Carnes: Don’t want it, don’t get it
Why do some people feel so threatened by electric vehicles?
In spite of bizarre social media claims, no one is outlawing or even proposing to outlaw the internal combustion engine or forcing battery technology down anyone’s throat.
No one is being dragged — kicking and screaming — to auto dealerships and being coerced into purchasing an EV against their will.
There’s simply more than one way to propel a vehicle from A to B.
Those attempting to make it a political issue over oil are akin to Gov. Polis declaring Coors is the only beer available within state borders with no other options being made available.
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Completely illogical and undemocratic, right?
EVs are simply the capitalist evolution of consumer transportation; some of us will evolve and some will not — it’s personal choice.
Oil, coal, and other non-renewable, carbon-based energy supplies will continue to dwindle and inevitably play an increasingly smaller role on the world’s energy stage, thus the planet is left pursuing renewables such as wind, solar, geothermal, nuclear and others, hence the up-and-coming EV industry.
This past winter, I came across a purported reason (excuse…) against EVs is that you might get stuck in a Vail Pass snowstorm and thus freeze to death if the battery ran out of electrons (fuel) and, besides, ICE vehicles never run out of gas, or some nonsense along those lines.
For the uninformed, a full 100-kilowatt EV battery could sit in a blizzard for up to three days with the heater going, and maybe it’s just me but I’m pretty sure a full tank of gas wouldn’t last that long.
Oh, and the potential of dying from carbon monoxide poisoning is zero.
You’ll also never hear the statement: “Massive cleanup underway after EV charging station spill,” but I digress.
In March, the United States generated 18% of its electricity from wind and solar, more than double from just 2015, matching the global trend as the fastest growing forms of electricity worldwide. A recent study revealed the amount of solar power installed in just nine U.S. cities exceeded the amount installed in the entire United States 10 years ago.
Cleaner air and less dependence on foreign countries for energy is not a bad thing.
And does anyone out there, as far as battery production, storage capacities and recharge efficiencies are concerned, actually believe the industry will become less efficient in the coming years?
Of course not, but EVs are not a magic bullet transforming the world overnight, yet technological advances will continue providing efficiencies to grow by leaps and bounds, such as replacing lithium-ions as the key ingredient for EV batteries (using lithium-sulfur, silicon, ferroelectric crystals, aluminum ions, etc.), and the ability to recycle old batteries is just over the horizon.
Advances in grid technology, which is critical for EV charging across the nation, is accelerating to more than meet the growing demand, and doing so with renewables.
So put it this way, the childish, “Your EV is coal-powered!” chants ignore reality, but to make it clearer and a tad more relevant in today’s world, if you don’t like abortion, don’t get one, and If you don’t like gay marriage, say “no” during the proposal phase.
And if you don’t like electric vehicles, simply don’t buy one.
Richard Carnes, of Avon, writes weekly. He can be reached at poor@vail.net.
