But sooner would have been better than later.It’s official. Scientists tell us that the Arctic is going to be ice-free for a short time in September—for the first time in recorded history. A predicted affect of global warming, the process has accelerated at an alarming rate. One scientist from the National Snow and Ice Data Center said it’s “just another indicator of the disappearing Arctic sea ice cover,” but that it is happening so soon is “just astounding to me.” If he’s astounded, I’m astounded.
Newscasts have shared the good news: Additional Arctic shipping lanes will be freed up, and this event will also clear the way for additional mineral and petroleum exploration. Now that’s astounding! Cause and effect, anyone?
Besides the planetary problems this petroleum Pandora’s Box has unleashed, as any conversation nowadays reveals, gas prices are becoming a major concern for most of us. Drivers are more frugal about the mileage they tally as folks choose between buying food and filling the gas tank.
Maybe we wouldn’t be in this situation if action had been taken earlier. But the workings of our economic system precluded a timely resolution, apparently. Well, it looks like the time for change is now—or never—and so, according to Financial Times, a major technological paradigm shift is developing. “Large-scale hybridization and electrification of cars promises to transform how they are made, who profits from them and the way they are sold and driven.”
A California company already has affordable electric cars on the market. They use rechargeable batteries and plug into standard outlets, just like your cell phone. They top out at 40 mph with a range of up to 25 miles per charge or up to 40 miles per day with what they call “opportunity” charging (sounds suspicious to me). But for those of you concerned about the limited range of a car that can be totaled by a flyswatter, take heart.
The first mass-produced lithium ion battery-powered car is supposed to roll out next spring, with other carmakers to follow within two to three years. Even much maligned GM has an eye on the future. Its signature green vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt, is due to launch in late 2010. The car will have enough lithium-ion power to send most drivers to work and back home, where they can recharge.
Although electric cars produce no tailpipe exhaust and emit no greenhouse gases, it is true that this technology transfers emissions from the exhaust pipe to the smokestack. But the pollution produced is less than that of a gas-powered car; the percentage depending on the energy source used to power the grid.
Our state government intends to break our oil dependency. The goal of our Hawai‘i Green Energy Initiative is to obtain at least 70 percent of our energy from renewable and local sources by 2030.
Although we could have, and should have, acted earlier, better late than never is all we have left now. Apparently today is as soon as possible. Hope we’re not too late.