It is possible to convert our entire ground transportation system to renewable electricity within 10 years. That would require a national mobilization, to be sure, but it can be done.
Such an initiative would prove compelling to the vast majority of Americans. Climate change is abstract, and the strategies to resolve it are remote. Our relationship to our vehicles, on the other hand, is both concrete and visceral. We desperately want to get off oil, especially when gasoline prices rise to $4 per gallon.
But it is more than a pocketbook issue for many of us; it is a moral issue. Americans hate being dependent for our mobility, and therefore for our livelihoods, on countries often hostile to our way of life. Electric cars promise to end that dependency.
We can do this in 10 years because: 1) The average seven-year life expectancy of existing vehicles, and 2) Congress can offer incentives for owners of older gasoline-powered vehicles to trade them in. (The Republicans have blocked four energy bills this year, all of which included these incentives.)
Let's be clear, the United States is already in competition with the world on manufacturing Electric Vehicles. We can have a piece of this beginning industry, or we can be left in the electric dust of other nations. Action or inaction -- our choice.
Here's proof: Norwegian automaker Think Global will be selling its Think electric car in the US. The Think is able to travel up to 110 miles without the need to recharge its batteries, hitting a top speed of 65mph and is 95% recyclable. Two venture capital firms have already been targeted by Think to build the cars in Southern California, hoping to sell around 30,000 to 50,000 of such vehicles annually at $25,000 each.
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