Who Killed the Electric Car?

The film, Who Killed The Electric Car?, presented a topic that I am very unfamiliar with. The disappearance of the electric car is something that I never gave much thought to, until now. The truth is the electric car, beneficial to the environment or not, is something that automobile and oil companies don’t want consumers to know about.

The way the argument was presented in the movie was interesting. It laid much of the blame for the disappearing cars on oil and automobile companies, and the federal government. It also laid some of the blame on consumers, though, which is where I disagree. A woman who was on the task force for the EV1, the electric car that was actually sold, used, then retracted by GM in California, said a very interesting quote.  “You can get people to buy anything if you present it to them in the right way, and by presenting all of the negatives and inadequacies’ to a regular first and foremost, of course you aren’t going to sell cars.”

She explained throughout multiple parts of the film her battle with getting GM to financially support the sales of the electric car. They were very resistant, and no matter what she tried, they refused to believe that there was enough demand.  The task force proved that there was enough demand, but GM still wouldn’t have it.

I believe the killers of the electric car are the oil companies and automobile companies, both of which who play a huge role in the Federal Government. The automobile industry and oil industry work off of each other, once the demand for oil goes down because of the electric car, the support from the oil industries will go down too. I think the two industries are too scared to jeopardize the relationship they have with each other and with consumers right now.  They will do whatever it takes to keep the money flowing into their pockets.

When the foreign oil supply dries up, maybe the automobile companies will be a little quicker to jump on the decision to make and mass produce an electric car. Consumers will adapt quickly and follow the trend.

Restoration Week

We had a visitor to our class on Wednesday from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Never before did I realize how much work they put in to our local community. 

The department has a project going on right now that has been very successful in the past, sea grass restoration! The project is taking place all over Northwest Florida water systems. Basically, the department grows sea grass in a lab, attaches it to mats that are biodegradable, takes it out and puts it onto the seafloor with staples. The sea grass grows roots into the ground through the mats and creates new sea grass beds. After the roots are successful, the department goes back and digs up the staples, so the area can return back to a natural habitat.  

Another project they are working on is building oyster reefs in Pensacola Bay. The oyster reefs protect the estuary system (where the freshwater from the river meets the saltwater from the bay). The oyster reefs are important there because any oyster, harvest-able in size, can filter about 50 gallons of water per day! 

The problem now, is that the environment in the water currently is not favorable for the oysters to grow to a size big enough for them to be able to do that. 

One of the main problems underlying the restoration process is the funding. The government calculates value of these reefs and sea grass beds in a much different way than the department does. It is very hard to get enough funding to complete enough of the projects to make a difference. 

The general public access is also a problem for the rebuilding of the habitats. Sometimes the best things aren't the prettiest things. For example, our guest speaker mentioned a portion of land that is private property. Most or all of the sea grass in some of these locations is gone, and the land owners want it to stay that way because they enjoy the "sand beaches" in their back yards. She mentioned that the initial switch takes a little bit of convincing sometimes, but once it is finished, the end product is beautiful too! 

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