Philosophy Now Forum

A group of Surrey (B.C.) students were recently the winners of a QUEST—Quality Urban Energy Systems of Tomorrow—award for energy ingenuity.
Not surprising, a local Surrey newspaper scooped up the story and added much platitudinous political talk about utilizing the cleanest of renewable sources of energy, all the while solar energy—the cleanest, most potent and least finite—has essentially been wasted. This fact is especially so when considering, as but the best example, the vast and empty desert regions planet-wide upon which countless state-of-the-art-tech solar panels could absorb so very much solar energy.
The best example of such collective head-in-sand mentality is that of the virtual-monopoly vehicular propulsion energy—i.e. fossil-fuel mass extraction, consumption and pollution.
As a teenager during the 1980s, I swallowed one convenient excuse for suppressing a grand-scale transition to the mass production of electric cars, the argument being that it’s too inefficient because its 0-60 mph pull-away power and torque capability is incompatible to the petroleum-powered car.
Well, some things have changed since then.
Current electric car technology has it making the 0-60 run in better time than that of a fossil-fuel powered car of the same weight plus aerodynamic and tire quality. From my understanding of it, the electric car’s power cell has all of the energy that’s required for the sprint from 0-60 right there and then, instantly available and implemented. The petroleum car, however, will always require those extra couple seconds or fractions thereof to procure from its fossil-fuel propelled engine the eventually readied power to reach 60 mph.
As for the many other non-vehicular dependents of crude oil extraction, such as the containers in which automobile lubricants are packaged, presuming there’s a considerable increase in cost-per-unit production due to greatly lowered demand for crude-oil-based fuels, such container-production interests would have to be flatly denied any manner of veto power over such a progressive, profound transition to solar energy dependence.

I agree that we ought to go full speed ahead with the production and facilitation of electric vehicles, and the charging stations at convenient locations along the road (or under the highway.)

If a road is dug up and induction coils are imbedded in it and then resurfaced, car batteries can be continually recharged this way. It's a construction project that is well worthwhile.

The solar energy that pours onto the Earth is being wasted. There is no good reason for doing so any longer. If we care about people - as Ethics directs us to - then we will give them (virtually) free energy for their health and well-being. We will engage in campaigns to promote the conversion to renewables as sources of power. We will demand clean, green energy! We will actively recycle; and we will beautify neighborhoods.

Your thoughts?

Electric cars are not very practical.

Takes VERY long time to recharge.

Lifespan of a battery is very short, 2 years or so.

Must recharge relative often.

All the batteries proves a hazard in collisions and high water.

No, I rather wait for other techs to reach us.

There never was a 'good' reason to suppress the electric car. Usually use by many will drive technology and the advances we are now waiting for would already have been accomplished. Electric propulsion in war time would have advanced it even faster, pity the US or someone didn't have electric tanks.