Driessen Fellows have become well known for getting involved in their vocal activism but also get involved in the nuanced research of public policy proposals, then making their thoughts known during public comment periods. University of Houston student Gadai Bulgac is the latest to post his thoughts, this time to the Federal Highway Administration, who are considering standardizing all electric car chargers to a single variety. This intern eloquently wrote his thoughts as to why the federal government should not interfere with the marketplace and instead let the market make such decisions. You can read his thoughts below.
“Dear Mr. Bhatt,
It should not be in the purview of the Federal government to regulate, and provide taxpayer money for, electric car charging stations. With respect to the J3400 connector, we need to let the free market decide which standard wins out in the end and the government should not be subsidizing electric car usage when there are so many problems with electric cars from an economic and environmental standpoint.
Only one percent of cars on the road today are electric vehicles and this is because of their cost and inconvenience; even the fastest (“SuperCharger”) charging stations cannot charge a car completely in under 30 minutes, and this rapid charging degrades the batteries of the car. The average charging station charges at an abysmal 44 miles of range for every hour you charge the vehicle, whereas pumping a full tank of gasoline takes a fraction of the time. This alone makes the widespread adoption of electric vehicles extremely unlikely.
And speaking of batteries, current lithium-ion battery technology used in electric vehicles relies on mining cobalt from slave laborers working in war-torn countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And as previously mentioned, lithium-ion batteries degrade rapidly even with best charging practices, which customers using fast-charging stations will likely not adhere to. This battery degradation leads to an immense waste of resources, and a poor experience for American consumers.
I appreciate you reaching out to the American public for comments on this matter, and I hope you consider what I’ve mentioned.
Kindest regards,
Gadai Bulgac”
