Electrical Vehicle Campaign

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shelleywalsh
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Electrical Vehicle Campaign

Postby shelleywalsh » Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:39 pm

In spite of the recent fuel crisis, transport still seems to be conspicuously absent in environmental campaigns. After complaining about this considerably so a FoE member, I've been encouraged to take it on myself. So I've been sending the following letter to a number of people in power. I interested in getting your thoughts about it, and how I might take it further.

http://shelleywalsh.wordpress.com/2008/ ... -solution/

I'd like to re-write it into some kind of petition or something. Tell me what you like and what you don't like in it. The exact plan is not so important as the idea that getting off the oil really can be done now. Every time I see things in the news about Brown trying to get the oil producing countries to step up production or Bush talking about off-shore drilling, I am left screaming at the TV.

But there is only so much influence that one person can have. Perhaps we could start some kind of alternate vehicle or Freedom from Oil action group.

What do you think?

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qdos
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Postby qdos » Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:07 pm

What do I think?

Well for a start you're obviously a townie. Secondly there's billions and billions of pounds / dollars invested in oil and that's apart from the wars we are currently involved in, It simply is not going to happen the way you want it to. The only place that comes close to your holy grail is Israel, but that's becuase they are surrounded by arabs and they have no oil of thier own so it's a strategic defense systems as much as any green movement.

If we all ran electric vehicles the whole world order would be turned upside down. Now I'm far from against Electric vehicles I'm every bit as keen to see them on our roads as you are infact I'm building some. But make no mistake oil is going to be here until every last drop has been drained from the ground there's just too much power and money invested in it for it to be just swept aside.

The best way to approach it is to show folk there is another way and to make it desireable to them too. So far the price hikes for fossil fuels are doing a much beter job of that than any legislation and imposition of state rules on individuals.

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aminorjourney
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Postby aminorjourney » Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:53 pm

Carrots rather than sticks :)

Failing that, make sure every single A list, B list and C list celebrity has one ;)
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

EVangelist and Media Relations Coordinator, www.ZeroCarbonWorld.org
Host, www.transportevolved.com

http://about.me/aminorjourney/bio

shelleywalsh
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Postby shelleywalsh » Wed Jun 18, 2008 5:50 pm

How about just a general campaign to get off oil for ground transport within 10 years (sort of like the climate change bill), not necessarily advocating any particular way of doing it, but simply holding up such things as the possibility of what I have advocated and other plans such as Shai Agassi's up as examples to show that this is not unreasonable? Anybody read David Sandalow's Freedom from Oil? The current oil crunch would be a good occasion to do it rather than pulling the stupidity of advocating offshore drilling. Anybody want to march on the US embassy?

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aminorjourney
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Postby aminorjourney » Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:00 pm

Forgive me for commenting now, but you've appeared today and made several really aggressive posts on both this site and other email groups I'm part of. Why do you seek to build a new group when there's already ones here doing good things and making changes?

You can't force a population to change. You can show them how to change.
As for marching on the US Embassy. What good would that do? What has that got to do with oil?

My partner is American. She lives with me in the UK because gay couples are not recognised by the federal government for the purposes of imigration. (Ie, I can't get a visa to live in the states).

I don't think much of the current president. No, I don't have any respect for him. But I do have a lot of respect for an awfuly large number of decent Americans out there doing decent things. Plugin America is one such group.

Perhaps you should get to know some of the BVS members first before you come in here all guns blazing.

Respectfully,

Nikki.
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

EVangelist and Media Relations Coordinator, www.ZeroCarbonWorld.org
Host, www.transportevolved.com

http://about.me/aminorjourney/bio

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ChrisB
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Postby ChrisB » Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:22 pm

shelleywalsh wrote:. Anybody want to march on the US embassy?


Like that would work :lol: :lol:




aminorjourney wrote: (Ie, I can't get a visa to live in the states).


:shock: you mean to say if you could Nik, you'd leave us :cry:


ChrisB
I reject reality and substitute my own !!!!!!

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aminorjourney
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Postby aminorjourney » Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:49 pm

Well, Chris...

If it meant I could do all of the cool stuff that is going on in the west coast AND be near our families out there then we may consider moving.

But don't celebrate yet - we're not going anywhere for a while! :0
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

EVangelist and Media Relations Coordinator, www.ZeroCarbonWorld.org
Host, www.transportevolved.com

http://about.me/aminorjourney/bio

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qdos
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Postby qdos » Wed Jun 18, 2008 11:10 pm

shelleywalsh wrote: the stupidity of advocating offshore drilling.


I'm not sure where in the world you are living but we've been drilling offshore for oil for decades now and we were until very recently self sufficinet in oil from offshore fields many of the rigs I've visited and worked on.

Just what is your beef ? You seem to have one heck of a bee under your bonnet and quite frankly some rather nonsensical suggestions too.

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aminorjourney
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Postby aminorjourney » Thu Jun 19, 2008 5:54 am

Bush announced yesterday that he wants to revoke a legislation from 1980 prohibiting oil drilling at sea - designed to stop our dependency on oil as a result of the 1970s fuel crisis in the states. It was one of Carter's fantastic energy-aware moves. Sadly, every president since then has ignored his example. Personally I'm against drilling at sea if it's already prohibited as the amount of oil out there is really very little. It would be far better to invest the money in other energy sources. Unlike the UK they have lots of spare land for wind etc. I also think the ANWAR drilling is an amobination. Same thoughts exist for me as for the offshort drilling...

But I still stand with my earlier comments, I'm afraid.
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

EVangelist and Media Relations Coordinator, www.ZeroCarbonWorld.org
Host, www.transportevolved.com

http://about.me/aminorjourney/bio

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qdos
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Postby qdos » Thu Jun 19, 2008 6:37 am

aminorjourney wrote:Personally I'm against drilling at sea if it's already prohibited as the amount of oil out there is really very little.


Errr hello.

North Sea Oil provided the UK and much of Europe with enough oil to be self sufficient for 30 years. I hardly call that very little.

The North Sea contains Western Europe's largest oil and natural gas reserves and is one of the world's key non-OPEC producing regions.

Yes it's in decline and we now import oil as we are no longer able to supply all our needs but this is a global issue which is why the price of oil has skyrocketed. The need for more oil and gas and the higher prices will result in more inacessible sources being tapped. There's a massive investigation into the reserves under Antartica for example with nations from all parts of the globe claiming patches of realestate there. We are in Afghanistan because the former Russian states of Khazakstan Uzbekistan and all those other forgoten backwaters of Asia meets Europe have huge oil and gas reserves which are now becomming economically viable. Currently the pipelines out are controlled by Russia.

Regardless of what flag you wave, oil is always going to be sought after. If you want to encourage people to get off of it then you have to demonstrate alternatives.

Being negative and prohibitive is not going to encourage anyone and only serve to get people's back up.

Shelly If you really want to do something to change people's use of transport then go get yourself an EV or a horse, better still a pushbike and take that into town shopping next time you go for groceries. Put a big banner on it saying how much it cost you to get into town and how much it would have cost you had you driven a petrol car. As far as public transport goes I'll bet you you won't have anyone interested in paying the price and inconvenience of that.

Hard fact of life, People want freedom. wars get fought over it.

The future is going to be about a more variant use of transport no single vehicle is going to be the answer. Not in the short term. The only reliable source of fuel we have ultimately is the Sun, everything we have orginated from there in some way but even that won't last forever though I think worrying about that is going well OTT at the moment.

Out of curiosity how far do you travel doing what sort of journeys in an average week? Me I do 3 different regular journeys every week. One is a 3 mile out and return most days, another is a 6 mile out and return and th third is a 25 mile out and return. All of these would be possible with an EV though the 25 miler is pushing it as getting a charge up at night convenient to where I go to despite being in a large town is not currently viable. (distances are one way) Of course I also do long distance journeys of several hundred miles too for both business and BVS committee meetings.

Q: Why don't I do something about it? A: Because I'm too damned lazy!
Q: Am I going to do something about it? A: Yes I'm building some EVs now.
Q: Why am I doing this now? A: Becuase it's too expensive to run on petrol.
Q: Are others likely to do the same? A: Very few.
Q: How is that going to change? A: Someone demonstrates a viable alternative

If you want to make a change, give people carrots. It's getting easier every day
Last edited by qdos on Thu Jun 19, 2008 7:48 am, edited 1 time in total.


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