I do not want one and will fight tooth and nail before being forced into one. We have two full-size SUVs and one Class C Motor Home. We pull a boat with one vehicle, and the other transports many golfers and their clubs/carts. The usage makes a full-size a necessity for both. The Motor Home speaks for itself. There are currently no EV RVs available, but:
From the website: Drivin’ & Vibin’
In 2019, a German company produced an electric RV. The Iridium E-Mobil RV had two sizes of battery packs, creating two models. The model that travels up to 249 miles before recharging was priced at $219,000. The one that went 124 miles is $188,000. By comparison, the 2022 announcement by Winnebago that can travel 125 miles per charge will be well over $100,000. It appears that number will be increasing exponentially as time passes before they build a model RV.
So, to replace our three vehicles with comparable electric vehicles would be about $400,000. Not a price we are willing to pay, and we are not ready to give up our lifestyle for electric charging stations.
The Biden Administration, nor anyone else in the green-thinking government has thought this through. The cost, travel range, charging stations, modification to the home electrical system, size and variety of vehicles, expansion of the electrical grid, and even the end game for old/damaged batteries, nothing is planned. The EV batteries are expensive, huge, heavy, and full of toxic chemicals, making disposal extremely challenging.
The President took the one step that he thinks will stimulate all subsequent actions. He declared war on the fossil fuel industry. Biden killed the Keystone Pipeline, which would have brought millions of barrels a year from Canada. He limited drilling and fracking. He is going after the profits of major oil companies. None of these steps will encourage the production and distribution of oil and gas, and, oh yeah, gas prices have more than doubled since Joe took office.
Biden’s actions have taken a toll on every American, but it is still not enough for the AOCs and John Kerrys of the world. The Radical, Far-Left, Green Democrats want quicker action. They have no plan, but they want a fossil-fuel-free America now.
Texas just introduced a plan to install a network of EV charging stations. The Texas Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan unveiled by TxDOT earlier this month was driven by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law by President Biden in November, which created funding programs for EV charging infrastructure for states.
According to TxDOT, 80% of funding for the program will be covered by the federal government, with Texas receiving $407.8 million from the Federal Highway Administration over the next five years. The remaining 20% will be covered by third parties, and no state funds will be used for the project, the agency said.
So this is a $500 million project to build 237 stations or roughly $2.1 million per station. Texas has 268,000 square miles, so, again, one charging station for every 1,000 square miles. Do you see a problem here? There are 168,000 locations selling gas to the public in the USA. Let’s say there is an average of 6 pumps at each location. At the rate in the Texas plan, you are looking at $2.2 TRILLION to replace every gas pump in America. It takes about 5 minutes to fill a vehicle with gas and 45 minutes to charge an EV. Can you see the lines forming now? There is no plan.
Is the environment important? Of course, it is, but we have been told for thirty years that we have just a few years before becoming extinct. We cannot succumb to alarmists and be smart about a universal plan. America cannot solve the climate issue alone, and we need an effort from all countries. America accounts for only 10% of emissions. Our efforts alone will have little impact on the world.
We must stop these knee-jerk reactions like pulling the plug on gas and oil before the other steps are ready for conversion to alternative energy sources. We need to stop Biden and minimize his negative impact on the country until we retire him, like a gas-guzzling car, in November.