Obama is not the only one who wants clean energy

Recent attacks on renewable energy systems – including Electric Vehicles -- remind me of the ongoing campaign against President Obama for his initiatives to reform the health care system. You don’t have to agree with health care reform to see that calling it “Obama Care” is just maligning an attempt to solve an issue that is real and needs fixing. I would not put it past renewable energy nay-sayers on to rename it “Obama Energy.”

While the big media outlets focus on Solyndra and First Solar, others in the media grab onto  any and all missteps to denigrate the entire electric car industry. They do not talk about the success of the Nissan LEAF much or point out that the Chevy Volt is a great American story. Instead they focus on those who may not be able to defend themselves as well, such as Fisker automotive. 

Unfortunately, it’s not just the regular “anti-Obama-anything” blowhards who are suddenly trashing EVs. The L.A. Times and even the Huffington Post are doing so. A couple of days ago the Huff ran a story titled: “Electric Cars Are Too Expensive For Most Americans.” Well, that’s hard to disprove, since many Americans are having a hard time affording food. The story about Scott Kluth who the story says: is a “34-year-old car lover who bought a plug-in hybrid electric Karma in December for $107,850, but five days later the car's battery died as he was driving in downtown Chicago. While the car he affectionately calls a "head turner" was fixed in a recall, Kluth remains uncertain how much he will drive it.”

I am sure that a 34 year-old who can afford a $107,000 car can find something else to drive while his Fisker Karma gets the bugs worked out. I am also quite sure that, although disappointing, he knew that this to be a possibility with his new mode of transportation. But then the Huff spins the story from a problem with a Fisker to a slam on driving electrics.

From the story:

President Barack Obama's administration has been a strong proponent of electric vehicles like the Volt and set a goal of getting 1 million battery-powered vehicles on the road by 2015. Lux Research estimates that number will actually be fewer than 200,000. Both the Volt and Karma's development were supported by low-interest federal loans.

Hello? Remember the bailout of General Motors and Chrysler? Why write a story that implies that the federal loans are somewhat unfair, unsavory or unique to that facet of the car industry?

Also in the story:

But analysts said automakers have not done a good enough job getting the costs down and explaining the technology to win over anyone beyond early adopters like actor Leonardo DiCaprio, pop idol Justin Bieber, comedian Jay Leno and former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.  

What I ask is what has the media done to explain the technology? I can’t remember ever seeing a morning show spend more than a couple of minutes on the subject before the all-important “Snooky” came into play.

The push for electric cars is not coming just from the President, it is coming from me and you - his constituents - and electric car clubs all over America. The Electric Vehicle Association of DC meets once a month to discuss industry developments. This past Wednesday the discussion was about rare earth minerals and how mining for this electric vehicle life force needs to increase in order for the price of batteries to go down and subsequently, the car price.

So what I am saying is that yes, EVs can be expensive but not any more than those SUVs that we were fighting over a couple of years ago, and no more than luxury cars we see every day on the highway. EVs are, in fact, affordable and they are available and yes, they will breakdown, just like any other car.

That being the case, why invest in yet another gas-guzzler when the EV technology is here, now, and growing better every day?

George Lopez, Publisher and Executive Director of Solar and Wind Living