Craig Farrand, Zondits guest, 11/29/2022 As the Rolling Stones once sang, “Ti-i-i-me, is on my side, yes, it is!” And the same can be said for the challenge facing the nation’s electric grid when it comes to handling the ever-increasing demand of electric vehicle charging at home and on the road. Clearly, EVs are and … Read more
Zondits Clean Energy Journal. This is the first entry in a new Zondits feature that invites our readers to contribute personal experiences in their clean energy journey. Zondits wants to know: What clean energy technology have you personally experienced in your life and what’s your take on it? Send your submissions to info@zondits.com. The following … Read more
Craig Farrand, Zondits guest, 11/18/2022 Here’s a question: Gasoline and diesel taxes contribute a large share of the funding for the building and repair of roads and bridges. But EVs don’t use these fuels — so how will their owners pay their fair share of infrastructure costs? Such is the challenge facing America as it … Read more
Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 10/25/2022 Zondits speaks with a rural Mainer about his experiences with EV ownership. Richard Doughty is a recently retired professional engineer who specialized in energy efficiency and clean energy project development and assessment. Richard was previously featured in the annual Zondits April Fools issue when it was reported that he applied … Read more
Craig Farrand, Zondits guest, 10/19/2022 When Robert Anderson strapped a non-rechargeable battery and motor onto a carriage nearly 200 years ago (arguably driving the first EV) it also started a scientific frenzy to determine how to extend the life of batteries used for transportation. And here we are, two centuries later, and the frenzy continues … Read more
Craig Farrand, Zondits guest, 9/27/2022 This is the second article in a multi-part series on the history of the electric vehicle. For those of a certain age, the early- and mid-’70s in the United States were a time of long lines at empty gas pumps, thanks to the oil embargo imposed by OPEC (the Organization … Read more
Craig Farrand, Zondits guest, 9/21/2022 This is the first in a multi-part series on the history of the electric vehicle. In the beginning, there was the hand crank. NOT! Contrary to schoolbook history — and silent movies — some of the earliest iterations of the “horseless carriage” required no such effort: they were electric. And … Read more
Craig Farrand, Zondits guest, 8/23/2022 Before there were personal electric vehicles (EVs) there were electric streetcars. In Detroit, the first electric streetcars went into service in 1886 — 10 years before Henry Ford took his first trial run in a small, four-wheeled vehicle he called a “Quadricycle,” and long before Detroit became the “Motor City” … Read more
Craig Farrand, Zondits guest, 8/15/2022 It’s well publicized that California leads the nation in electric vehicle ownership, with EVs representing 23.2% of all vehicles on the road. So, who would have suspected that the Midwest would be a region with one of the most aggressive plans to put more EVs on the road — by … Read more
Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 7/18/2022 Toyota has been under increasing criticism for not moving as fast as other manufacturers in developing and marketing EVs. Once considered a leader in cleaner automobiles with the introduction of the hybrid Prius in 1997 followed by a plug-in hybrid Prius, climate-conscious consumers have increasingly turned their attention toward 100% … Read more