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November, 2021: I recently found and bought a miniature wattmeter, only as big as a connector converter. It enabled me to calculate the power cost of charging our five month old plug-in hybrid car, BMW 330e.
My finding so far is that driving only by the battery charged with home utility electricity costs about Yen 15 = $ 0.13 per km of driving, or from 14 to 16 depending on traffics. It is difficult to calculate the cost of driving only by gasoline, but I guess it is about Yen 10 per km, because the driving cost mainly using gasoline but using and recharging the battery from time to time is about Yen 12 per km, or from 11 to 13 depending on traffics. Therefore, my guess is that driving by electricity is 1.5 time more expensive than driving by gasoline.
BMW recently announced a series of EV=Electrical Vehicles, without engines. I don't know how much those EV's are improved but probably salesmen must have difficulty in sales of those in Japan. One of our sons lives in California and drives a Prius plug-in hybrid from Toyota. He says using electriciry is less expensive only if with the night power rate.
I have given up the idea of cost saving and decided to enjoy electricity-only driving in the near-by urbanized areas, while gasoline is used for long-distance driving. Quiet powerful start and driving, without exhaust gas, with electricity is really pleasing. In practise, using electricity for near-by driving costs only $ 10 more per month in our case. It is affordable for comfortable driving.
We can compare home utility power rates in other countries on the web. U.S.A., Canada and Korea have the rate about a half of the Japanese rate, because Canada relies on hydraulic power generation, and U.S.A. and Korea rely on nuclear and coal power generation. In Europe, countires having no nuclear plants or getting rid of them, Italy, Denmark, Germany etc. have about two times rate of Japanese one.
As the result of the nuclear plant accident in 2011 caused by once a millenium Tsunami, it is currently very difficult in Japan to make full use of nuclear power. But very unfortunately, people opposing it don't know or intentionally neglect the cost issue.
PHV車を買って5か月になり、電気で走ると快適だがコストは1.5倍と判ってきました。
Oct, 2021: Election was held for House of Representatives on Nov. 1. The government party of LDP=Liberal Democratic Party decreased by 15 members. I had declared that I would not vote for LDP this time, because I didn't like the way the party president was selected. I knew that the only party capable of running a government was LDP while others were good only at opposing. So I wanted LDP to keep the government but I wanted LDP to be a little defeated lest it should misunderstand that it could continue this way. So I was satisfied with the result. At the same time, I know that most voters who left LDP were disappointed at the current situation of the pandemics. I don't agree with this idea because the pandemics would have been difficult for any kinds of governments.
The opposing parties, CDP=Constitutional Democratic Party and JCP=Japanese Communist Party lost members because they tied to avert competition between them but people didn't like communism.
So voters left these three parties. Where did they go ? They supported (1) Komei, supported by a Budhism faction and working with LDP in the government, (2) Ishin expanding from Osaka to all Japan, and (3) Kokumin which has a certain distance from CDP.
As the result, voters showed unsatisfaction to LDP but didn't support communism. Democracy worked right this time.
民主主義が結果的にうまく機能した選挙でした。
August, 2021:A group of tree species called "Nara" in Japan is translated into English "Japanese oak". These days we see many Nara trees selectively perishing to turn leaves brown in a hilly metropolitan park behind our residence area. Lately, I asked the competent park office and learned that this disease is called "Nara-Gare", or "Nara Perishing", and the disease is also spreading around the office 20 miles away. Certain small insects, only 5mm long, bore into the trunk to lay eggs. Sawdust-like powder is scattered around the root. They carry certain mold germs for food and the mold blocks water ducts in the trunk. The insects like perished trees best and old big trees are the second favorite.
Several days later, we drove 300km south to our resort house in Izu, to find that the disease is already about to perish some Nara trees there. Unfortuntely, our lot has about ten Nata trees. One of them has already perished while others looked intact. I requested our gardener to fell down the perished tree as soon as possible, even though I didn't see sawdust, yet. He did it immediately and found that the trunk had tunnels of the insects.
No handy remedy to prevent or cure the disease. We just hope our trees in Izu will survive the disease.
今関東地方でナラ枯れが拡がっており、心配です。
