Death of the Electric Vehicle

Opinion Letter

By: Frank Burkett

The United Nation’s proposal for zero and down to a minuscule parts per million, PPM, C0 2 by 2050, and our Commander in Chief at present has sanctioned their proposal. I didn’t have to research because I know, Co2 is the fertilizer from the atmosphere that nourishes and is a must have for all plant life on this planet. And in turn, vegetation is our largest source of oxygen that is needed to sustain all animal life.

That is the law of the land, and we along with our Maker produces Carbon to trade it for the Oxygen which is a by-product of vegetation. Man with his insatiable quest for more energy to produce meaningful commodities burns fossil fuels by the hundreds of millions of tons to satisfy civilization. But let us make it clear, the United States by far isn’t the only nation that uses fossil fuel and isn’t the leading nation for its use.

Has anyone thought about our President’s edict, no fossil fueled automobiles will be manufactured after 2050. That is 24 years from the present. But another notable Democrat, Governor Gavin Newsom of our most populace state, CA echoed the edict and said no more NEW fossil fueled autos will be sold in CA after 2035. That is 11 years from now. Here is the kicker, Joe Biden will be long gone in 2050 and Newsom won’t be Governor in 2035. So, we will have new leaders with new rules.

Another morsel to chew on will follow. One hundred years ago the electric vehicle was the most popular and the EVs outsold all other types of cars. Yet, in a couple of decades the electric autos had been replaced by internal combustion autos, fueled by gasoline. A comeback of the EV happened first with what we call a hybrid, using both gasoline and battery. Many manufacturers of autos produce hybrids, which I think are feasible.

Now here we are in 2024 and the EV fad is petering out again. Tesla, one of the leading EV manufacturers has cut production and prices to maintain sales and also to stay afloat. Hertz auto rentals brought cheers and kudos from the Biden Administration when it purchased a fleet of EVs. But now because of that, Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr has stepped down and the Hertz Rental Co. is trying to rid itself of the EV fleet.

Another problem with battery powered vehicles happens in cold weather zones. Our state of Alaska and the Northern states East of Oregon plus the Midwest and all the way to the Atlantic Ocean experience cold or real cold weather. Garages are mostly non existent for apartment renters and garages are a major necessity for the EV with home chargers. As all are aware temperatures will vary from below zero or freezing in the areas I mentioned during the winter months. Using the heater in 20 degree f temp, an EV will drop its mileage by an average of 41%. Or from 250 miles to less than 148 miles.

Heaven forbid you get behind a pile up on your way to work. An extremely cold night, sometime overnight charging is difficult because the battery also uses its own power to keep the battery from freezing. Heaters or A/C for long commute’s to work also saps the battery significantly.