Sunday, January 22, 2012

Electric Car Parking

I have little use for the Chevy Volt or other electric cars out there. They may have limited use for a concentrated area but as a general use vehicle they are worthless. I personally commute over 60 miles a day and this will not work. And I know people who commute more.

Now a question. Is the use of a charger at the Wal-Mart a privilege or a perk of using the over glorified golf cart? Let's see.

Electric car parking: Perk or privilege?

They drive whisper-quiet cars, zing past you in the parking lot, and use dedicated charging stations just a few steps from the front entrance. Electric car owners enjoy many perks, and there’s a growing frustration among owners of conventional cars about the charging stations popping up at places like Ikea, Whole Foods, Walgreens, and other stores -- especially when the spots in front of them are empty.

“This makes me think drivers of electric cars must be a little disabled,” one customer who did not want to be identified told FoxNews.com about the charge ports at a Goodwill store in St. Paul, Minn. “They are usually health freaks, so I wonder why they don’t mind walking a half-mile back to a charging station.”

Meanwhile, charging stations are being installed at public libraries, sports stadiums, and even airports. In some cases, the electric vehicle-only parking spots are located closer to the front entrance than the handicapped spaces. Yet, even an advocate for green living says the charge ports are superfluous.

“If stores and organizations wish to minimize their environmental footprint then they can give priority access to bicyclers and pedestrians,” says Ozzie Zehner, a visiting scholar and the University of California-Berkeley, and author of Green Illusions, an upcoming book that pokes holes in alternative energy practices. 

Zehner says EV charge stations just reinforce eco-fetishism and urban sprawl.

“American taxpayers give electric car owners tax breaks and credits to buy their vehicles as well as priority parking and special freeway lanes even though there’s no evidence they’ve done anything positive for the environment in return," Zehner says. "In fact, the mining, heavy metals, and other side effects of electric car production and operation are likely worse for the environment."...

...Not every EV owner is an advocate of front-of-the-parking-lot privileges, however. Angela Miller, an IT executive in San Diego, owns a Nissan Leaf and says she would not mind parking in a back lot and walking. She says it will be less likely that a massive gas-chugging SUV will take her spot.,,
Rarely do I agree with an environmental nutcase like Zehner but he has legit points here. Electric vehicles use regular electrify (usually coal) for charging. That really helps with pollution right? But more to the point I am paying for this POS with my tax dollars or my other money I spend at places like BestBuy. But more to the point these EV morons piss me off because hey expect others to pay for there electrify. I'm paying over three dollars a gallon for gas right now, in large parts because of enviro-morons and the policies they push. But again, I am paying for it. The no brain enviro whack brains like to live in their city like New York or Seattle, take an electric car they could only afford with tax breaks I paid for and on top of that expect me to pay for the electrify at the library or other "municipal charging station". An example:
All told Houston, working with its partner ECOtality, will install 28 additional public charging stations at city libraries and parks. Another partner, GRIDbot, will handle the installation of an additional 28 municipal charging stations in the parking garage underneath Tranquility Park, for the fleet of city vehicles.

A city that is broke as Houston cannot afford this crap. But please, don't let reality get in the way of a good press event.

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