IndyLeaf said:
Time out... While I have reserved a Leaf too, the real reasons are varied and multiple... The GREEN side is slight, a mild benefit and smaller than you think... The reduction in oil, waste, pollution, cleaner air, cleaner water, all the stuff about better health from pollution reductions, AND lastly the political statement about kids dying to secure oil...
I am buying a Leaf for part of some of all of your reasons but also for the economic part... It will be far more economical to drive than any ICE vehicle. How about when gas is 5.00 or more a gallon? I've seen it go from .20 cents a gallon to over 4.00 in my driving lifetime... It will go higher and faster than electrical prices increase.
Now speaking of electricity, did you know 75% of all the US electricity comes from the burning of fossil fuels? Nearly 50% from coal, 24% from gas, and 1 % from burning oil... Indiana is a state that gets nearly 100% of its electricity all from oil burning.
Too many potential Leaf owners are waiving the Green flag about pollution. The combustion of coal contributes the most to acid rain and air pollution. You will, most of you/us, will only transfer the stuff you don't like to a source that is out of sight and out of mind. I am looking at adding solar or wind power to my home to0 but I have to be able to afford this on my own...
Lastly as a retired military officer- our kids are NOT dying to secure oil... That is a vulgar representation oversimplifying the whole world. Ever heard of terrorism? Where were you when on 911 our Trade Center Towers were attacked? Our kids over there are defending you and your way of life. Have you ever been to the mid east? I have... defending freedom...
Driving an electric car is good for many folks for lots of reasons... but don't kid yourself or go political or be naive...
IndyLeaf,
Thank you for your service to this country. I'm glad you're home safely and hope you're taking time to really enjoy your life.
For the record, I served this country for 21 years and 4 months and am a disabled vet. On 9/11 I was in my uniform and on duty as I was the previous 18 years. I spent nearly half my career outside this country.
I have heard of terrorists. Have you heard of the Mujahedin? This was a group of Afghani freedom fighters resisting a Soviet 'annexation' of part of Afghanistan. Their primary leader and source of funding was a gent from the wealthy Bin Ladin family of Saudi Arabia. To shorten and likely oversimplify the timeline, the US government supported the Mujahedin with training and weapons (the enemy of our enemy), then pulled back resulting in the Mujahedin taking heavy losses and our losing credibility as an ally. Then we came back with support...convinced them to trust us again...and pulled back. (You can find more by following the exploits of Charlie Wilson.) Cutting to the chase -- Osama Bin Ladin came to absolutely hate the US because a former ally proved themselves to be untrustworthy. al-Qaeda and our 'war on terror' is an unintended consequence of wanting to keep the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan.
It sounds as if you have some specialized and focused experience in the region. If you're interested in a 'big picture' view of the Middle East, I highly recommend you read a couple of books by Robert Baer. Start with "Sleeping with the Devil". Mr. Baer "was a case officer in the Directorate of Operations for the Central Intelligence Agency from 1976 to 1997. His overseas assignments included stints in locations such as northern Iraq, Dushanbe, Rabat, Paris, Beirut, Khartoum, and New Delhi. He speaks Arabic, Farsi, French, and German. He has handled agents who infiltrated Hizballah, PFLP-GC, PSF, Libyan intelligence, Fatah-Hawari, and Al-Qaeda." He had to run his books past the CIA prior to publication and many of the pages look like this:
As for the 'green' benefits of electric transportation, I do understand your point of moving the source of pollution. But I strongly object to your suggestion that the green benefit is slight. The US EIA reports that 43.9% our electricity came from coal in 2009. Department of Energy studies clearly show that even with our current mix of coal plants in the US, EVs are significantly cleaner than an ICE vehicle. And that translates into cleaner air, cleaner water, fewer ozone alert days, lower asthma rates, etc. etc. Since about 70% of Americans live in cities, and the air quality is worse there than downwind of a coal plant, I see widespread electrification of transportation essential to the continued health of our country.
Our Presidents have been warning us of our addiction to oil for more than 30 years. Our reliance on oil is a direct and significant drain on our economy, on our people, and on our national security. The disaster playing out in the Gulf is only the tip of the iceberg that's been 'hidden in plain site' for far too long. That's not politics - those are facts. The symbolism of dinosaur ways of thinking forcing continued reliance on dead dinosaurs is somewhat telling...
Thank you again for your service. Good luck with your Leaf and your move to clean power. We're both home and retired. I look forward to the day that my friends and kids I supervised are also home and retired.
Andy