Bioneers

by Lawson Schaller

First I want to jump back to Septembers' column and remind everyone that the Central Coast Bioneers Conference is this month.  It will be at the Cal Poly campus from October 15th thru the 17th and should prove to be a wonderful event.  Much of what has been written about in this column over the last year or so is aligned in many ways with the Bioneers.  The Bioneers have much of their focus on emerging technologies and ideas, but also support and encourage community networks, alliances and common sense approaches like growing your own fruits and vegetables and helping out your neighbors.  So, if you did not see last month's column, check it out to learn more about the Bioneers event or go to the website of Ecologistics.

In August's column on electric cars I had relayed the skepticism that exists for some on whether or not the electric car will actually succeed, or survive in the market place.  Electric cars have been on and off the scene for many years.  Let's hope it sticks around this time.

I was pleased to see that the recent issue of "Home Power" had two nice articles on electric cars.  One had good photos, prices, spec's and comments on about a dozen different models that will be rolling out within the next year or two.   A second piece included a map of the U.S. that laid out where some existing charging infrastructure currently exists and maps out plans for expansion across the states.   

$3.4 million from the California Energy Commission, in conjunction with federal grants and other matching funds, will lead the way in installing 1600 charging stations in Los Angeles, the San Francisco area, and Sacramento.  Plans are in the works for the "West Coast Green Highway," a border to border (Baja Mexico to British Columbia, Canada) network of charging stations.  Washington State is laying a stretch of "Electric Highway" that has EV charging stations every 40-60 miles along I-5.  The map shows projects and charging stations all across the U.S. – however most of it in the coastal regions and the south.  The article goes on to briefly cover the EV Project, a $230 million program planning on establishing approximately 15,000 public and private charging stations in 16 cities. 

Another project, ChargePoint, is expecting to install approximately 4600 public and private EV charging stations.  Things are looking up for the electric car and its future.  A significant amount of resources are being invested into making electric cars viable and practical.

For those of you not familiar with "Home Power," I encourage you to take a look.  It covers a variety of renewable energy and energy saving topics.

Great Horned Owl image on banner by Cleve Nash