Paul Scott, Co-founder of Plug-In-America and Chairperson of the Electrical Vehicle Association of California, owns a Toyota Rav 4. Heâs driven the car 63.000 miles in 6 years, charging it with electricity from his solar panels. There is no oil to change, no gas to buy, nothing to fix. Every day he gets in, turns it on and it operates perfectly. Every day he gets in, turns it on and it operates as well as the day he bought it. Since he
gets electricity from the sun, Scottâs electric bill last year was $44.09 for both his house and his car.
In 1990 California mandated that by 1998 car manufacturers had to make electric vehicles and make them available to the public so there were some electric cars manufactured. The lobbyists for the gasoline fueled car makers got rid of that law in 2003 and the manufacturers destroyed the cars so no one could say how good they were and how long they lasted. People protested and won against Ford and Toyota and saved about 1000 cars which are still running today and of which one is owned by Paul Scott. These NEVS (Neighborhood Electric Short Range Vehicles) cost from $10,000-18,000, go about 25 or 30 mph and have a range of 30 or 40 miles, but theyâre not allowed on roads with speed limits over 35 or 40 miles per hour. There is a growing demand for these cars and that they should be allowed on the highway so car companies are working on developing them. The manufacturing process of a standard car and an electric car take equivalent amounts of energy. Electricity is the best energy. Its domestic and nonpolluting and even if it comes from coal itâs still much cleaner than a Prius. Electricity can be made from solar, wind or hydro, geothermal and tidal instead of coal and/or nukes. Due to government subsidies of solar one can get the cost of the solar panels greatly reduced. An electric car goes about 120 miles on a charge. Thatâs plenty for Scott who lives in Los Angeles. For a bigger range buy a bigger battery. If you want to go on a very long trip youâd want a plug-in hybrid and can combine with gas but it still uses almost no gas. Mass transit would be much improved using electricity for power as well. In California there is a measure to develop an electric bullet train to go from San Diego to Sacramento. It can use solar panels during the day and wind energy at night. This eliminates the big carbon footprint from flying. Scott describes several models for charging stationsâone is like a parking meter where you plug in, do your business and come back to a car that is charged and your money has gone to your municipality, for example, rather than an oil company; another is for a parking lot to have solar panels on top that generate electricity that charges cars underneath while they are keeping cool. The money for the charge goes to whoever owns the parking lot.
Contact Paul: Paul@pluginamerica.org
Recorded October 2008
Link: http://www.pluginamerica.org
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Sue Suprianos Steppin Out of Babylon is a radio interview series covering a broad range of important issues in todays world? peace and war, human and civil rights, communication, the media, the environment, food security, racism, globalization, immigration and matters of the spirit.
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