Your letters: Welcoming electric cars

Paper Edition | Page: 8

Replacing fossil fuel driven vehicles engines with electric motor-driven “engines” is not only timely and economical, but it would also indeed be healthier, promoting blue skies everywhere and would be quieter, leaving housing complexes in peace where even two-stroke engine motorcycles roar by.

Fuel stations could slowly but surely be replaced by wind- or solar-powered stations needed to provide electric current for battery charging. For time efficiency and practical purposes, the new fuel stations could provide a number of pre-charged batteries of different models and types to swap out when automobiles run out of energy.

It would be wise to locate these stations away from the general public as the battery acid still in use today is considered as health hazard.

The use of dry batteries of different types and sizes would be more practical as it would not only be cleaner but also easier and more practical in terms of storage and the battery exchanges/refueling mentioned above.

With the use of electric light cranes, the normal battery exchange shouldn’t take more than sixty seconds for cars and bigger vehicles. Motorcycle battery exchanges shouldn’t take more than half a minute.

It is indeed desirable to secure the cheap and easy availability of rechargeable dry-batteries. At the same time, we should see to it that safe, convenient and cheap wind power (or even solar power) is available everywhere as it is needed for our economic development.

However, the with promulgation of the hazardous materials, locally known as B3 or bahan berbahaya dan beracun, safety precautions are a must, as unscrupulous hands tend to conveniently (rather carelessly) place and store discarded batteries anywhere they deem convenient.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was right. We will start with the drive for introducing electric cars, and together we will achieve it.

Moeljono Adikoesoemo
Jakarta