[Vision2020] who killed the electric car?

Mon Feb 5 13:29:03 PST 2007

All-

I'm not defending the oil/auto industry in these comments regarding how they
have approached electric vehicles, but electric battery powered cars/light
trucks are not realistically a large scale solution to US transportation
needs at the current time, if they ever will be.

The electric car can lessen pollution in vehicle dense urban areas, but to a
large degree would shift the pollution generated by the electrical
generation to power the cars, somewhere else.  The US derives about 50% of
its electricity from coal fired plants, linked to creating respiratory
ailments and exacerbating respiratory disease, along with dumping dangerous
mercury pollution and massive amounts of CO2.  If the US shifted to far more
electric/battery car use, the electrical power demands to charge these
vehicles would force more output from coal fired electrical
generation plants, thus more pollution, given current coal fired plants
pollution control technology. The US now in some areas already faces rolling
blackouts during peak electricity use periods due to demand exceeding safe
system capacity.

Hopefully, given that the US has the largest coal reserves of any nation on
Earth, and the almost impossible to stop demands for incredible amounts of
cheap (coal electricity is cheap) energy to run our economy and technology,
future coal fired plants can reduce all forms of pollution, including CO2
output, via CO2 sequestration technology.  Then electric cars charged via
coal derived energy might truly be "non-polluting," and not contribute to
global warming.

Electric cars/trucks to be a realistic long term solution need to be
recharged off sustainable (coal will deplete) non-polluting energy: solar,
wind, nuclear fission (I know this suggestion will raise eye brows), the
dream of practical nuclear fusion, etc.  There is not now even a fraction of
the generating capacity from these sources to power a mostly electric nation
wide fleet of cars/light trucks, that most consumers drive.

Of course, we hear often about fuel cell vehicles, a kind of electric car,
that does not require charging batteries to power the cars motor, given that
the fuel cell generates the electricity on board, but there are still
serious problems with what fuel source can economically power a nationwide
fleet of fuel cells vehicles.  We hear a lot about hydrogen to power fuel
cells, or even to power an internal combustion engine directly, but this
fuel takes a lot of energy to produce in the first place, like in
electrolysis from water.  Fuel cells can run on fossil or possibly some
biofuels, but fossil fuels will deplete, and biofuels are very questionable
as a large scale solution to energy demands for a number of reasons.

It is easy to forget the incredible amounts of convenient portable
inexpensive energy contained in the gasoline/diesel powering cars and
trucks, and tempting to think that there are practical and affordable
options to this form of energy, if if were not for the sinister
manipulations of the oil and auto industry and the short term greed of
Wall Street.  I don't deny they are sinister, and have manipulated to stop
or slow the implementation of alternative energy solutions to the fossil
fuel powered car/light truck that most people drive, or to block more
reliance on public transport to reduce the need for most all to drive cars
and trucks.  But there are serious technological and economic problems with
replacing fossil fueled vehicles, given our current short term profit
oriented economy, lifestyle and huge consumption of energy.

Here is an interesting and apparently well informed discussion on electrical
energy generation and the problems with fossil fuel depletion and global
warming.  I will offer one quote that bodes well for wind energy to power
electric cars:

http://www.ieer.org/latest/ourelectricfuture.html

"There is no shortage of energy sources that have no or low CO2 emissions.
The potential for wind-generated electricity in the 12 states down the spine
of the United States (North Dakota to Texas, including Midwestern and Rocky
Mountain states) is equal to two-and-a-half times the entire electricity
generation of the United States.

Put another way, the energy potential there is roughly the same as the oil
output of all the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC)."

-------------------

Ted Moffett

On 2/5/07, Ellen Roskovich <gussie443 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>  *I definately recommend viewing this documentary.  I saw it downtown when
> it played here a few months back.  For some reason it, the
> documentary, seems to be getting as much attention as the electric car did.
> Too bad.  But now that it's out on DVD maybe more people will see it. . . .
> I know I told all my friends about it after I saw the movie. Now I'll tell
> them to go get the DVD.   Glad Bill brought the subject up.*
>
> *Ellen Roskovich*
>
>  ------------------------------
> From: *"Kai Eiselein, editor" <editor at lataheagle.com>*
> To: *"Bill London" <london at moscow.com>, <vision2020 at moscow.com>*
> Subject: *Re: [Vision2020] who killed the electric car?*
> Date: *Mon, 5 Feb 2007 10:38:50 -0800*
>
> NPR had a segment on this last summer. as well.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> *From:* vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:
> vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]*On Behalf Of *Bill London
> *Sent:* Monday, February 05, 2007 10:29 AM
> *To:* vision2020 at moscow.com
> *Subject:* [Vision2020] who killed the electric car?
>
> A decade ago, California decided to get serious about smog and required
> car manufacturers to create zero-emission cars.  The auto makers did build
> electric cars for sale in that state.  Then by creatively undermining public
> support for the cars and reversing the state mandate, they killed the
> electric car.  Literally.  Even though hundreds of customers begged the
> companies to sell them an electric car, the auto makers refused (the cars
> were only leased, not sold).  And then the leases were ended, and the cars
> were actually crushed and recycled.
>
> Though it sounds like a paranoid fantasy, it's all there in the recent
> documentary, "Who Killed the Electric Car?"  I saw it on DVD.  It is a great
> summary and a strong indictment of the short-sighted oil/auto industry
> that could only see that big cars equal big profits.
>
> GM and Ford are now suffering big time with diving stock prices and huge
> losses.  And all I can think is those dinosaurs deserve it.
>
> For more info, and links to the DVD, etc see:
> http://www.pluginamerica.com/
> BL <http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/>
>
>
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