Posts Tagged by AltCarExpo
Some Dubious Advice from the AltCarExpo
| October 1, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
I always look forward to the AltCarExpo in Santa Monica each year. It’s rather like one of the major auto shows, but without all the flashing lights, loud noises, “booth-babes” – and, more to the point, all the gas- and diesel-powered cars and trucks. Though generally dominated by electric vehicles, the Expo contemplates all the alternative fuels: hydrogen, CNG, propane, and half a dozen others; it’s more than worth a visit if you’re in the area.
A local radio station, Pasadena’s NPR affiliate KPPC, did a live remote from the Expo, on which a few of my friends in this space were interviewed, taking calls from folks all over Southern California. Here was one that I found most interesting:
Caller: I notice that there are a dozen-or-so alternative fuels. Isn’t it unrealistic to replace one fuel type with dozens? Won’t there eventually be a winner?
Answer Summary: I hope not. We need to have all these – and more – represented in the mix.
No offense, but this is totally misguided. Read More
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Model for Clean Transportation – Santa Monica
| December 11, 2009 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
I want my book on renewables to feature a few chapters on the public sector – what our government at various levels is doing to promote clean transportation and energy. To knock out the piece on municipalities, this morning I’m on my way to interview Rick Sikes, the manager of the fleet of the city of Santa Monica (CA).
I may have mentioned that I moderated a panel discussion at the AltCarExpo this fall. Rick was assigned a different panel — and he certainly has the “creds”: 87% of the fleet he controls is alternative fueled. He was recommended to me as something of a legend among city planners and managers; I’m certainly looking forward to the interview.
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The Nuclear Industry – Down But Not Out
| November 3, 2009 | Posted by Craig Shields under Nuclear |
A colleague sent me an article that starts: “A nuclear renaissance needs government funding to move ahead,” and then goes on to extol the virtues of this horrifically dangerous and expensive technology. (If you’re interested in reading it, you’ll have to find it with a search engine; I don’t want to empower it with backlinks.) I responded:
How utterly nauseating. As Paul Scott (VP at Plug-In America) said in response to a question I asked him during the panel discussion I moderated at the AltCarExpo a few weeks ago, “Prepare yourself for a steady onslaught of lies from the nuclear and fossil fuel people. If you thought it was bad in the 1990s with the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, you ain’t seen nothing compared to what they’re about to throw against EVs and renewable energy in the next couple of years.”
Of course, this is an excellent example. “Needs government funding?” You bet your sweet $%^ is does. Help will come only from people who have been paid off handsomely; the idea certainly will receive identically zero support from a fair-minded and informed citizenry.
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Another AltCarExpo in the Books
| October 4, 2009 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
I functioned as the moderator of the “Charging Infrastructure” panel before a full and enthusiastic audience at the 4th annual AltCarExpo last Friday, October 2nd. For the first hour, AC Propulsion’s CEO Tom Gage, Plug-In American’s Paul Scott and Clean Fuel Connection’s Enid Joffe did a wonderful job with the questions I had prepared. At that point, I turned the questioning over to the audience for the last 30 minutes, and was pleased to see a steady slow of clear, solid questions that got at some really good issues that I had not built into my dialog with the panel.
As one might have expected, the content was mostly technical: Exactly what are the challenges that the utilities face in preparing for the coming ubiquity of electric transportation, and how are they going their work? What does the advent of V2G (vehicle to grid) mean in terms of both the quality and quantity of power available on the grid at any point in time? What type of planning needs to occur such that charging stations provide adequate opportunity to ensure that motorists feel confident that they won’t run out of charge in their day-to-day driving?
I knew in advance that Tom Gage would be impossible to stump with questions like these (not that I was trying), insofar as he’s one of the best-informed people on the planet in this regard. But I was blown away with the expanse of technical knowledge that Enid and Paul had brought to the table as well.
I made sure we addressed the political issues too, and I’m happy to say that no one pulled any punches. Apparently, the oil companies are not going to take this without a fight. “You’re about to see a campaign of lies like you’ve never witnessed before,” Paul Scott intoned solemnly. “In the last wave of hearings that could have threatened their monopolies, they hired hundreds of people to show support for their positioned who had never even heard of the issue the day before and didn’t know the first thing about it. They have absolutely no concept of fair play – and that was just a warm-up for what is about to come.”
I closed by thanking the panel — and the audience in particular, with my reference to Henry Kissinger that readers may have seen in other posts. “Henry Kissinger said recently,” I reminded the group, “that if it weren’t for the intensity of the opposition to the war in Vietnam of the common American, we’d still be there. That’s an utterly amazing thing to admit, isn’t it? It shows me several things, but the most obvious is the raw power of people like you, who take their time to come together and stand up for something you believe in. I thank for you that. And I ask you to give yourselves a hand.”
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AltCarExpo, Santa Monica CA, October 2 – 3
| September 29, 2009 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
I’ll be moderating the “infrastructure” panel at the AltCarExpo in Santa Monica, CA this Friday. I already feel a warm connection with my panelists that I’m sure will make for a good presentation to the audience when we take the stage at about 3:30 that afternoon. And I’m very glad to be moderating; I’m happy to provide answers as I see the issues from my political and technological viewpoints, but I feel that asking good questions is probably just as important.
I’ve met one of my panelists, AC Propulsion CEO Tom Gage, several times. A man for whom I have the utmost respect, Tom describes himself as a “car-nut since childhood.” He took AC Propulsion’s helm from founder Alan Cocconi (designer of General Motors EV-1 — star of “Who Killed the Electric Car“) and leads a team of people here in a California and in Shangai in building the world’s most advanced drivetrains for electric vehicles, including BMW’s Mini-E. “It just rubs me the wrong way to start up a gas engine,” Gage says. I know the feeling.
I’ve also established friendships with panelists Paul Scott from Plug-In America and Enid Joffe of the Clean Fuel Connection – both magnificent people with huge stores of knowledge to share. Again, I hope anyone in the area will drop by.
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Electric Vehicles and the AltCarExpo
| September 21, 2009 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
I’m honored to be a panelist at the AltCarExpo in Santa Monica, CA, October 2nd and 3rd.
This is a truly special event for several reasons, one of which is obvious: The world is running at top speed in the direction of alternative-fuelled transportation. The buzz in the electric vehicle world is so loud and so constant that it’s almost deafening. The migration to clean transportation is the most important trend in the international business world right now, and this is an opportunity to learn more, and to jump in with both feet.
The other is the uniqueness of Santa Monica itself – one of the most progressive municipalities on earth in terms of environmental responsibility. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet the city’s fleet superintendent Rick Sikes, whose passion for sustainability has driven him to create a vehicle array that is 87% alternatively fuelled.
It’s hard to find words to express how impressed I am with the dedication of Christine Dzilvelis and her incredible staff who have worked tirelessly to put this all together.
I hope that readers within a reasonable distance will attend. My group — the ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE PANEL convenes at 3:30 Friday; please come and throw softballs at me — just kidding — feel free to pepper me with tough questions.
