Comment Log Display

                       AIR RESOURCES BOARD
Ethanol hybrid usage is marginally better than oil, and threatens
world food supply. The alternative: No greenhouse gases electric
cars are still largely being ignored. Why?

Electric cars have been manufactured for many years, but have not
caught on, almost certainly because early models were not very
powerful and not very efficient. Yet there was little research
being done on them and global warming was only grudgingly being
accepted by a few. The all powerful oil lobby and a highly
blinkered president chose to ignore, or rather blanketed the
reality with a combined fog and smoke screen to protect their
obscene profits.

Now all that has changed, - not the smoke screen, but electric
cars. 

Tesla has demonstrated the superiority of electric cars over gas
and diesel vehicles, not only in eliminating greenhouse gases and
air pollution, but in efficiency and safety: Their highly
efficient batteries can hold their charge for up to 250 miles
before requiring recharging. They can be recharged via an ordinary
electric outlet in 3 1/4 hours, and they can accelerate to 60
m.p.h. in about 4 minutes. They are equipped with controls which
ensure that all 4 wheels individually hug the road and have
exceptional stability even on ice. They have roll bars designed to
protect their passengers. Of course, there is zero danger of fuel
leaks, fire and explosion on impact - therefore no danger of being
incinerated!

What is the disadvantage?: Cost. The Tesla costs about $92,000.
This, however, is offset by the cost of electric power - estimated
at 1 cent per mile. ($100 per 10,000 miles). Therefore, if a new
car is not purchased for 15 years, and the car is driven at a rate
of 10,000 miles per year, the cost of electricity used in that
period would be: $1500. Gasoline at $3 per gallon in a vehicle
using a gallon  per 13 miles would be $34,615.  [Data from Tesla
advertisement, calculations are mine]

Subtracting $1500 would leave a difference of $33,115. Taking this
from the sale price would leave an effective cost of $58,885.
(Greater usage would expand the difference and further reduce the
effective cost).

Since the Tesla is an original model, and it is likely that other
companies will get into the act, inevitably reducing the cost, and
further research is also likely to increase efficiency, the
effective cost would probably equal that of current automobiles or
even less, in the near future. This would eliminate the need to use
corn or other biologicals for vehicular power.

While wind and solar farms can be expanded exponentially, there is
little mention of tidal power. Research into this resource seems to
be lacking at this time. With the enormous power of tides on the
Atlantic and Pacific seaboards, there should be enough
non-polluting power for generations to come! It is time for the
Sleeping Giant to awake!    
        
While I have discussed the question of global warming and
environmental pollution in economic terms, there other benefits
over and above climate change in terms of human health, fresh air,
and economic savings which would amount to many billions of dollars
in terms of reduced need for medication, medical care, hospital
care, hours of work lost due to respiratory problems, and perhaps
reduced human and vehicular damage from accidents.

I would value your thoughts on the above - (Not as an electronic
automated reply).

Sincerely,

Ian Campbell Cree, MB(Hons.), MS, FRCS(Eng. & C.), FACS, LRCP