With the prices of fuel skyrocketing one local woman Debi Thornton has taken the step to petition Federal Parliament to set stricter fuel efficiency targets for motor vehicles.
Her efforts seem to have struck a chord with people all over the state as more than 7,500 people already have signed the petition.
Thornton is an electric vehicle (EV) owner and says discussion about electric cars is often too technical for most people to care about. Her own experience is more pragmatic and she thinks her approach will appeal to families struggling with spiralling fuel costs.
Her petition, which can be found on change.org is titled – Secure our energy future: Australia must implement Fuel Efficiency Standards.
It asks the Federal Government to encourage the adoption of fuel-efficient vehicles as a way to reduce future risks of fuel cost hikes and put downward pressure on transport costs.
According to Thornton’s research Australia, alongside Russia, is one of the only developed countries that does not have vehicle fuel efficiency standards. She says this has resulted in us becoming the dumping ground for inefficient cars that can’t be sold in other parts of the world. This absence of fuel standards says Thronton is the reason why electric vehicles are out of reach for the majority of Australians.
“My family took the leap to purchase a Tesla EV some time ago and we couldn’t be happier, it’s been a real eye-opener for us.
“We’ve done multiple long road trips without any hassle, thanks to an increasingly large charger network across the country,
“I recognise that the purchase cost for many families will be currently out of reach, though I believe the high cost has a lot to do with old government policies that do not factor in things like national fuel security and the risks associated with conflict overseas.” said Thronton
Woolongong-based US energy advisor Saul Griffith said in a recent talk to the Central Coast Sustainable Industries Association that there are a series of other advantages to EV ownership that rarely rates a mention, including reduced noise pollution, cheaper and simplified servicing, no toxic chemicals and of course the ability to sell the electricity stored in the car back to the grid at peak times or indeed to blackout proof your home or business.
David Abrahams
Our coal fired power stations will be providing the electricity to Electric Vehicles. It is difficult to see the environmental gain when you replace petrol or diesel with coal?
I charge my car from the excess solar on my roof and I buy ‘green’ energy from the grid anyway. The grid is also increasingly powered by renewables, so the balance of energy sources will change rapidly. Not the same for a petrol vehicle.
How will we have enough electricity to charge these cars, when we are asked to preserve our electricity usage now?
The same way we managed to find enough oil to power the ICE vehicles. It’s much easier to convert sunlight to electricity than to drill, refine and transport oil.
Oh for heaven’s sake Kirsten and Hernan of course you can charge these cars via solar panels, that’s how over 1/3 of household electricity is produced already and growing.
And as it says in the article you can even sell that power stored inside your car’s batteries back to the grid at peak times and help locals and make some money.
This woman is doing something useful for all of us, all power to her.
And Australia wins! We have the most sun and lots of wind. Australia is becoming a huge energy exporter as electricity from Solar and wind through a cable to countries like Singapore, and Hydrogen generated from solar and wind power to anywhere in the world. And all the jobs to make the transition. So much money to be made at the same time as doing the right thing! Buying an electric car is a really cool thing to do that helps it all get going too.
Here we go again another petition to do what not everyone can afford a electric car. I guess we just have to realise that the cost of living is gone through the roof so what we have to pay $2. plus a litre for petrol.