Finally
I have dreamed of driving an electric vehicle (EV) for a long time but for one reason or another have struggled to find a reliable replacement to the trusty Jeep Renegade I’ve had for nearly a decade. Why has finding an EV been important to me? Well, the answers nearly all relate to pollution.
The first reason I’ve dreamed of driving an EV is because I want to avoid producing pollution in my day-to-day life that comes from driving a gasoline powered vehicle. An EV’s fuel produces no carbon pollution. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, transportation generates 28% of the greenhouse gas pollution produced here in the United States. While preparing this post I was pleasantly surprised to find that the EPA website explains that:
“Greenhouse gases trap heat and make the planet warmer. Human activities are responsible for almost all of the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the last 150 years. The largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities in the United States is from burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation. Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation primarily come from burning fossil fuel for cars, trucks, ships, trains, and planes. Over 94% of the fuel used for transportation is petroleum based, which includes primarily gasoline and diesel and results in direct emissions. The transportation sector is the largest source of direct greenhouse gas emissions and second largest source when indirect emissions from electricity end-use are allocated across sectors.”
Here’s how the EPA illustrates the sources of carbon pollution produced in the U.S. in the most recent year (2022) on record:
The second reason I’ve long wanted to drive an EV is because my home is solar powered (you can read more about that here). Since my home gets its energy from the sun through the solar panels that I had installed on my roof, I can charge an EV’s battery at my house with that same power from the sun. That’s often called “EV solar car charging” and it’s something my friend Dr. Phil Stoddard taught me about a decade ago. Phil, whom I worked with to implement the City of South Miami’s residential solar power mandate when he was Mayor, has long had a solar powered home and used it to charge his EV.
Doing my part to reduce pollution and its impact on our environment has been important to me since childhood. That remains the case today more than ever before and with this in mind, I am thrilled to have finally purchased my first fully electric car a few days ago. I don’t endorse products but will share that I am elated to have bought my first EV (a Kia EV3, a subcompact SUV that was just awarded the Green Car Journal’s Green Car of the Year honor).
My new car is equipped with an 81.4 kWh long range lithium-ion battery system capable of generating power for about 320 miles of driving range. Using a DC fast charging connection (something called the North American Charging Standard or NACS) that’s been attached to my carport awaiting the arrival of an EV (for two long years), I can now re-charge the car from 10% to 80% of its capacity in about 29 minutes. The car even talks to me by announcing when it’s charging and sends text updates while it’s filling up with that beautiful, clean energy produced directly from the sun and my solar system.
And, best of all, no more trips to the gas station or, most importantly, FINALLY no more carbon pollution! Talk about a sustainable dream come true.