Karyn Gatterman: Electric vehicle adaptation is rife with energy issues

Apr 14, 2023
Apr 14, 2023
1

To The Daily Sun,

A key issue with considering ESG values in investing is that there is no standard for measurement of these values. It is up to the individual investing the funds to determine the “ESG values” associated with a specific investment (arbitrary). Gov. Chris Sununu is doing his job and meeting his fiducial responsibilities regarding invested tax dollars. Further, it’s condescending to say people of NH aren’t aware of the negative consequences of burning fossil fuels, etc. Many of us are aware of the downsides of fossil fuels, but we are practical. Electric cars will not be the answer to this issue anytime soon. They do not have practical range (max of 250 miles on one charge) and don’t work well in cold (further decrease range) if they start at all. Then consider the negatives associated with mining the minerals for the batteries. The batteries are only good for 110,000 miles lifetime, and they can’t be recycled with no plans for how to safely dispose of increased quantities. The electrical grid is struggling to meet current demands and there is no plan for providing the electricity that will be required for these cars. Lack of charging stations won’t matter if there is no electricity to feed them. Soon we’ll be told we can’t go to work today because we can’t charge our car (happened last summer in California). How much more pollution will be created in generating the required electricity?

Karyn Gatterman

New Hampton

(1) comment

campton323 Apr 15, 2023 8:29am

The misconceptions regarding Ms. Gatterman’s comments about electric vehicles are stunning. Ford, Cadillac, Mercedes, Kia, Nissan, BMW, Tesla, Hyundai, Rivian, and Lucid all have electric vehicles (EV), including the Ford 150 – America’s most popular vehicle – that can achieve well over 300 miles of range. As battery technology improves, we will see longer ranged vehicles. We have opportunities to invest in our ailing grid with solar, wind, and nuclear technologies which will decarbonize the grid, cleaning our air and water at the same time. The public health costs of securing fossil fuels, storing them, transporting them, and burning them are immense. Utility-scale energy storage solutions have been adopted by countries such as Australia as well as our own Army and Navy to fortify the grid and build in redundancies. Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles also can meet the need of the majority of most Americans – best of both worlds with some electric and some gasoline. These vehicles can go 40-50 miles per charge for local errands and shorter commutes, and then they have a gas/electric engine/motor combination for longer trips. Owning two PHEVs and one EV has shown me that our transportation system can be more economical, more convenient (no more trips to the gas station with home charging), and a heck of a lot more fun given the performance of these vehicles. The claim that batteries can only last 110,000 miles and are not recyclable is also false. More than 95% of the content of batteries is recyclable/upcyclable for reuse and there are already recycling programs in place with more on the way. The aluminum, other alloys, lithium, etc. can be reused. Additionally, many of these batteries with some energy loss will initially serve as backups to the power grid before ultimately being recycled. There is zero recycling of coal, oil, and gas – you burn it once and it is gone. One has to wonder if Ms. Gatterman is being paid by the fossil fuels industry based upon her comments, or has she just not done her research? Once consumers experience electrified vehicles, it’s hard to believe they will go back.

Patrick Miller, Campton