Until I decided I wanted to buy an electric car, my idea of politics was to vote for whatever meant less taxes for me. I became interested in EVs after reading online about the upcoming Tesla Roadster, a $100k electric sports car. I then watched Who Killed the Electric Car? and was reminded of the EVs that graced California's roads during the heyday of the ZEV mandate.

A little bit of research made it painfully clear that switching America's commuter fleet to electric cars is the single most effective and practical step we could take to free ourselves from the menace of oil. So I decided to buy an EV and couple it with a rooftop photovoltaic system, which I figured I'd pay for with the money I'd save on gas. It's amazing what a perfect solution this is, both environmentally and economically, but for one small problem: It's impossible to buy an electric car.

How could it be that 1000s of EVs, highly reliable and highly demanded, were on the road 10 years ago; but today, even in the face of $4/gallon gas and the ominous future of global warming and bloody oil wars, not one is for sale? This called for more research, still ongoing, and the results so far speak volumes about what's wrong with our country. One highlight: Chevron, yes Chevron , owns and is effectively squatting on the patent rights for the Nickel Metal Hydride battery, a battery which has been proven to power cars like the Toyota RAV4-EV over 100 miles per charge even after 100k miles of driving. As soon as Chevron acquired these rights from GM they sued Toyota and Panasonic to cease production of these batteries and effectively killed the electric car.

More citizens need to learn about the story of the EV and get angry about it. The plight of this technology and the lack of awareness among the general public is emblematic of the ills of our nation as a whole. If we don't take back control of our government and make it serve the needs of the people we're in for an ominous future indeed.