Dr. Robert Sweeney on Electric Transportation

When Robert Sweeney was earning his Ph.D. in water resources at The Ohio State University, his concentration was the unwanted spin-off from the use of pesticides. “There are many unwanted effects on what we called ‘non-targets’ like algae and other plant life,” Bob explains. “From there, I turned my attention to some of the larger issues that affect the health of our environment, for example, the use of oil and gasoline. I concluded quickly that we really must make the transition to electric transportation in all forms: cars, trucks, buses, and so forth.”

Bob is now the driving force behind a series of expositions, designed to let the public know about the availability of electric vehicles. The Southern Electric Vehicle Expo (October 2-4 in Asheville, NC) will attract people from all over the country. “So many people are interested,” Dr. Sweeney tells me, “but until they have a live experience with an EV, they presume it’s a golf-cart; they need to see that it’s well-made, attractive, and capable of terrific performance.”

When I asked “the good doctor” (as I sometimes call him) where he sees electric transportation going in the coming years, he had some interesting answers. “Well obviously there will be a long and slow replacement of internal combustion engines on our roads generally. But did you know that around here, people with off-grid vacation homes use their EVs as portable batteries? They charge them during the day in town, but use them to power their homes at night. Mall operators are setting up charging stations to entice shoppers to come, and to stay longer and spend more.”

I asked about the involvement of the public sector. “It’s critical. Vancouver has mandated that 20% of its parking spaces be equipped with chargers. Closer to home, Raleigh/Durham/Cary is demanding at a growing portion of its traffic be electric; if it doesn’t, it won’t meet air quality standards and the federal government will cut aid. There is a lot happening fairly quickly; it’s a great time to be involved in this.”

I’m honored to know Dr. Sweeney, and I thanked him warmly for his dedication to making our earth a cleaner place in which to live.