Electric Cars: Coming Soon?

The idea of Global Warming is a scary one to be certain. The melting of the polar ice caps could mean major flooding in places that have never experienced it before, not to mention floods worse than ever seen. Some people project that the entire continent of Australia could go under water should global warming continue to worsen.

The car industry has been heavily blamed in recent years for its contribution to global warming, or climate change (a term some people are more comfortable with). While hybrids are extremely helpful when it comes to changing the way cars affect our environment, they are still partially gas powered. The electric car, one that runs solely off of electricity, could be the answer the environment has been searching for, and the technology isn’t very far away.

According to Steve Visco, the chief technology officer of PolyPlus, a leader in advanced lithium batter technology, “Transportation is going to go electric, and batteries have become a real critical technology.” Visco also says the Chinese are somewhat at the forefront of the electric revolution. “The Chinese government is subsidizing a lot of battery research, and in Japan the companies have 10, 20, and 30-year technology road maps.

President Obama came out recently and said that with the next four years, or by 2015, he wants to have 1 million electric cars on the road in America. While this is a great ideal, it’s not the most likely goal to happen.  The problem is the range of electric vehicles.

The Nissan Leaf, the most recent electric car to hit the market, has been highly ought after However, not everyone wants a piece of the action. The LEAF, as it’s sometimes referred to (LEAF stands for Leading, Environmentally friendly, Affordable Family car), only gets, at the highest estimate, 138 miles per charge, and that’s only if the air conditioner is off and you’re nowhere near stop-and-go traffic. In fact, stop-and-go traffic is the mortal enemy of the Nissan Leaf.

At its lowest capacity, the Leaf may only get 47 miles for a full charge. That is likely to turn many motorists (especially ones that live in New York or Los Angeles) right away from the Leaf. In fact, it’s easy to picture running of gas… I mean electricity with those statistics. However, for some, the Lea f could be practical. For those that don’t drive much, and don’t drive far, it may be ideal. Or it may be ideal, for those that can afford it, as a second car, to do short distance travelling. However, with a maximum range of 138 miles per charge (keep in mind that’s at 38 MPH), I just don’t see the Leaf taking over gas powered vehicles anytime soon.