take into account the fuel logistics. And, and,
China was leading the green revolution for a long time .... With a lot of traditional bycicles....
It's hardly green transportation, not when the source of the electricity is coal and gas burning plants. All you've done is relocate the pollution out to wherever the power plant is.
It seems as if many self-styled environmentalists (who wear their badge in the form of an all-electric vehicle) are the personification of shortsighted NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard). They either don't understand that electricity comes from SOMEWHERE, or they don't care about the pollution, only that it doesn't happen where they live.
What's greener, a bike powered by human-power, or a bike powered by electricity (which has to come from somewhere....fossil fuels, anyone)? I vote human-powered bikes.
This would depend on where you get your engery from. Humans require engery in the form of food. Food must come from somewhere. Food requires land, soil, nutrients, in many cases livestock. Methane production of a cow for example is pretty signigent. Not to speak of the waste product of humans, which nothing to sneeze at as we are talking about a country with billions of people.
I'm not saying you are wrong, all I'm saying it's not a clear cut equation to balance the effect on the ecosystem between the use of human power and the use of electrical power.
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
Generating electricity is not green. Once again this is a demonstration of euphoric environmentalists not knowing how things work.
You're right, riding 30 pounds of bicycle isn't any more "green" than driving around 2000 pounds of car.
We'll try to keep such crazy thoughts out of our head from now on.
-Teckla
does anyone else find it hillarious that everyone is chiming in, "oh, green transportation! no surprise it's not the US doing it!"? what bullshit.
Hello! These a) are electric bikes, b) are replacing non-powered bikes, and c) would not even be viable in an industrialized country where the infrastructure is dependent on massive transportation systems.
So please just stop. This isn't even "green", when you compare it to the human-powered bikes that they're replacing, ffs. There's no need to be so zealotrously anti-American; you're simply illustrating your ignorance.
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