Mad Fiddler wrote:
“What is the problem with Electric Cars?
Answer: They need Electricity. This is a problem because that electricity has to be generated by some technology, in some real location, and transported from the locus of generation through the grid to the millions of outlet plugs where the owners of electric cars purpose to recharge their vehicles.”
You seem to be making the case for electric cars. What you seem to be saying is that we already have a vast infrastructure for delivering this form of energy, right to the homes and businesses of consumers, without using a goofy system of expensive trucks and drivers to move all of the gas to our gas stations. Which of course we need to waste time going to. Which also coincidentally are placed on very high value land in high traffic areas.
And I didn’t even get to the problems of getting the oil to the refineries to make that gasoline. We spend a substantial amount of money just providing security to this very long and fragile supply line that runs to the other side of the world. This not only includes the security and risk assessments of our energy companies, which is substantial. A huge portion of what our Navy does is serve to protect our access to oil. And then there is the money, diplomatic efforts, and military subsidies to our “friends and allies” in oil producing regions in order to keep things secure enough for us to continue pumping the stuff out of the ground.
To make it all the more wonderful, oil money is what fuels a big part of Islamic militancy and the Russian military. And, in our own hemisphere, Chavez’ agitating. So we are basically pouring billions of dollars every year into the world in order to protect our supply lines which at this point exist in order that we can safely send over $1 billion dollars per day out of our economy to the other side of the world.
That’s one heck of a system! And I have a difficult time that compared to that someone can see an electric car and worry about the need to make some minor upgrades to our electrical grid. Certainly, anyone concerned with US national security should be concerned about it; unless of course you see some kind of cool benefit in all the foreign aid and transfers of cash to some frankly rather dangerous people. Please, the next time you fill up the fuel tank in your car, take the time to think about Putin’s new army: you paid for it.
