It’s National Drive Electric Week – September 8-16, 2018. The Sustainability Action Network is presenting the Lawrence Electric Vehicles Showcase on Saturday, 15 September, as one of 300 similar events around the country. It will take place from 1:00-4:00pm in The Merc Co+op parking lot, 901 Iowa St., Lawrence KS 66044.
Though not a panacea, electric vehicles (EVs) can significantly reduce the fossil energy use by cars, trucks, and buses. The U.S. transportation sector now produces more climate warming emissions than does the electric generation sector. Plug-in EVs produce no carbon tailpipe emissions when charged with renewable energy. And because an EV is lighter than a fossil fueled car, and electric motors are more energy efficient than internal combustion engines, an EV has a lower carbon footprint in general, even when charged by coal fired electricity. EVs get 100mpg equivalent or better, and the driving range is from 100 miles to 315 miles.
It will be an exciting lineup of EVs at the Lawrence Showcase:
- 3 Nissan LEAFs
- 5 Tesla Model S, 2 Tesla Model X, 2 Tesla Model 3
- 1 Toyota Prius Prime
- 2 Chevrolet Bolts, 2 Chevrolet Volts
- 1 Honda Clarity
- 5 electric bicycles
You will be able to see these vehicles in the Merc Co+op parking lot, talk with their owners, and learn the advantages of driving an EV. We’ll have electric bicycles too. Electric cars are a great improvement over fossil cars, but E-bicycles are the gold standard, using but a fraction of a percent of energy used by any motor vehicle. A 4000lb car requires up to 60 Kilowatts (60,000 Watts) of electricity per hour, and consumes about ten times the electricity used by a home. A bicyclist pedaling uses only 150 Watts to go 20mph, and slightly more if electric pedal assisted.
Two City Commissioners will be at the showcase with their electric vehicles. Also, a Proclamation by the Lawrence Mayor for Drive Electric Day will be read at the Lawrence City Commission meeting at City hall, on Tuesday, 11 September, at 5:45pm. Furthermore, at the same meeting, the Commission will approve an electric vehicle charging station at 733 New Hampshire St., the first one downtown. This will be the sixth in Lawrence (The Merc Co+op will install the seventh soon!).
We’re grateful for our co-sponsors, the Sierra Club/Wakarusa Group and The Merc Co+op, and support from the Kansas Cycling Association. This local event is one of 300 community events being celebrated across the country during National Drive Electric Week. Check our event page at – Lawrence Electric Vehicle Showcase, and Lawrence Electric Vehicle Showcase – Facebook.
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