14 DAY TRIAL // Electric cars are an environmentally friendly alternative to old internal combustion engines that use fossil fuels and pollute the atmosphere. For now, they have their limitations regarding the autonomy, because electricity is very hard to store in conventional batteries. The more efficient cars are hybrids, using both electrical and internal combustion engines that recharge the electric batteries in motion.
However, not many people embraced the idea of the electric car, and a comparative study shows that the reasons are not only economic, but also cultural.
David Calef and Robert Goble published recently in the journal Policy Sciences a study performed throughout the 1990s which analyzes the efforts taken by both the US and French governments to adopt legislation fostering technological innovation to improve urban air quality by promoting clean vehicles, specifically electric vehicles (Evs).
It seems that politics and the governing style might have affected the implementation and popularization of the electric vehicles. For example, the state of California instituted the most drastic measures regarding automobiles pollution. It required zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) to make up a certain percentage of car production and sales, with fines imposed for not reaching targets.
Of course, both the oil and auto industries opposed this and lobbied heavily against it, resulting in intensive media debates on the subject, with opinions from car manufacturers, environmentalists and the general public being exposed.
Unlike the state of California, in which public participation was openly sought, the French approach of the subject was characterized by heavy government involvement, with most of the debates between businesses and government officials being conducted "behind closed doors," far from public scrutiny.
This doesn't mean that the French were "evil" or conspiratorial. Unlike in the US, no group ever complained that EVs were a problem. So things went more smoothly.
A treaty was made between the state-owned electricity company, the auto industry and local administrative institutions to contribute to the development of the EV and no fines were imposed for breaching the emissions limit. The citizens were encouraged through subsidies to buy Evs.
The different approaches can equally be justified by cultural differences, since the urban sprawl of the American cities makes EVs difficult to use. Also, the gasoline tax was low and the environmental lobby was political and vocal.
On the other hand, France's cities have a typically dense layout making EVs more practical and the fact that over 60 percent of the electricity is produced in France in nuclear plants, provides an excess capacity to provide electricity, which reflected in the increased number of refueling points for Evs.
The authors observed that, in the US, technological applications are preferred over behavioral change, while in France they are strongly related to national prestige as a form of cultural elitism.
Unfortunately, both countries failed at reducing urban pollution in line with targets and the electric cars are still a minority in the urban traffic of today.