The Periphery of the Mind

So I've been kicking an idea lately. We need to start standarizing our vehicles to run solely on electric.

I know, I know. Electrics lack the range and power of standard gasoline cars. But the idea is that we can, in time, develop more efficient batteries and charging technologies, improving range and making a "fill up" take only a few minutes instead of several hours. Possibly through some sort of capacitor charge, or even a simple battery switch. Whatever method we use it'll take time to convert our current gas stations to electric, but the stations will still be needed.

But why do we need to standardize for electric vehicles at all? Put simply, it's not fuel efficient enough to do otherwise. When you fill up at the pump you chose between two to four different fuel types, and at some places like Shell you have to choose between "name brand" fuels and more generic gas. Each of these different gasoline types require different refining techniques, different storage methods, and different engines to use. And they all come from a supply of global oil that can't keep up with demand.

But if we switch to a standard of electricity for our fuel, it matters less where we ultimately get energy for our cars. Solar, wind, nuclear, coal, natural gas, and even oil can all still be used by electric plants to generate electricity. And as costs for alternative energy technologies drop, people can start to afford some of these options for themselves, generating the energy they need with their own windmills and solar collectors. Don't worry, the oil companies won't be struggling, as they'll simply cut production from fuel losses and continue to sell oil to manufacturing concerns. After all, we'll need plastics and oils for the materials in all those panels, and mills, and power plants. Not to mention everything else we need.

Now, for my next trick: convincing people that a 55 mph national speed limit will more effectively drop oil prices and keep them down than all the begging to OPEC we've done.