Q & A: Inside an electric car
Milwaukie resident Eric Shawn is the owner of an electric car, and was happy to answer a few questions about it.
Q: What kind of electric car do you own and why did you buy it?
A: My car is a modified Gem car from Global Electric Motors in Fargo, N. D. I bought the car because I’m reducing my carbon footprint and eliminating as many transportation emissions as possible. As director of facilities for Catlin Gabel School I co-chair the strategic direction toward sustainable school. I walk my talk.
Q: What are the advantages of owning an electric car?
A: People want to know how fast and how far. I drive 28 miles round trip to and from work and use the electric car for all trips within range. During the past year I avoided 6,020 pounds — three tons — of emissions. Top speed on level ground is 35 mph. There is room for two, my love and me, a bag of library books and some groceries. Cost of electricity is about three cents a mile or $200 a year. Cost of batteries is about nine cents a mile.
Q: How does owning an electric car help the environment?
A: Extracting fossil fuels from the earth’s crust and spewing emissions into the air we breathe probably have a greater impact on our future than all the stuff we dump in the Columbia Ridge landfill or the other forms of energy we consume. Conspicuous consumption has no future. The win-lose model failed us. Big, loud and fast are remnants of the past. We need to narrow roadway designs, make low speed connections to neighborhoods, add bike lanes and keep lots of big trees for a livable future.
Q: How do other drivers react to you in your car?
A: I drive in silence. I think my own thoughts. People wave and wonder. They stop and talk. Slow and simple — it’s a great ride.
- Ellen Spitaleri