Moving Ahead 2010
Posted May 4, 2010 at 8:22 am 
Filed in: Today is the final day of an innovative conference at Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus, Ohio, “Moving Ahead 2010: Sustainable Transportation Solutions for the 21st Century.”
The conference is focused on long-term solutions to the nation’s transportation and energy dilemmas. In addition to a local focus on Ohio’s state policy, the conference is producing some interesting thoughts on federal policy. Heavy hitters like Carol Browner, the Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, and David Sandalow, the Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs at the Department of Energy, brought the Administration’s perspective, and a wide array of senior business executives brought the private sector perspective.
The goal is to reduce America’s dependence on petroleum for transportation while promoting economic development, two goals that we at SAFE find very laudable.
CEO of Zipcar Robin Chase said by the end of the century, 95 percent of the population will live in dense urban areas, and nearly everything one desires will be within walking distance. It won’t make any sense to have 1.1 cars per each adult.
At a panel on electric vehicles entitled, “The EV Ready To-Do List: Get Ready, Get Set, Charge,” moderator Sam Ori, Director of Policy for the Electrification Coalition and a principal author of the Electrification Roadmap, presented the coalition’s sweeping report outlining a vision for the deployment of a fully integrated electric drive network.
Rebecca Stanfield from the Natural Resources Defense Council said that getting electric vehicles (EVs) on the road may initially require financial incentives to offset higher vehicle costs, and more funding for research to develop improved and lower-cost batteries. Her analogy to the challenges faced by EVs was, somehow, basketball star LeBron James, whose tremendous skills and height makes overcoming various joint problems well worthwhile.
Sam Ori added that regulators need to establish a permitting process that is straight forward and painless. Local governments also need to help promote EV awareness among consumers.
A member of the Electrification Coalition, President and CEO of CODA Automotive Kevin Czinger, also spoke at the conference. California-based CODA is producing an all-electric car and battery system, which it plans to start selling to consumers in 2011.
Though it sadly can’t be plugged into the grid, the Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel on display at the conference seems like it can do just about everything else.
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