Letters to the Editor
Having an electric car is wonderful
8/11/2013I disagree with the writer of the July 28 Readers’ Forum letter “Electric cars not energy panacea.” I have a Nissan Leaf electric car. It is the finest car I have ever had.
About every three days, I plug my car into a standard 110 volt outlet in my garage. By the time I am ready to go somewhere the next day, it’s ready for another 80 to 100 miles.
By my calculations, it costs me just 1.5 cents to drive my car one mile. I drive few miles, but the experience is satisfying.
Fifty-five years ago, I thought electric cars would replace vehicles powered by gasoline engines, just as those vehicles replaced horses.
Having an electric car was the last thing on my bucket list.
TOM HAULUND
Maumee
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Future should be electric cars
I am an automotive instructor at Terra Community College. I have owned a battery electric vehicle (BEV) since 2010. The modest increase in my electric bill is offset by the joy of not buying gasoline.
My electrical use costs around 3.5 cents a mile. At $4 a gallon for gasoline, it costs 20 cents a mile to operate a vehicle that gets 20 miles a gallon. Electricity from wind and solar power would further reduce the cost-per-mile and power my house — and yours too.
Current electrical grids can handle the load of BEVs even if 10 percent of the vehicles in the country were to plug in tonight. Daytime charging could be a concern, but with more than 250 million registered vehicles in the country, it will take years for BEVs to have a negative impact.
If Americans embraced electrical generation from wind, solar power, waves, and natural gas, the grid supply could be greatly improved and vehicle emissions would continue to drop with BEVs.
Environmentally safe battery recycling has been around for decades. Virtually every lead-acid battery is made from recycled materials.
It is sad that Americans do not embrace transportation choices that are common in other parts of the world. Solar charging of electric vehicles has been around for decades overseas. How long will it take before we convert?
MICHAEL HALL
Oregon