The Wide Pond
Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 6:38PM Sometimes that pond is so wide.
In the UK, there’s plenty of resistance to electric cars but it doesn’t feel co-ordinated, charged with extremist politics and absurd ranting. It’s criticism, some of it very well founded, by people who are interested in the subject of either cars or our future energy needs and problems.
Essentially the British Conservative party make vaguely favourable nods toward the electric car along with the Labour party, oh, and even that other lot I keep forgetting. The fact that these political parties are now virtually indistinguishable is another story.
However, this relatively benign state of affairs isn’t the case in the good old US of A. For some reason I’ve long forgotten, I still get e-mails from the Tea Party on a regular basis. They go into my spam bin, but every now and then I check one out to see what they’re ranting about.
It’s mostly comical, childish fury at the fact that there’s a black man in the Whitehouse who is hugely popular both inside and outside the USA.
They will do anything to get him out, I’m not putting words into their angry little mouths, this is what they say, and anything connected to him in any way drives them utterly bat-shit crazy.
If you have a perfectly innocent technological interest in electric cars you will be labelled as an insane communist anti American pro Obama eco-Nazi. The American Tea Party TV station, Fox News, have picked out the electric car as the key symbol. Some dead eyed news jock with fake hair, tan and teeth spouts ‘The Nation we love is going to hell in a hand basket, and Obama is pushing it over the edge with his communist electric car that he’s ramming down the throats of good citizens of America.’
This is peculiar and pinpoints the rather scary fact that this extreme right wing minority have completely taken over the once sensible centre right Republican party in America.
Now even the arch conservative climate change denying ex General Motors boss Bob Lutz has said, ‘Hang on a minute there boy, this is damned ridiculous.’
You see General Motors developed the GM Volt, (the Vauxhall Ampera in the UK) General Motors were bailed out by the US government and have since done rather well, selling shed loads of gas guzzling trucks and cars, and a few thousand part electric cars. But now this multi national corporation with a very proud history of supporting the Republican party, even GM are now portrayed as commie anti Americans by the barking Tea Party.
‘They don’t work and they catch fire,’ said some ‘spokesperson.’ Giving this tragic individual a name check is beneath me. One GM Volt caught fire many weeks after it was in a serious road accident. Over 10,000 people a year die in fossil powered vehicle fires in the USA every year, not one person has died in an electric vehicle fire. They don’t catch fire and now everyone who knows anything about cars, batteries or related subjects knows they don’t catch fire. Everyone except Fox ‘news.’
The first electric car I had a ride in was developed in America, the Tesla Roadster. I know very little of the personal political thinking of one of the founders, Elon Musk, but seeing as he is a white South African multi millionaire capitalist, the chances of him being a wet liberal tree hugging hippie drop out seem rather remote.
But in the eyes of the Tea Party and most of the very odd bunch of loons that are hoping to be the next republican President, he is just that. A man who is trying to destroy America with his goddam commie electric cars.
As I’ve said previously, when I first had my neck strained by the truly breath taking performance of the Tesla Roadster, I had no idea this simple disruptive shift in technology would be so political. Yes there are plenty of theories that the fossil extraction corporations are shelling out money by the ship load to inform us that electric cars ‘just don’t work, I know many right wing people in the UK who are very pro electric cars, and very left wing people who think we should ride bikes or catch a bus or train and all cars are evil.
That’s what I like, a bit of balance.
Reader Comments (15)
I have a company car, Vauxhall diesel, that is due to be changed soon. Despite my multinational companies energy awareness, we provide energy saving systems for commercial buildings and also manufacture car dashboards& seats etc for Ford, GM and others, we do not have an electric or hybrid car on our company car list list.
Tried posting this on Twitter...not sure if you got it. Are you familiar with the MDI (formerly known as Zero Pollution Motors) Airpod line? Not sure if I can post a link here but if you Google it, you will find it quickly. Runs on compressed air. I've been following the company for probably 8 to 10 years and nothing has come of it, at least not in terms of a mass produced marketable product. Think it's legitimate?
It's ridiculous when you think about it, because the electric car is perfect for both sides of the political spectrum. Interestingly, I would assume that the more conservatively minded among us would be keen on electric cars instead of distancing themselves from it.
Right: It runs on local fuel, and will create jobs & industry.
Left: It's environmental, and will create jobs and industry.
Perhaps it's fear? It's long been proven that stupid people fear what they don't understand.
For me there are issues with electric cars. Its a slow progress and more people need to invest in one before it really pushes off.
I do however feel that we're missing the boat with this: there's plenty of opportunity with electric that is starting to really come of age with electric motorcycles and bicycles. Electric bicycles are perfect for everyday commuting with distances of up to 15 miles each way, they will run for hours (my friend charges hers every week, once a week).
There have been good developments with electric motorcycles - their low weight means longer distance is capable, faster acceleration too. We're talking pennies for several miles, and the ability to bypass the congested traffic jams.
Electric is the future, but its not just about cars.
Just watched Paul Scott on Carpool again. There isn't an argument that stands up against electric cars. Range anxiety - solved; battery life - solved; safety in accidents - solved; running costs - minimal; national energy security - partially solved.
Anybody who wants to waste their money & throw it at overseas multinationals (who shy away from paying their wack of tax), carry on buying fossil fuelled cars. Who are we to stop you?
The more obvious the benefits of the electric car, the more desperate the Tea Party propaganda will be. But then Facism has always been good at propaganda.
>>>> Over 10,000 people a year die in fossil powered vehicle fires in the USA every year<<<
Really? Sounds unlikely... Isn't that the total number of people killed on the roads in all accidents rather than died in vehicle fires?
First, to address a question... The "over 10,000..." is the cumulative number of deaths by auto fires over a 20 year period. [1980-2000], but has dropped to a new average since.
And yes... the pond is wide. It is wide in the same area from a different angle. "[Fill in the Blank] ________ is the Future". [electric, ethanol/bio-fuels, hydrogen, natural gas...] The frenzy around that statement is the same described above. You would think these intelligent people would argue for at least a mix since each has its advantage(s), but sadly it is not the case. There is more hair-pulling, eye-gouging, clothes-ripping... than a redneck cat brawl at the local trash bar on a Saturday night.
The Lutz electric equivalent has spoken out on this regarding ethanol to the electric community, in part, and environmentalists as a whole. Yet still the EV advocates argue emphatically against anything but electric to the point of beating war drums when a word is uttered other than batteries.
Oh well... I don''t expect much from humans, and the last I checked [EV, ethanol/bio-fuels, fuel cell, etc] advocates are humans.
Peace
I'm all for alternative energy, especially electric and biofuels, such as recycled restaurant grease. (No, really.) Corn- based fuels are a bad idea, however.
If ethanol ever really took off, the corn that's grown for the purpose would be specifically bioengineered for the purpose and unfit for human consumption. That means large amount of land formerly used to grow food crops would be earmarked for ethanol corn. People in developing countries wouldn't be growing food for themselves, they'd be growing ethanol corn for Monsanto, or whoever, because they'd get paid money. But Monsanto (or whoever) would have a patent on the corn so that farmers could not save seed from one year to the next. They must buy seed every year, and once they're recruited, every year the price is raised. They must also buy Monsanto (or X company) brand fertilizer, pesticides, etc. or they won't see yields because the crops aren't native. This is already happening with Monsanto GM corn and GM soy.
Not only that, GM corn can and does cross pollinate with food crops. It can actually make native food crops struggling farmers are growing for their families' private use unfit for consumption.
Recycled materials are a much better idea, since it reduces waste. Clean energy such as electricity should also be in a much later stage, but too many are fighting it.
I live in Colorado where a lot of alternative energy experiments take place, including wind, hydro, solar, and geothermal. People can get reimbursements from the government if they're willing to switch their home to solar. People can also get help to get e-star energy efficient ratings for their house and convert to energy saving appliances. My parents found out they will get a rebate from the gas company when they get a new furnace if it is more efficient. So things aren't really so bad, but still moving slowly.
@AA
I think the thing to remember about GM and ethanol production is that it wont be corn or other crops that are engineered to be most efficient in ethanol production, but bacteria that deals with waste like chaff, seed casks and stems.
Research is already proving very positive. Big vats of these bacteria are showing how productive little buggers they can be. No risk of cross pollination, and the bacteria cannot live so well outside the vat (much like yeast).
You've got a point, but even the bacteria will be bioengineered to be the most efficient bacteria possible. It's probable that even the plants producing the waste will be bioengineered to have the most efficient WASTE possible. They'll tell you there's no difference in the edible parts of the food, but I wouldn't believe it.
Then, if waste works, why not just use inedible plants (weeds) that grow like crazy, but are engineered to be the perfect food for the bacteria? Then we've got the same problem, with farmers growing non- food products for poverty-level pay instead of feeding their families with native crops.
Think about it- if they're putting that much money into research, they can't afford to just give that product away. Even if they could, they wouldn't. A patent ensures ownership, even of the waste parts of nature. This could end up making the end product too expensive to be worthwhile, while giving huge international corporations a monopoly on it. I don't like it, but you can bet they'll try. What they can do, they will.
Electric makes more sense, because government caps already keep it from being prohibitively expensive. Also, inedible waste, even if the bacteria is patented. At least our food crops wouldn't be manipulated.
There is nothing certain corporations wouldn't do for money. Nothing. It's unfortunate but has been proven time and again. They will even starve people for it, and, in the long run, food is more important than fuel.
Just some "food' for thought.
@AA
1. Ethanol is not a corn-based fuel; ethanol is derived from starches, sugars. Corn is only one of many sources (and not the best by far) of starch.
2. 90% of corn production is not for human consumption; it's cattle feed. 1-2% of the corn production is chips, corn flakes, etc.--direct corn food.
3. Majority of the corn cattle feed ends as cow pies. Cattle can not digest corn.
4. Ethanol waste is a fertilizer and a feed -- distiller's grain. Most fertilizer (petroleum based) is used on lawns. The mash serves as a better argument and counter to Monsanto. [superior fertilizer means no lock-in to Monsanto or purchase of GMO thereof]
5. Last few years the US had record setting corn surpluses. [1.4 -- 2+ billion bushels]
Peace
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Electric cars have several important advantages over traditional gasoline cars. Electric cars guarantee maximum safety as there is no gasoline involved so they will not catch fire or blow up if you crash into something.
In my opinion the birth of electric cars is because of the car manufacturer anticipation for the every now and then issue of petroleum. They say fossil fuel is decreasing so an alternative for petroleum is a must for a sustainable future.
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