Agreed. I can't stand that the warmageddonist cult and their control-freak politicians put it to this point. But it is what it is.
For what it's worth, there's a slowly growing population of conservatives with EV's that I meet at charging stations. Part of that is because I live in the southeast (any trip we make within driving range is liable to have a more conservative population, even at EV chargers). A few of them got an EV strictly to save on gas. Most of the conservative EV owners, however, bought the EV for mid-life crisis reasons. These things truly are fun to drive. LOL
Another reason I got the EV is to give my wife and me a diversification on energy needs. If the Dims make gas too hard to come buy and/or too expensive (IMHO it still is), we have the EV. Or if the Dims make power hard to come by and/or too expensive, we have the ICE pickup to handle long trips. If the Dims make both power and gas hard to come by, we have our solar for our local driving ("local" being 250 mile round trip). However, most of the people I meet at EV chargers are hard core liberals who thank me for doing my part in saving the world. I sometimes show them this:
As far as solar users go, there's a faster growing contingent in the south of conservatives getting solar for exactly the reason I did and not at all thinking we're saving the world. Think more prepper, less cow fart fear monger.
That’s a great chart, and it illustrates the totally fallacy of AGW. The idea that we’re going to somehow control the climate and “save da erf” with billions of giant batteries is just beyond me. I do know a few people who are very enamored of (and happy with) EV technology, but I’m not one of them. I used to be very tech-oriented, but I think I’m just saturated at this point. An EV of any type does not appeal to me at all.
While we can certainly afford to purchase a new vehicle, my wife and I have decided that we won’t pay the ridiculous prices that are being asked these days (EV or ICE). Our six cars and trucks range in age from 52 years to 15 years (our newest vehicle is a 2008 Jeep Wrangler), but we’re fortunate that I’m still able to maintain and repair all of them (and that my wife is very patient with the inevitable breakdowns). At some point, we may have to bite the bullet and purchase our “last” vehicle (I’m 61, she’s 65) but it will probably be a 3-5 year old diesel powered 3/4 ton pickup (we like to pull a travel trailer occasionally).
The solar idea is intriguing, but I’m definitely into the “no grid-connect” option. We live in Southern Oregon - the winters are fairly mild and we can heat with wood, but the summers are long and hot. With 4,700 square feet, three HVAC units and a pool, the electric bills are getting to be a bit stunning. When we first moved here from N California, our electric rates were a third of what we paid previously. Unfortunately, that’s starting to change.
We have 20 acres, with good sun exposure at the top of the hill behind our house. I would love to build a system large enough to power our pool, well pumps, and HVAC (although we’re also looking into geothermal).
When I worked in fleet management, energy diversification was my policy as well. I was involved in all sorts of alt-fuel projects, including propane, ethanol, biodiesel and compressed natural gas (my favorite). The EV push started about five years before I was ready to retire, so I missed out on that.
If we did somehow decide to purchase an EV, it would be on that point.