Welcome to EV Joy Journal

 

When in the spring of this year pandemic necessitated lock downs spread worldwide, regular industrial and business activity was shut down, and people were told to stay home, this took millions of vehicles off the roads in major population centers throughout the world. Within weeks satellite images and on the ground photographs began to reveal an unanticipated consequence of this lack of vehicular traffic - the air over chronically smoggy cities cleaned dramatically. These images circulated quickly and widely on social media, leaving a deep impression on millions of people from all walks of life and many who have a great interest in the future of our one and only planet. And the question on the minds of almost all who took notice?

What if we could keep our air so clean?

Of course we cannot keep vehicles off the road indefinitely, and already much regular commuting traffic is returning. But what helped clear the air when it stopped? It was the lack of exhaust fumes from traditional internal combustion engines running on fossil fuels.

Do we really need to return to how everything was before? What if there was a way we could do something to keep our air cleaner?  What if you could be a part of cleaning our air the way we all saw when fossil fuel burning vehicles were removed from the road en mass? 

What is needed of course is change. Needless to say, we cannot expect to have something different in our world without change. 

Your intrepid blogger has learned - through the school of hard knocks - that despite popular belief "we" as individuals cannot exactly "change the world" and in fact all that you or I can ever really control and change is ourselves; our own habits, our own behaviours, our own patterns, our own routines. However, it's also true that change which can make a difference in global issues such as cleaner air and slowing global climate change cannot be put into effect by standing by and watching or waiting for others to change.

So I have to be very direct here - when we are talking making a difference in how our world is this means you have to change. You have to make your own steps in the kind of changes the world needs. No, you will not personally change the world, you can only do what's within your means. 

What then are those means when it comes to choices of a personal vehicle? 

The best zero emissions alternative to fossil fuel burning automobiles currently available is of course the electric vehicle. 

Given the present percentage of EVs being regularly driven it is not too much of a stretch to assume you are not an EV driver even though you're probably quite aware of their existence and the obvious implications of zero emissions. This is not a blame or guilt thing, it simply is. Nonetheless, let's explore some perfectly reasonable explanations for why that may be; that is, the questions, doubts, misunderstandings and misperceptions that - as you sit there reading and thinking this through - are swirling around in your mind (or at least occupy the back reaches of your mind). 

In no particular order, they are:

• they are underpowered
• they're dull and boring to drive
• they're more expensive than a similarly classed and equipped gas powered car
• where and how the hell do you charge them? 
• who makes them and what brands are best? 
• how are they maintained? What is maintained?
• where, exactly, does the onboard power supply come from and how does that work? how long do batteries last and how are they replaced? (every laptop owner on earth will identify with this question)

And likely some so on along those lines. So no, you are not a Bad Person for not getting on board with alternative personal vehicles to traditional gas burning cars. It's just that you have a life, a busy life, maybe limited financial means to get into an electric vehicle, etc. In other words you're a perfectly normal person. 

Yet. You do want do something. You do feel as if you should be doing more. If you're the average aware and progressive thinking person, you probably do experience nagging voices of guilt around not doing more to get away from traditional gasoline or diesel burning cars. Maybe you do your best by driving something that you are told is "lower emissions", driving carefully and all the rest yet somewhere in the back of your mind remains that nagging voice. 

Relax. 

The answers to all of your questions do exist. Options to get into a state of the art high performing electric car do exist. If you join this journey, you will learn those answers. You can ask more questions. 

So join us here in our journey at EV Joy. Learn all there is to know about electric vehicles. Learn how you can not only put yourself in the driver's seat of an electric vehicle, but lower your monthly transportation costs in the bargain. Yes, you read that right - do the right thing for the air we breath and the environment we live in and save money doing so. 

Thank you for reading. I hope you follow and long and to see you soon.