‘Driving on Sunshine with an Electric Car’ Focus of Green Drinks Meeting

Michael Chiacos of the Community Environmental Council will speak at the June 19 gathering

By David Fortson for Green Drinks | Published on 06.05.2012

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“Driving on Sunshine with an Electric Car: The Greenest Way to Get Around Since Riding a Bike” will be the topic of a free talk by Michael Chiacos, energy program transportation specialist for the Community Environmental Council, at the Green Drinks get-together from 6 to 8 p.m. June 19 at the Synergy Business & Technology Center, 1 N. Calle Cesar Chavez in Santa Barbara.

Green Drinks is a monthly gathering of eco-friendly advocates, business owners and nonprofit groups.

“Electric cars get 100 mpg, produce zero tailpipe emissions and cut carbon pollution by 75 percent in California,” Chiacos said. “Find out how Santa Barbara is getting ready for electric cars and why your next car should be electric.”

Chiacos focuses on encouraging alternative transportation and a transition to more fuel-efficient and alternative-fueled vehicles. He is the principal author of the CEC’s Transportation Energy Plan, a comprehensive look at the various technologies, strategies, policies, modes and other options for reducing fossil fuel use.

Chiacos also leads electric vehicle readiness efforts through Plug in Santa Barbara. He serves on the board of the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition and is a member of the Measure A Citizen’s Oversight Committee and the county Air Pollution Control District’s Community Advisory Council.

The host of this month’s Green Drinks is the Synergy Business & Technology Center. Located two blocks from the Pacific Ocean and Chase Palm Park, the center offers a collaborative workplace environment with shared conference, meeting, working, kitchen, bathroom and assembly facilities, not to mention stand-up paddle boards, e-bikes and other recreational toys.

Light appetizers and beverages will be provided. RSVP to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

— David Fortson represents Green Drinks.

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» AN50 on 06.06.12 @ 11:45 AM

Electric vehicles are largely a sham. They are great for short distance travel though, and I would encourage their use as “in town” commuter vehicles, trolleys and busses. However, the broader use of battery powered vehicles is an environmental nightmare and the green community really needs to stop promoting the use of battery powered vehicles for all transportation.

The reason is simple; batteries do not have the energy density of carbon based energy storage (like fossil fuels) and are hazardous to the environment in all phases of their manufacturing, use and disposal. Further battery manufacturing is far more energy consuming than the extraction/refining/distribution of fossil fuels, meaning battery use actually increases CO2 output over conventional ICE transportation.

There is a reason life evolved using carbon based fuels and developed what we now know as the “carbon cycle”, and that is the enormous energy density of carbon based fuels. For those of you who have grown paranoid over global warming it presents a rather odd conundrum. You can choose to ignore nature in your pursuit of reducing carbon “footprints” or you can realize the importance of carbon in the natural world.

The fossil fuels we burn today are returning to the atmosphere CO2 that was there to begin with. It will warm the atmosphere and change our planet’s climate. The question is, are we willing and able to adapt or are we so enveloped in fear of change that we are willing to erase the last 400 years of human progress and eliminate 6 billion human lives to avert change that will in all certainty happen anyway?

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