Electrify America: The Founders Were Right, Let's Look to France!
25 Jul, 2008 11:14 am
"The French are most advanced in all manner of Arts, and refined Conversation, and in the Use of electric Cars." - Thomas Jefferson, personal correspondence, 1786. In honor of Independence Day, let's take a moment here to reflect on two of our greatest Founding Fathers - Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.
Jefferson and Franklin knew where to look for good ideas - and even today, France continues to provide a model for American policy. How so, you ask? WITH THE WORLD'S FIRST ELECTRIC CAR SHARING SCHEME, THAT'S HOW. Building on the success of Paris' Vélib bike sharing program, Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoë has announced Autolib, a program that will provide 4,000 electric vehicles (EV's) for use by Parisians.
The system will allow users to reserve cars and parking spaces online, or simply pick a parked EV up on a whim. Parking and recharging points will be spread throughout the city and suburbs, allowing a range of movement that considerably exceeds Vélib's. And payment is a snap, as customers can pay through a monthly subscription, a one-time fee, or with a standard city transit pass. It sounds, in other words, like American services like Zipcar, but cleaner and more accessible - and, potentially, a great demonstration of the usefulness of EV's, in urban areas and beyond.
As inventors, social innovators, and Francophiles, Jefferson and Franklin would surely be proud - and unsurprised - to see that France is today's leader in electric car sharing innovation. Hopefully today's American policymakers will emulate our Founding Fathers, who looked to France for inspiration. In the meantime, we can keep enjoying the other things we've received from France, like wine and unintelligible philosophy. Vive la France!
Originally published on: WattHead
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3 comment(s)
[1]
Comment by David Bacon
1 Aug, 2008 09:08 pm
More to the point of coming energy crises, the French get about 3/4 of their electric power from nuclear plants and have done so for years. We might take a look at how they do that, apparently without serious accidents or social unrest.
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[2]
Comment by khooper
28 Jan, 2009 03:20 am
Car-sharing systems are also growing to serve residents of condominiums in Japan. Forty buildings with a total of 80 vehicles with great performance car parts nationwide already have a system or plan to introduce one by July 2009. Car sharing at condominiums can promote communication with other residents who share the cars. It can also give residents parking close to home, and alleviate the shortage of parking spaces.
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[3]
Comment by zoomerdaily
2 Mar, 2009 11:29 pm
I agree! Electric cars really are the cars of the future.
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