Plug-in HybridsReview of: Plug-in Hybrids: The cars that will recharge America
By: Sherry Boschert
New Society Publishers, 2006, 230 pages
Review by: Jason Hayes, M.E.Des., Communications Director, American Coal Council
With gas prices hovering somewhere between $3.50 and $4.50 a gallon over the past several months, strained budgets are making for strange bedfellows.
Gas, electricity, energy security, our automobiles, and the environment; in both our world and this book, they're all linked. In Plug-in Hybrids Boschert follows a few of the people who are working to address energy shortages and rising fuel prices through the early adoption of electric vehicles (EV), hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV).
The book opens with Chelsea Sexton weeping over the untimely “death” of her friend. It was through her connection with this friend that Sexton had found employment, met her husband, and now had a young son. More than that, we learn as we read that Sexton's contact with this friend had set the tone for much of her life interest. Now Sexton, an “automotive insider,” was responsible for giving the eulogy at her friend's funeral service. But this was no ordinary funeral service, and Sexton's friend wasn't flesh and blood. Her friend was her car and the movement that it represented.
Sexton had worked as part of the General Motors (GM) engineering and marketing teams that created the EV1 – GM's first foray into the electric vehicle world and their initial answer to the issue of improving automotive efficiency and decreasing emissions. It was a full, battery only, EV and managed to gain the respect of many across the nation. In the end, however, GM canceled (or at least delayed) their EV car program and demanded that the cars be returned. Thus the funeral service as Sexton and others said goodbye to their work and their friend.
Through this personal look into the lives of the people in the hybrid and EV movement, Boschert has created an effective medium to promote interest in EVs and PHEVs. Throughout the book, she takes a look at the lives and work of others in the hybrid community, including:
Interesting report on air quality and emissions from the Desert Research Institute and PopSci.com.
According to a study by the Desert Research Institute, pollutant levels at the beginning of the 20th century were two to five times higher than current levels of pollution. Researchers attribute the decrease in pollution levels to the advent of more efficient coal-burning technologies, as well as legislation aimed at reducing emissions. (emphasis added)
Good to see the science is now backing what we have been saying for years.
Jason Hayes, ACC Communications Director has been invited by the editors of a new news and social content website -- www.opposingviews.com -- to join the discussion on important energy issues we are facing today. He was asked to debate two questions, 1) Should the US Build More Coal-Fired Power Plants? and 2) Is Nuclear Power America's Best Energy Alternative?
On July 11, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down (vacated in its entirety) both the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) and the CAIR federal implementation plan (FIP). The rule was brought before the court due to charges by the state of North Carolina that challenged the EPAs decision to allow unrestricted interstate trading in allowances.
Several media outlets, along with Senate, and the FutureGen Alliance websites were praising the July 8th and July 11th votes by the The Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee and Senate Appropriations Committee respectively. In both votes, the Senate chose to protect $134 million in federal funding for the FutureGen plant at Matoon, Il.
In two separate FutureGen Alliance news releases, CEO Michael Mudd applauded the decision as helping to move the world's first near-zero emissions coal plant closer to reality.
Following is the text of an Institute for 21st Century Energy news release that describes their call for a new energy policy platform. The text of this news release and the proposed new energy policy mirror the calls that have been made throughout the energy industry.
Government, industry, and the public must move beyond petty partisanship to wean this country off of its dependence on foreign energy sources, and actively work toward the development of our abundant domestic energy resources in a clean and efficient manner.
