Comment 1882

By (anonymous) | Posted November 02, 2006 at 15:30:34

Hi Craig,

Thanks for sharing! One problem with electric cars is that the batteries just don't last very long. A Silicon Valley company called Tesla Motors is launching a car that runs on banks of laptop batteries; it has a ridiculous acceleration rate and a long range.

Unfortunately, vehicle fuel is only part of the problem. The sprawl land use pattern that cars encourage is inherently wasteful and inefficient, forcing destinations apart, paving and destroying local farmland, creating expensive public infrastructure, and encouraging unhealthy lifestyles.

I'm concerned that electric cars will alleviate one problem but exacerbate another. As Richard Register wrote in his book _Ecocities_:

"The less fuel it takes to drive about and the cheaper per mile, the farther people are willing to drive. The better the gas mileage, the more the suburbs sprawl out over vast landscapes, the more demand there is for cars and freeways, and the more cars are needed to service the expanding suburbia. Ultimately and ironically, the more gasoline is needed.

"Thus the energy-efficient cars help create the energy-inefficient city."

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