Were you aware that the first motor vehicles were electric and that Thomas Edison began work on a long-lasting battery in the 19th century to power them? He eventually gave up the project to pursue other inventions and by early in the 20th century some guy named Henry Ford was figuring out how to produce mass-market cars with internal combustion engines.
Electric car timeline:
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/223/electric-car-timeline.html
In the 1960's the US Congress passed a bill recommending electric vehicles in order to reduce pollution, but it didn't gain much traction, so to speak. In the 1990's General Motors produced an electric vehicle called the EV1 which buyers loved. Mysteriously, GM bought them all back and destroyed them, leaving environmentalists wondering which interests brought pressure on what was then the largest vehicle producer in the world to kill this car. Ironic, considering that GM has declared that autonomous and electric vehicles are the future, even as the corporation was shutting down plants for traditional vehicles in Canada and the US.
As a Christian who feels that climate change is the greatest threat to the integrity of God's web of Creation I'm ready to drive an alternative vehicle although they aren't yet affordable enough for this pensioner. I saw an article recently which suggests that if drivers can wait three to five years there will be a massive shift in availability of EV's and I'm looking forward to this.
Here in Belleville there is now a Tesla super-charging station on the main commercial road and recently we saw two car-carrier transport trucks barreling down the 401 with Teslas aboard. It's happening folks, although there is still mindless resistance. In the southern US pick-up drivers have been blocking these super-charger stations and yelling profanities at Tesla drivers. Will the stupidity ever end?
Can you see yourself behind the wheel of a electric vehicle? Is driving one a moral or ethical issue?
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