Electric Cars: Let’s Resolve to Have Them Now
Happy 2020 everyone. I wish you all the bestof 2020 as the fun of 2019 draws to a close.
During the year, I intend to pivot my focus to green(er) issues. They’re of interest and yes, they’re topical. The more voices that join the chorus, the stronger the choir, right?
Anyways, this past weekend, the CBC posted an article casting doubt on the future of electric cars, despite the fact that countries all over the world are ‘doubling down’ on their future. (The CBC also continues to bury us with mush about the oil patch and how we can ‘save’ it in 2020 – frankly, the sycophantic approach to Alberta is making me a little batty. It’s not the only economy in Canada).
Getting back on track …
Other countries are investing in a green future. For example, Turkey just invested $3.7 billion to create its own electric car manufacturing company.
With GM shutting down in Ontario (and Ford and Chrysler likely to follow suit), we need to consider doing the same thing.
As an aside, I tried hard to find an article from Wired Magazine about 20 years ago where they proposed a TRILLION dollar investment in the US alone that would pretty much completely overturn the carbon-based economy in favour of an renewable electricity-based economy.
It’s time we stopped the dance and made an effort to – as Nike says – just do it.
Let’s stop fucking around.
I say we buy out the old-school auto manufacturers (OK, expropriate if needed) and develop a strategy for farming out production and facilities to the dozens of companies that are now focusing on electric cars.
Here’s a list of just a few of the NEWER companies that have started up over the last few years:
- Coda Automotive
- Wheego Electric Cars
- Tesla Motors
- Think
- FIsker Automotive
- Tango Commuter Cars
- BYD
- GEM
- SABA Motors
- Venturi
We need to parcel out manufacturing space much like how office space gets rented out to new ventures in other businesses. Create a just-in-time platform that helps diversify our investment as opposed to putting all the power (and leverage) into the hands of just one company.
Once we have an undestanding of interest from new companies (and maybe a handful of some of the old ones), we put public funds into a commitment to have high-powered charging stations every 100 km across the country and multiple locations within urban cores. Yes, it would be tedious and a pretty severe challenge, but everyone’s excuse seems to be that there are no charging stations anywhere … so we might as well build them, own them and profit from them.
Once we start to generate revenue, we start building the appropriate public transportation infrastructure that we desparately need.
It’s time.
Oil belongs to dinosaurs.
Let 2020 be the rebirth of renewable electricity.