Politics of Health (updated May 29, 2006)
I was watching a very interesting documentary about electric vehicles on the Discovery channel that really opened my eyes. It helped me understand a few of the fundamentals about why our “leaders” seem so out of touch with the people they are suppose to fight for.
Electric Vehicles Background
Electric vehicle (zero emissions) where actually around before the internal combustion engine, they where cheap to run, required little maintenance and best of all, produced no pollution (sound or exhaust). The reason why internal combustion won out back in the late 1800s is because people where trying to get rid of gas, it was a waste by-product that nobody knew what to do with and was essentially being burned and dumped all over the place. Henry Ford built all of his vehicles using internal combustion engines even though his wife had an electric vehicle because he saw more profits to come from the complexities involved with internal combustion engines.
Why everybody wants them…
As mentioned earlier, electric vehicles are incredibly cheap to run for various reasons. The main one is the engine only has one moving part, have a problem with the vehicle, you don’t need to be a mechanic to figure out where it is coming from 
They produce no exhaust, sure nuclear and coal plants produce waste but with alternative energy coming online, this will start to hopefully be replaced with cleaner energy. They also produce little sound, imagine being able to walk next to a busy road and actually be able to have an intelligent conversation with your friend without having to yell. Electric vehicles are also very cheap to produce and mileage is equivalent to that of internal combustion (up to 300 miles range per charge). Electricity is also cheaper then gas.
Why we can’t get them…
Simply put, money. You see, because an electric vehicle has only one moving part, a very large part of an automakers business (replacement parts) would quickly dry out. All the “regular maintenance” that is needed for an internal combustion engine wouldn’t be needed, you have no fluids to replenishment, no highly corrosive agents nor any “engineered obsolete parts” that need replacing. Service departments would become huge empty rooms. This is just the tip of the ice berg, imagine all those third party distributors, manufacturers and investors who would be shut down over night. Politics and money are huge influences on government policy… JOBS!
But we got “hybrids”?
We got hybrids don’t we? You bet we do, but what are they actually buying? Automakers are selling the problems (profits) that come from an internal combustion engine without giving consumers the true benefits of electric vehicles. It is a very reluctant, half-assed “give-in” to customer demand without going all the way. They do this to protect their profits and the “combustion engine” industry. Have you ever looked at how complex those hybrids are? They need full time computers figuring out what mixture of electric vs gas is needed, the engineering is incredibly complex and the number of highly specialized parts needed to keep it all together is mind blowing. They could get rid of all this with a simple electric only engine but of course, there is no money to be made in simplicity.
Electric cars are not as good as internal combustion engine… BS!
Hate to say this but this is completely untrue, you have been brainwashed! Take for instance the GM EV1 that was introduced in California, it did 0-60 mpg in about 9 seconds, had a range of about 300 miles and GM took it off the road as soon as laws where changed. There is “The Maya” by Electrovaya which is a SUV with a range of 230 miles (top regulated speed of 80 mph) and a host of other vehicles on the road RIGHT NOW but unavailable to consumers.
Why do I not have a choice?
The technology is there, the demand is over flowing and yet, governments are unable to see the writing on the wall, we do not need this Internal Combustion —> hybrid —> electric/hydrogen transition! We want full electrics NOW.
There are electric boats, motorcycles… you name it, already in production around the world but simply unavailable due to outdated regulations, lobbying and to be quite frank, the inactions of our “leaders” who prefer to act like castrated sheep then the lions we elect them to be.
What does this have to do with HEALTH?
Everything and anything… we have an epidemic of cancer in our society which is mostly caused by environmental factors, an epidemic of asthmas in children due to breathing polluted air, an epidemic of diabetes caused by inactivity and unhealthy habits. Tobacco products are still being sold even though it is a known carcinogen, internal combustion vehicles are still being sold although their exhaust is also a known carcinogen and we keep being forced to waste so many resources within our garbage that we are always searching for new landfills.
We all know these facts, they all affect our health yet our leaders are unable to make decisions to solve them even if the solution is starring at them right in the face.
The Bottom Line
We need to change our mentality from one fearing change to one that welcomes the challenges that come with demographic shifts. If I had only one wish, it would be to make the word “stability” the new four letter word of the 21st century.
May 29, 2006 Update
Finally somebody made a movie about the GM fiasco in California!
http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com/
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