Sunday paper inserts this week are promoting “green” products. Everything from recycled aluminum foil to sustainable seafood is on sale. My employer ran a (clever, in my opinion) sale last weekend that featured a deal: 15% off your entire purchase when you bought a $1.99 reusable Kohl’s bag.
Today is the 40th annual Earth Day, a day when we reflect on how to be better stewards of the planet.
I remember in elementary school (think: early 1990s) when we had school assemblies and class projects promoting recycling, litter clean up, and good stewardship. The fact is, taking care of the earth is not a new concept. However, as society has become increasingly more eco-conscious, advertisers and marketers have run with the concept, promoting all shades of green.
Rather than talk about my views on going overboard with environmentalism, or what I think of cap-and-trade legislation, I figured I’d switch gears and talk about some up-and-coming trends in the auto industry.
Nissan’s affordable, all-electric bean pod, known as the LEAF, is slated to hit showrooms later this year. Meanwhile, GM hopes the Volt gas/electric hybrid will be its next savior (after the Obama administration). Electric technology is obviously in its infancy, but it’s encouraging to see the range of electric vehicles being extended above and beyond 100 miles per charge. It seems the technology is there for making decent commuter cars that run on electric. My 25-mile-per-day round-trip drive wouldn't be a problem for an all-electric car. It’s the romance of the road trip that simply doesn't work...yet.
There are many kinks to be worked out in electric propulsion. For one, how will the American power grid handle a glut of electric cars charging every night—Produce more juice? From what? Coal? That’ll make more pollution. Nuclear? We’ll end up with another West Valley. The best engineering minds in America and around the world have their work cut out for them in solving these caveats.
In the meantime here’s one more interesting little tidbit: Former Yugo of America founder Malcom Bricklin jumped in on a venture in 1993, after the Yugo went belly up, called Electric Vehicle Corporation (EVC). EVC built battery packs that could be retrofitted into gasoline engine bays. At the time, Bricklin's concept lacked an audience. Range was less than 100 miles per charge, and the cost was often near that of the vehicle itself. But surely we’ve come a long way since 1993. For one, gasoline costs a heck of a lot more now. And electric technology has improved.
A system that replaces a car’s internal combustion power plant with batteries may be just the ticket to the future. Assuming manufacturers would be on board, electric motors could be designed to work with safety systems and other computer-controlled parts. Gasoline engines could then be shredded and recycled while people could continue to drive otherwise perfect Toyota Camrys, Chevy Impalas, and other everyday automobiles. While the go method might change, America's roadways would look surprisingly the same, and there wouldn't be a mass influx of complete gasoline cars into our nation's landfills.
I’m certainly no engineer, but something to this effect could be a sustainable, logical step toward weaning the U.S. off petrol for good. Novel thoughts at this point, but in any case, happy Earth Day.
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