I think that for at least the immediate future, electricity is the fuel of the future. Everything is already in place: production, grids, governmental regulation as to costs, and availability. There are a number of possible alternate energy sources, but I believe that electricity is the alternate fuel of the present. That is not to say that there will be not be another energy source that will be better in the near future. In the short term, with electricity to power our transportation, our world can tap into renewable resources like hydroelectric, solar, wind, or geothermal power; resources that reduce our environmental footprint. Furthermore, studies show that millions of electric vehicles can recharge at night using existing surplus electrical generation; a vast, virtually untapped resource.
Gasoline is a precious natural resource and vital to the world economy. Electrical vehicles use no gasoline and require no oil changes. Also, since there have less moving parts, I have to think that there will be less maintenance issues to deal with. Using less fossil fuel can help relieve our current energy shortages while ensuring that future generations can rely on the same inexpensive, useful, petroleum products that we all take for granted.
Gas keeps getting more expensive. The typical electric car costs a penny per mile versus ten cents per mile with gas. Electric motors have fewer moving parts, meaning fewer trips to the mechanic. But, that cost does not factor in the cost of replacing of the batteries now in use in electrical vehicles. Battery technology is expensive. There are battery powered cars to be marketed this fall with a range of 350 miles and the capability to go from 0-60 mph in 4 seconds and they look like a sports car. They are in fact designed by Lotus. Of course, they will cost a mere $92,000 when released.
Today, the majority of USA's foreign trade deficit is attributed to imported oil. Using an electric vehicle will reduce our reliance on foreign oil. Furthermore, by investing in advanced transportation technologies, the USA can take the technological lead in offering energy efficient products that emerging economies around the world can use to build their own transportation infrastructures.
Evidence is mounting that carbon emissions are contributing to ozone depletion, climate change, and global warming. ZAP vehicles can reduce CO2 emissions by more than 90 percent compared to internal combustion vehicles, even counting the emissions from fossil fueled power plants. The USA constitutes less than 10 percent of the world's population, but is responsible for almost 30 percent of the world's CO2 emissions. So, electric vehicles still must bear the responsibility for some of these emissions as electrical production still produces those emissions. But, it is a step in the right direction.
Reducing fossil fuel consumption relieves pressure on our natural resources. It eliminates the need to explore for oil in environmentally sensitive habitats. Less automotive emissions means less toxic pollutants in our air, water, and soil. Less oil consumption reduces the risk of oil spills which can safeguard sensitive coastal regions and wildlife for future generations to enjoy.
By using an alternative energy vehicle, I make a statement about my values and show my own social responsibility. All too often I feel helpless, feeling the world's problems are too big for just one person to solve on my own. However, as a consumer, I have the ultimate power in the products I purchase and in the vehicles I drive.
What will happen if the world continues in this same direction? No one really knows. Of course, none of us may be around when or if the world runs out of oil, the polar icecaps melt, or the world is covered in another ice age. Perhaps it will be a technological paradise like many of us hope, but how can we control what sort of world our children and our grandchildren will inherit? It is up to me in a small measure.
Now to answer the question that popped into your mind when you first saw this vehicle. The “dorky” factor. Yes, it does look dorky, but I believe that the VW Bug was at first met with these same judgements. I believe that I must be open to a new paradigm in my perceptions of the future. Americans are tied to oversize cars that are sold to us my the car manufacturers as these are the cars that we need. Of course to power these cars with all the embellishments there is a trade-off in reduced efficiency.
Trade-offs, that is what life and choices are all about. The question is for me, “What am I willing to give up in exchange for my social conscious be salved.” Or, am I content with the idea that, “I have mine, but you can’t have the opportunity to have yours.” I think that I am more interested in the function of my transportation rather than any identity that I would try to convey with the image of whatever vehicle that I wrap around myself. After all, aren’t vehicles an alter ego of what I want to have others perceive of me? In effect, form over function.
