Spin Focus: Electric Cars?

Electric Cars: Is Going Green Giving Up and is electric a real solution

Electric cars have been on the market for longer than you might imagine, in fact Henry Fords wife Clara was one of the first owners of an all-electric car. Thomas Edison along with his many inventions worked on an electric car in 1899 seeing electricity as the power source of automobiles in the future making it his mission “To create a long lasting, powerful battery for commercial automobiles”. In 1900 electric cars made up 28% of all manufactured vehicles in the United States holding court in cities like New York, Boston, and Chicago. But it would be long before these cars would be forgotten by industry and consumer alike in praise of gasoline powered vehicles (however these vehicles had more efficient electronic starting motors which made them more reliable and attractive to consumers) after a clever invention by Charles Kettering made the hand cranking starting motor of past vehicles an archaic and unnecessary task.

Soon Ford would introduce the Model T and car sales would explode sadly leaving the electric car largely in the dust. So the question remains why have electric cars resurged today? With their resurgence how have they changed and most of all beyond looking green and being cost efficient how good of a solution to climate change are these new forms of an old American inventors dream going to hold up to the tests of the modern age?

Electricity seemingly has no off gassing of harmful chemicals, no waste produced during its use and largely (for the first world) is abundant. Its quiet, efficient and non-fossil fuel based, or so it seems at first glance at a wall outlet. Put all power stems from a source and electricity is no different in fact its fuel source isn’t much better than the fossil fuels used in convention vehicles. The only difference being that electrically powered vehicles have the luxury and illusion of being “green” by removing themselves one step from the process of creating harmful toxins and excess carbon dioxide speeding up climate change and the erosion of the ozone layer.

All electricity in the case of the United States is produced from three main sources the first of which is coal. Coal is a fossil fuel burned to produce usable power and energy however in order to use coal we need to mine it, refine it and ship it to plants where it can be combust into potential electric energy. Coal mining causes horrible environmental impact by clogging streams with the overburden or waste material caused by the primary source of coal in the United States which is a practice known as Mountain Top removal mining. This practice not only decimates beautiful mountains in the Appalachian mountain ranges of West Virginia but also causes the streams these mountains feed with rain run off to be clogged and choked to a trickle by dumping of mining waste into mine sites neighboring valleys and rivers.

The next major fuel source for electrical energy is Natural Gas. Now don’t let the phrase natural dissuade you into believing this fuel source is anymore green. All the natural indicator serves as is a reminder that this fuel like oil was naturally caused by decomposition of long dead plants, animals and organisms however it remains just as detrimental to the environment as other petroleum fuel sources. It is no coincidence that natural gas is the number two Google keyword search after typing “natural” into the search bar as so few people understand just what the fuel is and how we go about acquiring it.

Natural gas still requires drilling and fracturing to be extracted before it can be compressed into a pressurized containment tank for refining or later be turned into a liquid for storage and distribution. Some natural gas wells that are close enough to the areas the fuel will be consumed have the ability to build pipelines into populated areas. This is convenient but also dangerous, as we have seen in cases where natural gas lines leaked into local water sources literally causing drinking water in these areas to become flammable.

The most promising source of electricity is hydroelectric at 6.4% of the total electricity produced in the United States coming from this source. (Additionally nuclear power makes up 19.30%, wind 2.10%, geothermal 0.37% and solar at 0.03%). Hydroelectric power is a process in which water is forced over a turbine causing it to slowly rotate a central metal shaft around which a generator is housed causing a build in static electricity which is stored for distribution to consumers. Hydroelectric power is a source, which after initial building and implementation at a site produces little carbon dioxide waste and no direct waste.

Sadly of all the electrical energy created in the world only 16% is truly renewable and low impact with hydroelectricity accounting for 21% of that small 16%. The hope is that this technology will be better researched for large electrical yield from existing and newly created plants generating more power for less waste and intrusion on the natural environment, as building the dams that house these sites leads to valley flooding and inevitable damage to the plants local ecosystem, which is not to mention that dams aren’t to pretty on the eyes for the average nature observer.

So knowing that electric power production is for the majority as detrimental as oil and other petroleum fuels why is there still an appeal to this “green” vehicle? We’ll for one these vehicles brand their owners as concerned entrepreneurs in the global struggle of climate change. In a world where identity is more than ever linked to the things we consume a car says a lot about a persons politics and opinions. Think hard about the last time you saw a hummer H2 or a Tahoe in the lane next to you. More than likely the things that came to mind were less than pleasant while when we see the Pruis or Volt those assumptions are completely changed.

This phenomenon is even true of relative car size. A long and dark colored Audi A8 (Otherwise called what my dad drives) carries a big and unconcerned vibe (My Dad is actually concerned about climate change but come on who doesn’t want a blacked out A8?) Smaller cars carry a different tone, Mini Coopers and Golf’s even the new fiat say to onlookers that you do your best to drive short distances in an efficient vehicle and that while it still runs on gas it could be worse.

Then by this logic an electric and compact car would have to be the best mix of concerned at intelligent car driver. Wrong. Introducing the Coda all electric compact car simply called the Coda positioned to take on the Nissan leaf and corner the electric car market. Well this is all well and good but environmental problems or not a car cant be purchased purely on its appeal to ideology it comes down to function and style, well in this case maybe just function. You’ll see.

And here she is, inspiring eh

Well the looks department just lost but maybe the amazing functionality of this vehicle will be its saving grace. This new car however unattractive boasts a range of 150 miles over 50 more miles than the Nissan Leaf thanks to a new lithium ion battery pack. This feat was a direct response to a new phobia to the world called “radius anxiety” or the fear of not being able to return from a trip in an electric car due to a low charge with no available charging station. Well this new battery should eliminate that anxiety all together not to mention that the Coda also has developed a technology called “thermal management” which will protect the life of the cars battery in extremely high or low temperatures making this car more appealing to those of us who need a daily driver year round regardless of weather (an all wheel drive option would have been nice for those of us who live in the snow and mountains).

Some other incentive for this kind of vehicle would be government tax credits of up to 7,500 dollars (which may or may not be worth the hassle, think DMV but through the mail it takes even longer). Also for city driving nothing beats the torque and fast pick up of an electrical engine but the harder the work the greater the electrical demand so be careful on those hills and drag races.

So what does it come down to? Well the only advantages I really see in an electric vehicle actually and sadly have little to do with saving the environment but have a great importance in rescuing the American economy (perhaps at the environments cost). By buying into electric cars the American populace pushes the use of American coal and natural gas creating new jobs with increased demand not to mention the creating of charging station instillation and maintenance as a field.

By using American power sources for these new electric cars and charging stations we push the environmental agenda, decrease dependency on foreign oil and make Americas energy future self dependent (want to avoid another OPEC oil crisis of 1979), especially given the current geopolitical climate) until we have time and money to pursue better more sustainable electricity and fuel sources. The use of electric cars will never be a legitimate option to solving or decreasing climate change but at least were making strides in the right direction, and besides we saw some really great cars emerge from this, take a look if you’re a gear head. (Porsche Spyder 918 hybrid electric, Audi Etron, Tesla roadster – a Lotus Elise body with a Tesla engine and the super sexy Fisker Karma.)

Lets hope we figure this electric car and environmental change out soon or it will come as a real shock when cars are a thing of the past, pun intended.

heres a video on hydroelectric power: