Source The Eco News, Fair Use, Low Resolution Image to Identify the Subject

Scottish Couple Plan to Drive “From Pole to Pole” in an Electric Vehicle

Essay by Eric Worrall

They plan to bring a portable wind turbine to charge the vehicle when sunlight is unavailable.

Climate change: Couple set for Pole-to-Pole electric car challenge

Ben Philip – BBC Scotland
Mon, 20 March 2023 at 10:07 am AEST·

A husband and wife from Aberdeen aim to drive from the Arctic to Antarctica in an electric car.

Chris and Julie Ramsey will set off to travel 17,000 miles (27,000km) from the Magnetic North to South Pole this week.

Their vehicle will be powered for much of the trip by solar and wind energy.

The couple will navigate into Canada, then head south through the United States and into warmer temperatures in South America over the space of 10 challenging months.

They will travel through Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Argentina.

“There will be a wind turbine and full double solar on this device which will be towed along, harnessing the renewable energy sources – the wind and the sun – to power the car.

Read more: https://au.news.yahoo.com/climate-change-couple-set-pole-000736611.html

Recharging time might be an issue. They used a Nissan Leaf on at least one previous drive. A portable wind turbine produces maybe a few hundred watts, maybe a kilowatt for a larger device, but a Nissan Leaf with the big battery has around 59KWh capacity. Even a partial charge would take a long time.

Apparently this isn’t their first long distance EV drive, so they probably know what kind of route they need to map, and have a fair idea of charge times. Perhaps taking their time is not a problem – it’s not like a daily commute or business trip. In any case, as EV owners they are probably already used to taking long breaks while their vehicle re-charges.

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thetruthparty
March 20, 2023 2:05 pm

I wonder will they tow a trailer with a diesel generator? About the only way this could be done!

vuk
Reply to  thetruthparty
March 20, 2023 2:13 pm

Naw, yer quite right.

HotScot
Reply to  vuk
March 20, 2023 2:20 pm

🤣

Bryan A
Reply to  HotScot
March 20, 2023 7:43 pm

Considering that the “North Pole” is inaccessible to driving, Pole to Pole cannot happen. The closest they’ll be able to get is
Kiruna, Sweden
Cape Town, South Africa
15,663K.
I suppose they could take a boat to Antarctica and attempt that pole but…

Bryan A
Reply to  Bryan A
March 20, 2023 9:40 pm
Bryan A
Reply to  Bryan A
March 20, 2023 9:45 pm

Odds are, they’ll get the car dropped off at the Magnetic North Pole currently about 100 miles west of the geographic polecomment image
And sink or feed the Polar Bears
They must be considering magnetic pole circa 1900ish

drh
Reply to  Bryan A
March 21, 2023 7:48 am

Wouldn’t any point on the globe away from the Geographic North Pole be due south?

Last edited 2 months ago by drh
Bryan A
Reply to  drh
March 21, 2023 10:29 am

Technically…technically any point in Antarctica is also North of the geographic pole but the continent is decided into East (EAIS) and West (WAIS)

usurbrain
Reply to  Bryan A
March 21, 2023 11:35 am

It is also highly unadvisable to drive through Mexico.

Hivemind
Reply to  Bryan A
March 22, 2023 12:37 pm

Yes, but for a green, that’s as true as if they had actually reached the pole.

max
Reply to  Hivemind
March 23, 2023 11:23 am

One of the few places they might be able to make a short drive.

Jeffy
Reply to  thetruthparty
March 20, 2023 3:13 pm

I would think a large portion of the trip is covered by diesel powered boat in order to take their vehicle about 5000mi or more of vast ocean. I am not sure what the itinerary is, maybe something like Canada to North Pole, then start the trip from the North Pole to land, then land to South Pole, then south pole to back home?

Lots of ocean diesel travel.

MarkW
Reply to  Jeffy
March 20, 2023 3:22 pm

They did say Magnetic North instead of North Pole.
Since you can’t charge a Li-Ion battery when the battery is below freezing, I was wondering how they plan to charge up while in Antarctica.

AGW is Not Science
Reply to  MarkW
March 21, 2023 3:59 am

Don’t tell them till they get there. Will make for an interesting epilogue to their “story.”

Picture the same photo, only with smiling skeletons.

Bryan A
Reply to  AGW is Not Science
March 21, 2023 10:53 am

Likely scenario for their trip
April 1 left Inverness on moderate sized diesel powered vessel
April 17 reached Baffin Bay waiting for Russian Ice Breaker
April 22 Diesel powered Russian Ice Breaker arrives Baffin Bay
April 24 with Russian assistance arrived Ellesmere Island 330 Mi SE/ Alert
April 26 managed to get EV, Trailer, Panels, Wind Turbine and Honda Pull Start on snow/ice covered solid ground
April 26 waved goodbye to both vessels.
April 27 made 57 miles before batteries depleted, recharging
April 30 Solar not working set up Wind
May 4 Wind worked OK made it to the other side of the Ellesmere Ice Field recharging
May 11 recharged and traveled 60 miles … Woo Hoo
May 31 wind died for 15 days and Solar was unhelpful but finally recharged traveled 48 miles in sight of port at Grise Fjord…Polar Bears are HUGE
June 3 Wind worked well enough made Grise port where our ship waited to take us to Devon Island.
Thought better of it (too many Damned hungry Polar Bears giving us the eye, going back to Inverness

Bryan A
Reply to  Bryan A
March 21, 2023 1:42 pm

They’d do better to start at “North Pole” Alaska. At least they could claim to start at North Pole and they’d have paved roads instead of Ice fields
They could even stop at South Pole Drive in at Tipton Indiana. If they detour through Hell Michigan they could claim to have driven from North Pole to South Pole and had to go to Hell in the process

Last edited 2 months ago by Bryan A
Bryan A
Reply to  MarkW
March 21, 2023 10:31 am

Honda Pull Start mounted on the trailer and wired directly into the electric motors!!!

Scissor
Reply to  Jeffy
March 20, 2023 5:07 pm

I’m surprised griff or the like hasn’t pointed out that it’s downhill from the North to South pole.

Mike
Reply to  Scissor
March 20, 2023 7:12 pm

Only after you pass the equator.

Mike McMillan
Reply to  Scissor
March 20, 2023 9:43 pm

I’m surprised that no one has pointed out that you cannot drive to South America from North America.

The Pan American Highway stops at Yaviza in Panama, where it runs into the Darien Gap.

They’ll have to get to the Panama coast and hire a boat to ferry them to somewhere in Colombia.

Martin Brumby
Reply to  Mike McMillan
March 21, 2023 12:22 am

Yeah. But no problem if you’ve plenty of time on your hands and someone else is picking up the tab.
What’s not to like?
I predict they’ll get down to warmer climes remarkably quickly (if at all), and then just mop up what publicity (and kind donations) they can get.

SteveZ56
Reply to  Scissor
March 21, 2023 11:17 am

Actually, the top of the ice sheet in most of Antarctica is over 2,000 meters above sea level. It will be all uphill from wherever they land to the magnetic south pole.

They would also have to make it to Antarctica by late January or so, otherwise they’ll run out of daylight down there. Batteries don’t charge very well in extreme cold, and they would drain really fast if they need to turn on the headlights. Also, solar panels don’t work very well at night.

Editor
Reply to  Jeffy
March 20, 2023 5:18 pm

The world’s southernmost driveable track or road is at 54.9S on Isla Navarino. Apart, that is, from some bits of Antarctic station. And to get a car to Isla Navarino takes two diesel boat trips, one across the Magellan Strait and one across the Beagle channel. Oh, and if you want to catch a boat to Antarctica, you have to go back across the Beagle channel so there’s not much point in going onto Isla Navarino anyway (apart from the fact that it’s a very interesting place where Charles Darwin went for a walk).

But the point is that they go to some length to specify the magnetic north pole as their starting point, but don’t seem concerned that 54.9S is still 2,000 miles by crow from the South Pole.

Martin Brumby
Reply to  Mike Jonas
March 21, 2023 12:30 am

Yeah. But, as it happens, I live pretty much at 54°N. Plenty of solar farms still and far North of that. But only for subsidy farming and virtue signalling.

But the weather in Patagonia is a tad chillier and wilder than North Yorkshire.

If they ever get as far as Patagonia, I think they will remember something urgently needing attention back in Scotland.

AGW is Not Science
Reply to  Mike Jonas
March 21, 2023 4:02 am

You’re acting as if you expect people who are dumb enough to pimp electric cars are going to know anything about geography.

Bryan A
Reply to  thetruthparty
March 20, 2023 10:14 pm

Which magnetic north pole??
News flash, Northern Canada doesn’t have summertime roads connecting to Ellesmere Island. Haven’t they watched Ice Road Truckers? Winter Ice is crucial to drive where they intend to which melts in late spring when the sun is more friendly to solar power

J Boles
March 20, 2023 2:11 pm

OMG the agony of doing that, it would seem nearly impossible! Can’t wait to hear the reports.

DMacKenzie
Reply to  J Boles
March 20, 2023 5:56 pm

Clowns….more than one Nodwell drove over the horizon and was never seen again.

B7FE3D39-6752-447D-B48A-D6D0FBE63673.jpeg
DMacKenzie
Reply to  DMacKenzie
March 20, 2023 6:04 pm

Tracked vehicles from Canada to the North Pole in 1968 had their work cut out for them, and at the time it was only about 450 miles away….

https://www.snowmobile.com/events/ski-dooing-to-the-north-pole-707.html

KevinM
March 20, 2023 2:16 pm

from the Magnetic North to South Pole” plus “The south magnetic pole is constantly shifting due to changes in Earth’s magnetic field. As of 2005 it was calculated to lie at 64°31′48″S 137°51′36″E, placing it off the coast of Antarctica,” equals swim suits?

Editor
Reply to  KevinM
March 20, 2023 2:32 pm

Swim suits? The monthly average sea surface temperature for those coordinates there rarely goes above 1 deg C, according to the Reynolds OI.v2 data. Brrr.

Regards,
Bob

Last edited 2 months ago by Bob Tisdale
E. Schaffer
Reply to  KevinM
March 20, 2023 2:32 pm

And notably south of Australia. I guess this trip will rather be symbolic – for their struggle against reality.

jphilde
Reply to  E. Schaffer
March 20, 2023 3:31 pm

Hat tip to John Cleese in Life of Brian!

Rud Istvan
March 20, 2023 2:17 pm

Completely daft. If they start out in the Canadian Arctic in, say, June, they will be in US winter that same year given all the charging time. Won’t end well. Which is fine with me.

If you are going to pull PR stunts, at least chose something with a chance of success. Greta’s Atlantic sailboat stunt, for example, despite the boat crew transatlantic airplane backstory.

Rud Istvan
Reply to  Rud Istvan
March 20, 2023 2:27 pm

Nope. I maybe misunderstood. They are going to tow a trailer with the solar arrays and wind turbine kit, not fit it to the car. That will for sure ‘work’ (NOT). Think of that wind turbine producing electricity from the forward motion of the electric vehicle, to recharge the electric vehicle. There is only a tinsie wintsie physics problem with that scheme. Not to mention towing anything cuts EV range substantially. For an EV pickup (Ford Lightning) from 300+ to 60 miles with a standard small lightweight camping or work trailer. The experimental data is readily available.

Alexy Scherbakoff
Reply to  Rud Istvan
March 20, 2023 3:28 pm

Wile E. Coyote.

Bryan A
Reply to  Alexy Scherbakoff
March 21, 2023 6:16 am

They’d do better to stay in the UK and drive from Thurso to Dover 734 miles and return about a dozen times until they’ve covered 12,000 miles

KevinM
Reply to  Rud Istvan
March 20, 2023 3:38 pm

Think of that wind turbine producing electricity from the forward motion of the electric vehicle“. I thought it through. The car will probably be in park, not trying to blow its own sail. The TV show Mythbusters’s episode on blowing your own sail surprised me – yes, apparently you can.

rovingbroker
Reply to  KevinM
March 20, 2023 4:18 pm

The concept of blowing your own sail really does have to do with conservation of momentum. In that very episode of Mythbusters you speak of, the sail was removed, the fan was spun around and the ship/boat was propelled forward …

https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/135548/blowing-your-own-sail

joe x
Reply to  KevinM
March 20, 2023 5:29 pm

nope. you can’t. saw the same program. if you look closely at the air flow hitting the sail. a small amout is being deflected side ways and slightly to the rear creating thrust. myth busters had some good shows, that was not one of them.

Mark BLR
Reply to  KevinM
March 21, 2023 6:00 am

The TV show Mythbusters’s episode on blowing your own sail surprised me – yes, apparently you can.

A variation on this theme was Rick Cavallaro’s “Blackbird” vehicle a couple of years ago.

Example URL : https://hackaday.com/2021/07/02/10-000-physics-wager-settles-the-debate-on-sailing-downwind-faster-than-the-wind/

Note that this was a custom-built demonstrator / prototype machine though, not a “bog-standard” Nissan Leaf (+ trailer).

Note also that the expert that eventually “conceded in light of the evidence” was a physics professor.

An extract from the above link that I think is applicable to the “climate debate” :

What stood out for us is the humble and civilized manner the debate was handled. As [Veritasium] says, scientific [dis]agreements are not problems, but rather an opportunity for everyone to learn. If all disagreements were handled in this manner, mankind would be a lot better off.

JamesB_684
Reply to  Rud Istvan
March 20, 2023 3:56 pm

The sailboat Greta rode was almost entirely constructed of carbon fiber composits. I.e. fossil fuel extracts. What a hypocrite.

Bryan A
Reply to  Rud Istvan
March 21, 2023 6:09 am

Unfortunately for them to start at Ellesmere Island (per the article) in June they won’t even make it off the island to mainland Canada without a boat at some point. Then Northern Canada is full of tens of thousands of lakes that need to be frozen over to have an Ice Road system of travel to get to the populated sections. They’ll need to travel in Winter to start

Dave Yaussy
March 20, 2023 2:20 pm

Not sure I understand how they can go pole to pole in a car? Maybe the North Magnetic Pole is in Canada, but the South Pole is across the water and in a roadless area. They surely know that, so I’m not quite sure what they are doing. Maybe it sounds better than going from northern Canada to southern Argentina.

KevinM
Reply to  Dave Yaussy
March 20, 2023 3:42 pm

Yes I was disappointed that I could not find an answer to the most obvious question raised the article – what route?. Many readers must have been looking for the same thing. I guess I’ll have to wait for a banner ad with a pretty model and click to see the top ten ways my US state’s politician is giving away free money to drive to the south pole with solar panels.

AGW is Not Science
Reply to  Dave Yaussy
March 21, 2023 4:10 am

Well by the time they haul the car from Scotland to Canada in a fossil fuel powered boat, tha car battery will probably be dead. And you’re not supposed to charge it at freezing temperatures.

Oops.

Last edited 2 months ago by AGW is Not Science
Michael S. Kelly
Reply to  Dave Yaussy
March 21, 2023 9:46 pm

Maybe they really meant that they’re driving from one person of Polish descent to another person of Polish descent who lives 17,000 miles away.

Last edited 2 months ago by Michael S. Kelly
Steve Case
March 20, 2023 2:24 pm

Didn’t some darn fool try to paddle a kayak to the North pole a while back?
How did that turn out?

Rud Istvan
Reply to  Steve Case
March 20, 2023 2:33 pm

Not well. ‘Ice free Arctic’ is not what he thought. Illustrated along with a lot of other silliness that same year in essay ‘Northwest Passage’ in ebook Blowing Smoke.

Bryan A
Reply to  Rud Istvan
March 21, 2023 10:27 am

Claimed victory by utilizing the Magnetic Polar location from some Obscure point in history that can neither be proven or refuted

Ed Zuiderwijk
Reply to  Steve Case
March 21, 2023 4:43 am

The kajakkers were followed by a support vessel propelled by a diesel engine. When they hit the wall of ice some 100 km north of Iceland the fools wanted to go into the ice field to continue their fight against climate change. The captain of the boat was wiser and let it be known that they would not follow because they wanted to be home at Xmas, thus forcing abandoning the whole silly stunt. Undaunted they were welcomed like heroes back in Iceland by clueless supporters. The whole thing was financed by an insurance company keen on making a quick buck out of the climate scam. Well, it wasn’t an oil company, so that must have been okay.

mkelly
March 20, 2023 2:28 pm

I suggest they watch this, https://www.longwayup.com/long-way-up, about using EV to go from tip ofSouth America to Los Angeles. Two electric Harley’s and a Rivian electric pickup.

Monckton of Brenchley
March 20, 2023 2:28 pm

What could possibly go wrong?

karlomonte
Reply to  Monckton of Brenchley
March 20, 2023 2:40 pm

They’ve got an out:

“vehicle will be powered for much of the trip by solar and wind energy”

Alastair Brickell
Reply to  karlomonte
March 20, 2023 9:34 pm

Yes, I noticed that too. Will we ever be told just how much “much” of the trip turns out to be?

Tony_G
Reply to  Alastair Brickell
March 21, 2023 9:12 am

They’ll have their media coverage of some sort for that “much” part, but probably will be in “no service areas” for the other parts.

Bob Rogers
Reply to  karlomonte
March 23, 2023 11:15 am

Good catch. “Much” is less than “most.” So I guess for more than half the trip they’ll be using generated power.

Rud Istvan
Reply to  Monckton of Brenchley
March 20, 2023 2:43 pm

Hopefully, a LOT. All live stream publicized by these nutters until we never hear from them again.

Bryan A
Reply to  Rud Istvan
March 21, 2023 6:58 am

Perhaps they could mount a satellite WebCam on their trailer so the public could follow their dismal progress.

ResourceGuy
March 20, 2023 2:31 pm
Coeur de Lion
March 20, 2023 2:32 pm

I guess it will end at Tierra del Fuego, the land of fire. Not many charging points there but plenty of wind, v little sun. I had some ‘range anxiety’ the other day; down to two bars on my fuel gauge so had to call in at diesel station for five minutes.

KevinM
Reply to  Coeur de Lion
March 20, 2023 3:45 pm

The protagonists are not nubes. They probably know how to maintain the vehicle.

Last edited 2 months ago by KevinM
Dean S
Reply to  Coeur de Lion
March 20, 2023 7:22 pm

Did you have a coffee while you were there?

Nevada_Geo
March 20, 2023 2:37 pm

Hans Frischeisen has bicycled and kayaked around the world “vertically” and “horizontally” (see his book). Going south in the Americas he went as far as Punta Arenas, Chile. Because he wasn’t stupid and didn’t want to kayak to Antarctica and bicycle to the South Pole. (We all have our limits.) I would love to see Hans race this couple on his bicycle. Given their delays for charging, he’d have a very good chance of winning.

leowaj
March 20, 2023 2:47 pm

Maybe they can use a dynamo to recharge the batteries. /sarcasm

MarkW
Reply to  leowaj
March 20, 2023 3:25 pm

It will work better than solar power does at night.

Smart Rock
March 20, 2023 2:53 pm

Well, for starters, the North magnetic pole left Canada in about 1995, and is now in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, charging towards Russia at an ever-accelerating pace. Perhaps Vladimir Vladimirovich will be able to score diplomatic points from this; he certainly needs some.

Even when it was in Canada, it was in the Arctic Archipelago, and a quick glance at a map will show them that there are no roads anywhere closer than Yellowknife, 1,200 kilometres away.

Ignorance of geography is obviously something that eco-nits wear with pride, just like their ignorance of physics.

KevinM
Reply to  Smart Rock
March 20, 2023 3:58 pm

Magnetic North vs Geographic (True) North Pole – GIS Geography
I went Googling to fact check “the North magnetic pole left Canada in about 1995“. Verification depends on whose line you use to decide where Canada ends, but the big idea is correct.
After all these years I’d thought a meteor impact had left a giant magnetic deposit in Northern Canada, I feel duped. So much of what I “learned” on grade school was nonsense – though I’ve consistently found high quality work wherever it had been produced by that generation. I guess its always been about which who you listen to.

Clyde Spencer
Reply to  KevinM
March 20, 2023 9:22 pm

You can’t go wrong by trusting Greta. After all, she can see the demon.

KevinM
Reply to  Clyde Spencer
March 21, 2023 1:11 pm

I feel no need to prolong her 5 minutes of fame. Why must we keep naming her?

stinkerp
March 20, 2023 2:56 pm

They could probably find some farmers along the way with horses or oxen to tow them as needed. They can revel in the synchronicity of using pre-industrial technology in the form of horses and oxen to help them accomplish their trip powered by pre-industrial technology in the form of wind while the proletariat gaze at them wonderingly as they pass them in their internal-combustion engine vehicles.

Gunga Din
March 20, 2023 3:00 pm

Their vehicle will be powered for much of the trip by solar and wind energy.”

Is their car amphibious? And just how “much” of the trip will be powered only by wind and solar? Are they going to skip all grid recharging stations that might be powered, in part or in whole, by fossil fuel or nuclear or hydro?
A PR stunt.

I forget the name of the plane but several years ago it made headlines by crossing the English Channel under human peddle power.

Last edited 2 months ago by Gunga Din
Matthew Bergin
Reply to  Gunga Din
March 20, 2023 4:07 pm

Glossimer Albatross I think not sure.

gezza1298
Reply to  Matthew Bergin
March 21, 2023 4:17 am

Yes, Gossamer Albatross and it won £100,000 for crossing the Channel. Guy Martin tried to set a world speed record in something similar during his series on setting world records.

atticman
March 20, 2023 3:09 pm

Mad as a box of frogs! I don’t wish them ill but if they come to grief along the way I shall not be surprised. If so, it’ll be a metaphor for the lemming-like rush towards nut zero.

jphilde
Reply to  atticman
March 20, 2023 3:37 pm

I wish them well in Mexico. The cartels have a habit of kidnapping errant souls in the northern deserts.

Clyde Spencer
Reply to  atticman
March 20, 2023 9:23 pm

No reason to insult the frogs!

Alpha
March 20, 2023 3:09 pm

… she explained “It’s to dispel common myths that people have when they question electric vehicles – things like range and how far can they go.”

Range is how far they can go.

Lee Riffee
Reply to  Alpha
March 20, 2023 7:59 pm

Electric cars are not unlike horses – yes, you can go as far as you desire, but both modes of transport require some downtime to recharge and refuel. The very first cars were referred to as “horseless carriages” (the carriage moves without being pulled by the horse), so I suppose EVs could be referred to as “electric horses” (a mode of transport that, like the animal, requires rest).

gezza1298
Reply to  Lee Riffee
March 21, 2023 4:19 am

I was surprised to learn that when the wagon trains headed west across the plains, the people walked most of the way to spare the horses.

AGW is Not Science
Reply to  Alpha
March 21, 2023 4:18 am

Aka “not very.”

MarkW
March 20, 2023 3:16 pm

How long does the recharge take when that hungry looking polar bear is eyeing you and your wife?

Beyond that, I wonder how long a Leaf would be able to keep that polar bear out?

Last edited 2 months ago by MarkW
Elliot W
Reply to  MarkW
March 20, 2023 3:31 pm

With a live feed, we may find out.

AGW is Not Science
Reply to  Elliot W
March 21, 2023 4:20 am

Pun intended?

SteveG
Reply to  MarkW
March 20, 2023 11:10 pm

Not a problem. Al polar bears are gone, aren’t they? I’m sure I recall that polar bears are extinct, already gone. I think it was around 1985,95,05, 15. Well you know one of those dates must be right.

Martin Brumby
Reply to  SteveG
March 21, 2023 12:40 am

I think the last survivor was eaten by a penguin.

gezza1298
Reply to  Martin Brumby
March 21, 2023 4:19 am

Thrown off a cliff by an angry walrus perhaps?

Krishna Gans
March 20, 2023 3:25 pm

They are young, may they reach their target before retirement age 😀

Clyde Spencer
Reply to  Krishna Gans
March 20, 2023 9:32 pm

Yes, I was going to independently remark that I may not be around to help celebrate the end of their journey, assuming that they actually get to their destination.

I remember a TV program, I think it was Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, where he remarked that if Conestoga Wagons could fly, and one left for the moon in 1849, the Apollo astronauts would have gotten to the moon before the wagon. Sometimes it is better to wait for a technology to mature before attempting to do something that the current technology is not suitable for.

KevinM
Reply to  Clyde Spencer
March 21, 2023 1:18 pm

“Sometimes it is better to wait for a technology to mature before attempting to do something that the current technology is not suitable for”

Sometimes is when risk tolerant market participants push leading edge past the current standard

(usually idealists like in the story – but it takes lots of them)

Last edited 2 months ago by KevinM
gezza1298
Reply to  Krishna Gans
March 21, 2023 4:20 am

It will have been moved up to 95 by the time they reach journey’s end.

Elliot W
March 20, 2023 3:27 pm

So they will be shipping their car and gear to somewhere in the Canadian Arctic to start their drive? That doesn’t sound very environmentally friendly.

The Canadian North is very sparsely populated and HUGE: the area is 13,000,000m2 for NWT and Nunavut, as compared to 90000 m2 for the UK. A Brit I met once was going to travel across the Cdn prairie to experience “vastness” for the first time in his life, vastness not being an attribute associated with European living. It sounds like this couple will be experiencing vastness too; and maybe also they can ponder the huge spaces between settlements, the vagaries of Northern supply chains whilst awaiting car parts, the changing weather conditions of a northern summer, the role of road conditions in maintaining civilization, to say nothing of challenging their ingenuity and skills at electric car repairs. And that’s the first month.

I think they’ll be as successful as all those tourists and climate scientists wanting to traverse the newly ice-free Northwest Passage. How has that worked out for them?

Clyde Spencer
Reply to  Elliot W
March 20, 2023 9:34 pm

I wonder if they have considered whether their EV will have sufficient power to get up some of the steep roads they may encounter in mountainous areas.

KevinM
Reply to  Elliot W
March 21, 2023 1:22 pm

Read the source story – they supposedly have done “this sort of thing” before. I tdoes not say they won a race, but that they “got there first”. I wonder what technicality they bent?

Nansar07
March 20, 2023 3:33 pm

It appears that the standard of education in Scotland has sadly declined.

Mr.
Reply to  Nansar07
March 20, 2023 4:47 pm

Education is no match for religious fervor.

Krishna Gans
Reply to  Mr.
March 20, 2023 4:56 pm

Education is much overrated !

Shoki
March 20, 2023 3:39 pm

Clueless dolts.

sewie123
March 20, 2023 3:49 pm

I really want to see a copy of their itinerary. They’re going to have to avoid big mountains as much as possible (looking at you, Andes), but the jungles between Panama and Colombia dont have much in the way of travelable roads.

KevinM
Reply to  sewie123
March 21, 2023 1:24 pm

As mentioned many times – what route?

mspaldingecon
March 20, 2023 4:17 pm

I don’t think they did the math. A wind turbine you can tow will reduce their range with drag. And it won’t produce very many miles of travel per hour. Even a household 120v 15amp plug only provides 3 miles per hour.

Dean S
Reply to  mspaldingecon
March 20, 2023 7:25 pm

They will simply tow the turbine, charging the batteries while they go. Perpetual motion you see.

KevinM
Reply to  mspaldingecon
March 21, 2023 1:26 pm

How does the math change if you start with the premise that any speed is better than zero or get-out-and-push? In other words distance possible is more important than movement rate.

rovingbroker
March 20, 2023 4:26 pm

Planned route … well … no.

From Google Maps:

Sorry, we could not calculate driving directions from “North Pole” to “IceCube Neutrino Observatory, 89.99 -63.453056, Antarctica”

https://bit.ly/40jy9xl

observa
March 20, 2023 4:29 pm
Joseph Zorzin
March 20, 2023 4:35 pm

perpetual motion machine with all that “free” wind and solar?

observa
March 20, 2023 4:37 pm

Yo’all keep banging on with the right to repair there Greenies-
Impossible to Repair TESLA Batteries | Gruber Motors – YouTube

mkelly
March 20, 2023 4:43 pm
Clyde Spencer
Reply to  mkelly
March 20, 2023 9:36 pm

Nissan may not be happy with the advertising value from their backing.

gezza1298
Reply to  Clyde Spencer
March 21, 2023 4:22 am

No publicity is bad publicity. Perhaps it is a sneaky attempt by Nissan to actually prove that battery cars are a stupid idea.

John Hultquist
March 20, 2023 5:04 pm

Reminds me of the iceberg rider Alex Bellini.
Many stories from 2014. What happened?

quelgeek
March 20, 2023 5:28 pm

You people all need to learn to read press releases more critically.

Husband and wife adventurers […] Chris and Julie Ramsey […] will explore as sustainably as possible along the 17,000 mile route.

“As sustainably as possible…” That says nothing about relying on solar or wind. It hints at a fleet of diesel- or petrol-powered support vehicles, possibly including a generator or three.

They are going on a jolly and they’ve talked some people in sponsoring it. I wish them joy of it and I wish I was that cunning. Their GoFundMe campaign isn’t doing so well though. Started January 12th with a target of £150,000 and as of this morning at 11:30 they had just over 2% of it pledged.

Redge
Reply to  quelgeek
March 20, 2023 10:56 pm

You people all need to learn to read press releases more critically.

You need to read the article and the comments more thoroughly.

Several people have already pointed out:

Their vehicle will be powered for much of the trip by solar and wind energy.

dk_
March 20, 2023 5:32 pm

“Think of it as evolution in action”
-Larry Niven

Tony_G
Reply to  dk_
March 21, 2023 9:30 am

Hey, don’t forget Pournelle and Barnes! 🙂

Bob
March 20, 2023 5:44 pm

If the Polar bears, Grizzly bears, Black bears, Mountain lions or Wolves don’t get them the mosquitoes will. Better bring a large caliber firearm with lots of ammo and cases of mosquito repellent.

Clyde Spencer
Reply to  Bob
March 20, 2023 9:38 pm

Trying to take a firearm into Mexico will be very problematic! They only allow the Federales and cartels to carry firearms.

Bob
Reply to  Clyde Spencer
March 20, 2023 10:38 pm

You’re probably right but the mosquitoes will finish them off before they get that far.

Last edited 2 months ago by Bob
KevinM
Reply to  Clyde Spencer
March 21, 2023 1:31 pm

Trying to take a firearm into Mexico will be very problematic! 
They can trade them for supplies in Texas

Rud Istvan
March 20, 2023 6:03 pm

Just another thought. The internet in its various forms enables a lot of nutters to enact their fantasies for others. As here.
But the internet also enables otherwise sane, stable denizens to ridicule the former mercilessly and indelibly. Also as here.

honestyrus
March 20, 2023 6:31 pm

Drive from pole to pole? Over the oceans?

This must be an electric flying car. Now that IS cool!

AGW is Not Science
Reply to  honestyrus
March 21, 2023 4:47 am

Maybe it’s the ‘James Bond’ trim of the new Ariya that converts itself into a submarine at the push of a button.

At which point, once submerged in salt water, it will become the ‘Mission Impossible’ trim, self-destructing in 5 seconds.

The Dark Lord
March 20, 2023 6:58 pm

at best it will take them 90 days … at worst … 4-5 months …

Dean S
Reply to  The Dark Lord
March 20, 2023 7:29 pm

Average of 300km per day? Towing all that stuff?

Ian_e
Reply to  The Dark Lord
March 21, 2023 2:37 am

Ha ha – you accidentally included a dash between the 4 and 5.

BCBill
March 20, 2023 7:55 pm

Much like the predictions of future climate horror, the point is the press release. Nobody will notice whether or not they make it, just as nobody notices if the Arctic Ocean is ice free. We all know that it was predicted to be ice free quite some time ago. Great tragedy that. We will all remember the couple who drove their electric car from pole to pole.. They were Scottish or Lebanese or something. Proved that electric car technology has obviously come a long way. Now quit whining and eat your grubs.

KevinM
Reply to  BCBill
March 21, 2023 1:34 pm

Comment all star awards nominee calibre

Mary Jones
March 20, 2023 9:54 pm

Ten months to drive from the Arctic to the Antarctic in an EV? Good luck.

A man just drove a leased Tesla from New York State to Tuktoyaktuk, NWT. The driving time is about 75 hours. It took him 31 days to make the journey.

http://www.nnsl.com/news/man-drives-tesla-to-arctic-ocean-in-dead-of-winter/

Mary Jones
March 20, 2023 10:09 pm

Arctic to Antarctic in 10 months in an EV? Good luck with that.

A man just drove a Tesla from New York State to Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, Canada.

The driving time is about 75 hours. It took him 31 days.

Ian_e
Reply to  Mary Jones
March 21, 2023 2:35 am

And I bet he had easy access to charging points.

ge0050
March 20, 2023 10:11 pm

You could make the trip on a horse in about the same length of time and it can fuel for free most anywhere.

KevinM
Reply to  ge0050
March 21, 2023 1:35 pm

Horses are expensive to keep if you’re not a farmer.

Redge
March 20, 2023 10:58 pm

I wish them well, but I’ll be very surprised if they make the trip.

I think I’ll follow this journey

Right-Handed Shark
March 21, 2023 1:35 am

Why am I reminded of “the ship of fools”?.. Boondoggle of the incurable virtue signalling optimists doesn’t trip quite so easily off the tongue, but I see parallels.

KevinM
Reply to  Right-Handed Shark
March 21, 2023 1:37 pm

Privilege-backed entrepreneurs, if you research their history.

peteturbo
March 21, 2023 2:06 am

I looked into this in some detail yesterday.
1) they are using artic trucks. these guys are very credible and really know what they are doing.
2) the route appears to start mid channel about 500miles south of ellesmere island – the northern tip of ellesmere island is about as far away (close) as a pole can be described – the geomagnetic pole.
3) with 6 2m x 1m solar panel in perfect subnchine for 24hrs, they cant recharge the car each day,
4) the car is uk reg and was in iceland for mods. built in japan. now goes to canada. the support cars and crew? how is this remotely environmental?
5) they say they will start in march. artic trucks say 23 march. i predict – not march.
6) how does a towed solar array work? snow, frost? etc etc.
7) wind turbine – wot is this, perpetual energy?
7) we need to keep this fraud (not pole to pole) and/or failure in the ublic eye as another virtue claiming piece of fakery.

far far more diesel will be burnt for this trip than they admit to, or than a diesel would do..

KevinM
Reply to  peteturbo
March 21, 2023 1:39 pm

Thanks for doing the research, Typing comments is the easy part.

Joao Martins
March 21, 2023 4:26 am

Scottish Couple Plan to Drive “From Pole to Pole” in an Electric Vehicle
Good luck for them.

Hope they have space to carry a lot of canned pre-cooked food so that they can survive during the days with not enough wind nor sunlight…

Of course, in case of trouble they always have the “backup” of rescuing teams carried by fossil fuel powered helicopters and other vehicles…

Last edited 2 months ago by Joao Martins
Ed Zuiderwijk
March 21, 2023 4:30 am

Who said the Scots don’t have a sense of humor?

And have they done a trial run in Scotland, to see if they could make it there from the north to the south? From JohnO’Groats to Gretna, 600km and free of polar bears. Thought not.

Keep us informed, it will be fun to watch an unfolding debacle.

KevinM
Reply to  Ed Zuiderwijk
March 21, 2023 1:41 pm

They’ve done a warm-weather version in old tech.

clougho
March 21, 2023 5:27 am

Yeah right and Greta will be their wing man!

Bruce Cobb
March 21, 2023 5:43 am

Well at least the morons will have their supply of butteries (or rowies), which are essentially butter and lard with a bit of flour holding it all together. Good for overall health, not to mention the waist line, don’cha know.

Last edited 2 months ago by Bruce Cobb
Mark Whitney
March 21, 2023 5:45 am

All other practical considerations aside, I would not like to be that vulnerable south of the border considering the drug cartels and governments on that long trek with flimsy energy.

Paul Hurley
March 21, 2023 6:23 am

Perhaps they should cut back on the recreational pharmaceuticals.

Jimstation
March 21, 2023 6:35 am

Traveling across the United States will be a challenge on an electric. Depending on wind or solar to charge any car will take an inordinate amount of time. But this part of the article is the most concerning…. They will travel through Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Argentina.
Having been to some of these countries, you never go out with less than half a tank of gas let alone an electric car without any reliable means of charging it. A solar panel and a wind turbine will not cut it. There are some very dangerous areas in all of those countries that should be avoided by almost anyone. Imagine having to wait 3 days to get enough charge to leave a cartel town. This story will not end well.

Mr Ed
Reply to  Jimstation
March 21, 2023 7:45 am

A co-worker back in the 70’s drove into Mexico with his brother and a friend.
They got pulled over by what they thought was a police vehicle in a remote area.
It wasn’t law enforcement but a group of outlaws. They were left completely naked
in the desert….they survived barely. The vehicle that pulled them over was painted
like a LEO unit ect. I’ve spent time in Cozumel and the Playa del Carmen area and had no
problems but would not go there today, esp with how things have changed. This
couple needs some security as in Blackwater/Delta types..

KevinM
Reply to  Mr Ed
March 21, 2023 1:43 pm

Amazing ho fsat
50 years
happens

mikesigman
March 21, 2023 8:29 am

They could also go pole to pole with an ox-cart, I suppose, but what’s the point? However they do it, it’s not going to be something other than a hybrid, over-dramatized event.

Steve Oregon
March 21, 2023 9:07 am

One of many thoroughly useless endeavors now a fad, of sorts, that many observers find admirable.
IMO it’s mostly just part of the need to play make believe that some people feel.
Of all the things that are possible for can do folks this is a big fail selection.

usurbrain
March 21, 2023 11:40 am

I don’t think pulling a trailer with a wind turbine is going to decrease battery drain caused by pulling it. They will have to stop and wait for the battery to charge. Also, it is advisable they plan on only being in the cold areas in the summer or they will be turned into frozen food.

Andy Pattullo
March 21, 2023 12:11 pm

The unadulterated glee on their smug faces in the picture above makes clear their complete lack of self awareness and critical thinking. This is emblematic of the entire virtue-signalling green socialist movement. Very soon we may open an educational portrait gallery of before and after – photos just like this of the green acolytes as they set out on their “world-saving” crusade, paired with photos of demoralized, shunned and impoverished former Prophets of doom chastened by their own stupidity.

Hell_Is_Like_Newark
March 21, 2023 1:16 pm

From the North pole? Reminds me of this Top Gear episode… Would be a real challenge to do that in an EV.

https://youtu.be/WNkvASxfEWQ

observa
March 22, 2023 5:46 am

Well regarding the load it’s all systems go for them to use an F150 Lightning now that Ford have clarified the battery fire problem for us all-
Ford F-150 Lightning Recall Reveals Root Cause Of Fire That Stopped Production (msn.com)
Just don’t let the windmill charge it up too much.

tmitsss
March 23, 2023 3:51 am

It would be faster to hitchhike

max
March 23, 2023 11:21 am

So, after the divorce, do they both have to finish the drive?

peteturbo
March 24, 2023 7:46 am

just missing the march 23 start deadline….

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