Gary_in_NJ
Serious Thumper
Offline
LS650 Cafe Racer
Posts: 2633
Amongst the Twisty Roads
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I’m not an environmentalist – not even close. I do consider myself a conservationist – a term that has all but disappeared since the rise of the extreme environmentalist movement (cult?).
I like the idea of electric vehicles that are powered by clean energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro, wave, etc. The problem is, we aren’t there yet. At our present consumption levels, alternative energy sources can only meet 10-15% (Wikipedia) of our needs. Add millions of electric vehicles to that equation and that figure drops dramatically. In fact, our power grid probably can’t keep up with that type of demand.
In order for an electric-powered future to take hold and grow, there will have to be disruptive technology on several fronts including power generation, storage, application, and disposal/recycling. For eight years the government has tried to buy/force that type of disruptive change, but it takes a lot more than money (and a lot of it) to make that type of change happen, it takes demand – demand by the people who will use it. That demand probably won’t happen until we are pumping our last gallon of crude out of the ground. And then we’ll panic.
With that said, I look forward to never having to stop at a gas station again. Moreover, due to the torque output, electric vehicles are fun to operate. I think cars like the Chevy Bolt hold great promise (180 to 240 mile range depending on temperature and type of travel), but until you can buy one at an affordable price (without help from the taxpayers) they are expensive novelty products. I think I might lease one anyway.
My point, I don’t hate electric vehicles – I look forward to them. But we have a long way to go before they are ready for Joe Consumer. Project/experiment bikes like the leafy savage move us closer to that future. The beauty lies in the technology, not in its lines.
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