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Electronic car owners in the Bay Area may soon have easier access to charging stations as the Bay Area Air Quality Management District approved $5 million in taxpayer-financed funding last week to go toward developing a regional electric vehicle charging infrastructure program.
Specifically, funds will support development of 3,000 home charging stations, 2,000 public charging stations and 50 charging stations near highways.
The Air District, the regional agency chartered with protecting air quality in the nine-county Bay Area, is working to establish a network of accessible charging sites where electric vehicle owners can conveniently recharge while conducting normal business, running errands or shopping.
The electronic vehicle charging stations and home chargers are part of the Air District’s “Spare the Air” program.
“The past several years have seen exciting progress in the development of electric vehicle technology,” Air District Executive Officer Jack Broadbent said in a prepared statement. “Crating a useful charging network will make it easier for Bay Area residents to ‘Spare the Air’ every day by going electric.”
In the Bay Area, transportation accounts for more than 50 percent of air pollution, according to the Air District.
Yet another unbelievable waste of taxpayer money.
Nissan’s new electric car, the Leaf, can go almost 100 miles on an 8 hour charge, unless you want the air conditioner on, then it can only go 40 miles. It features a 500 lb. battery that contains toxic chemicals, adds $10,000 to the car’s price and must be replaced within 3 to 5 years. That’s a high price to pay just so rich green elites can smugly claim, “I am greener than thou.”
If the govt. must get involved in this fools errand, wouldn’t it make more sense to promote natural gas vehicles instead, like they have in Brazil? Natural gas is abundant, cheap, low carbon emissions, and clean enough to burn inside your home.
One of my relatives is enthusiastic about electric cars because they are so good for the environment. I asked her where she was going to plug it in for recharging. She said, “Why in the garage, of course.”
She votes…
The U.S. gets half of its electricity from coal. So, the next time you see your electric car friends, ask them, “How do you like driving a car that’s powered by coal?”
Dear Dolores,
Vince and I were enjoying the commentary on the EXpress Forum today and wondered if any commentator has actually studied the various electric car concepts and sources of electricity. “I’ll stop on the Altamont Pass and plug it into a windmill,” laughed Vince.
Among the technologies I have pursued in the last 7 years is turbine electric hybrids that use an alkohydrated fuel to power the turbine that generates electricity. The alcohol use in tests is equivalent to 200 mpg and the water component is condensed, supplemented and reused. What has come of such technologies is the eventual fuel cell generation using hydrogen and a self-contained electric car that is clean and competitive with fossil fueled vehicles. Turbine electric generation is in buses in Asia and is proven ready for delivery vans, automobiles and pick-up trucks.
Battery technology is advancing to high power thin/thick film technologies and the ability to wirelessly charge the batteries while the vehicle is in motion. As a technique for buses and trains, this method of continuous service without stationary recharging has obvious promise.
It seems such technology could be explained in an interview with Lawrence Livermore Laboratories to EMCEB’s on-line editor.
Hal/SeediestEYE
halbailey@yahoo.com