Are electric cars a peak oil prep?
It’s always makes me laugh to read the arguments some people make about the sudden surge in automakers moving to produce electric cars. Here’s a good example of it in the Wall Street Journal that points out that electric cars may not be all that green.
If there’s one thing large corporations are good at doing it’s making money and positioning themselves for the future… to make more money. After all what is a corporation but an aggregation of a bunch of really smart business people all working for one primary goal… to make more and more money.
So just for a second consider what a major automaker would do if they believed the fuel source that powers their product might be running low or likely to increase dramatically in price. Would they build vehicles that use more of it? No heck no… they would adjust their product line to be better positioned to use the fuels they expect to be available.
Sadly, America’s massive switch over to coal fired electric power plants is also a good sign that someone else is thinking that our stability depends on the availability of energy and that it’s not going to be petroleum.
So are strategic corporate moves and government policies good indicators of things to come? I’m thinking my next new car is going to be electric and my bike is going to be getting a work-out.
Electric Cars -vs- Cash for Clunkers
It’s exciting and a little spooky to see so many big automakers announce near production ready electric vehicles. The latest announcement of the Nissan LEAF and it’s sudden arrival on the playing field seems like real evidence that we will be seeing a lot more electric cars on the road in 2010/2011 than previously expected. That should also coincide with the strongest part of the economic recovery which will help to fuel their quick adoption.
But it seems ironic that at virtually the same moment the government is throwing billions at clunkers. I suspect many people that jump on this recovery money carrot will also sadly choose to lock themselves into another 60 months of car payments. Forget for a moment that we might be sitting on a Peak Oil Plateau; committing to five years of car payments when super efficient cars are now just a couple years away just seems like questionable financial planning.
If you do have a clunker and want to to take a bite of the carrot try to get the most efficiency for the least amount of money. Also consider downsizing your ride to an efficient inexpensive used car. If you think we’re sitting on a Peak Oil Plateau avoid putting any more money into petroleum powered cars not matter how sweet the carrot looks.
New Fuel Economy Standards – It’s About Time
This is a step in the right direction. Beginning in 2012 fuel economy standards will begin to improve. They will increase by 5% a year to a fleet average (cars/trucks) to 35.5 MPG by 2016. Some people this is is too much too fast but then you have people like me that would like to have seen this happen years ago.
The other thing that seems obvious about Obama is that he’s very focused on keeping America stable and moving forward. For example the only reason for so much government involvement in the repair of the economy is clear evidence that he thinks stability and security are more important than concerns of increased government control.
My guess is that he’s implemented these new standards because he knows, better than you or me, that we’re going to be in deeper trouble if we continue our reliance on oil. If anyone knows when we can expect peak oil it’s the President of the United States, (and the Saudis of course).
If consumer demand isn’t enough for the auto makers to change their products then the government must step in, which is really too bad too. I personally hate big government but even I must admit that when the vast majority of people are too busy consuming to notice the bigger problem, and corporations are too busy staying alive any way they can, someone has to step up to the plate and make some strategic decisions to help us avoid certain disaster.
I personally don’t need a fuel standard like this. I hardly drive anywhere anymore and if I were to buy a new (or new used) car I’d get the most efficient vehicle I could.
