Are Obama's Electric Car Goals Realistic?

scientificamerican.com:

Although waiting lists for EVs rolling off the factory floors are growing, the president's State of the Union target will be impossible without help from the federal government.

Read the whole story: scientificamerican.com

Comments

[Kenz300]

06:48 PM on 04/09/2011

Just think --- if we were all driving electric vehicles we would not be involved in three wars.

The cost of oil is too high, especially if you add the cost of the wars into the total.

The supply of oil is not endless. It gets more expensive every day.

[jamest2]

12:19 PM on 02/26/2011

Simple arithmetic shows that it doesn't matter if the goal of putting 1 million EV's on the road by 2015 is achieved. Achieving that goal would displace gasoline and diesel consumption by only about 0.25%.

This proposal is just the latest in a long series of gimmicks to emerge from the mindless political class with the complicity of the clueless media inbreds. (Remember synthetic oil from coal, fuel cell cars, and ethanol?)

The only way to signicantly reduce fossil fuel consumption for transportation is to get people out of their cars, and the only way to do that is to greatly increase the price of gasoline and diesel and to establish a viable public transportation system. Both of these require a degree of intelligence, fortitude, and integrity that is well beyond the capabilities of the leadership of this culture. And that won't change until the media reveal these proposals for what they are.

[Genders]

11:12 PM on 02/20/2011

Sorry, what a bogus argument. Pure electric cars are a mistake. Plug in hybrids are great. For 90% of the miles driven, the cars can use pure electricity. For long trips, they use gasoline or diesel. Is that so difficult to understand?

[mike dougles]

09:50 AM on 02/20/2011

Just think what would happen if we all drove EV, no gas tax for the feds and states, oh the horror.

[Genders]

02:08 AM on 02/24/2011

We already get taxed on our electricity and pay big subsides for the generators. Long haul trucks will still use bio fuels.

[mike dougles]

06:35 AM on 02/24/2011

That will hardly replace the money the feds and states get from the gas taxes.

[Overtone]

12:27 PM on 02/19/2011

Black Swan energy events are likely to make all future cars electric or hybrid-electric.

See Green Light at www.aesopinstitute.org for an overview of why and how.

[Kenz300]

07:40 AM on 02/19/2011

We will either build electric vehicles here or we will buy them from China.

China is moving quickly to invest in the technologies and businesses of the future.

They are making massive investments in wind, solar, electric vehicle, battery production
facilities and high speed rail.

We keep looking to the past while our competitors look to the future.

The price of oil and coal keeps rising.

The price of wind and solar energy keeps dropping every year with advancements
in technology.

[mamacat]

06:15 AM on 02/19/2011

On their website, Southern California Edison says they will offer three different rate plans, in order to accommodate people who are planning to buy electric vehicles. I will attempt to summarize what I read on their site:

1.) buy electricity the same as before, or,
2.) keep just one incoming box to measure electrical use, but sign up for a special rate to be applied between 10 pm and 6 am, during which time one is expected to charge up the electrical system in an EV, or,
3.) install a second electrical metering system, exclusively for the EV, with a rate just for that use.

I may not have gotten the info exactly right, and I don't know how to include hyperlinks, but one could search for the Southern California Edison website and look up what they are going to offer.

[shthar]

06:09 AM on 02/19/2011

Pointless window dressing that actually uses up more resources and causes more pollution.

Just killing time till the hydrogen cars are ready.

[Super Sarcastic]

12:15 PM on 02/19/2011

Wait another twenty years ? I don't think so . Do some research.

[shthar]

03:51 AM on 02/21/2011

Son, when you get a little age on you, you'll realise 20 years aint nothin.

[iblogleft]

06:17 PM on 02/18/2011

If they were actually available, I would buy one this year and eliminate at least one conventional car.