Friday, March 9, 2007

Ed Begley, Jr. unveils all-electric sport utility truck in Dallas

By PRESTON KOERNER

Electric trucks have luxurious things like "upholstered seats."

DALLAS — You won't believe it, but tonight, I had the great opportunity to talk with Ed Begley Jr. at the unveiling of the Phoenix Sport Utility Truck in Dallas. Ed, an electric-vehicle pioneer, is a really nice guy and smart, too. He knows his stuff.

The Phoenix SUT is a five-passenger, all-electric, freeway-speed sport utility truck. I test drove it and let me say this: It's nice. I see the future with this thing. I really do. I punched it, coming off the line, and it had some get up and go. Wish I could get one.

The Phoenix is an "SUT": Sport Utility Truck. Die, SUV, die!

I don't normally talk about cars here on Jetson Green, but that's because we're not quite there yet. Let me explain. Ed said something to the effect that, "You can't grow oil on your roof, but you can grow electricity." It's true. No matter how hard your try or how much money you have, the chances are, you're not going to be able to tap oil from your backyard. But you can purchase solar panels, a residential wind turbine, or both. You can conserve energy, too. You can install thermal energy storage to substitute day consumption for night consumption. And according to the Department of Energy, "off-peak" electricity production and transmission capacity could fuel 84% of the country's 220 million vehicles if they were plug-in hybrid vehicles. There are solutions for energy issues that we face, but they require contemplation, investment, and coordinated action.

I envision a time when my house has solar, my truck is the Phoenix SUT (black rims, midnight blue, tinted windows, snug top, and black grill), and I'm not filling up at the gas station anymore. My electricity meter is spinning backwards most the time, because I have a small, efficient residential wind turbine, too. That's my American dream.

Preston Koerner writes a blog about "green" environmental practices called Jetson Green. He has allowed us to republish this article here.

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Comments

twisteddog Anonymous

Jetson Green totally rules, and so does Ed, except when he's on tv. I totally want one of these things.

1 year, 7 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )