May 15, 2007 by Rob.

I have pages of notes from the Green Tech Conference, but the most striking comment came from ex-CIA director R James Woolsey. He put the need for alternative energy in very direct national security terms. According to Woolsey , every time we fill our cars we are literally funding the other side in the War on Terror: the oil profits are directed to terrorists. He called the it “the largest protection racket” ever because the Saudis are paying off the terrorists (gangs) to maintain control of their country.

[note 5/21: Here is a link to Woolsey’s report] 

His premise is that using EV and PHEV will commoditize oil because electricity is a domestic product that costs $0.01/mile while oil is at least $0.10/mile. If we can convert 75% of our driving to use grid power then we change the oil dynamic and eliminate the funding for terrorists.

That was not his only point, but one he reinforced several times throughout the day.

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May 15, 2007 by Rob.

Besides EV geeking w/ fellow AustinEV members on Saturday, I made only small progress this weekend.  The funny thing about EV enthusiasts is that we’ve very passionate about the issues and mundane items like saying on the agenda are low priority.  I’m always energized (should I say “charged up”) when seeing the how excited people get about alternative/green energy.  We had a surprise visit from the Electric Cars of Austin dealer who drove up in a NEV.

Otherwise, I made small progress on the RAVolt and quickly realized that I needed to visit HomeDepot for some bolts.  The threads for one of the motor’s 3/8″ support bolts seems to be messed up and I’m having trouble tightening it.

Spoiler: Today and tomorrow I’m attending a Green Tech conference and will post about this too.

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