Electric vehicles are no doubt the future of transportation in America. Unfortunately, they are probably further into the future than is good for the planet.
NBC News not long ago did an investigation, of sorts, into the practicality of all-electric vehicles and found that travel through California via EV is convenient right now. But, through Texas, it is anything but convenient.
And there lies the rub. If you can’t get from charging station to charging station with confidence, how can you choose reliance on an all-electric vehicle?
Fortunately, some people are already choosing EVs and trusting that they’ll be able to get from here to there without anxiety. The truth is, if you can get 400 miles, or so, on a charge, you’ll almost always be able to find a recharge.
But knowing where could be an issue. Finding one as you’re running out of electricity could be a real test of composure.
According to Evadoption, a Web site dedicated to promoting the electric-vehicle industry, California leads the nation in the number of public recharging stations. This is no surprise, as California is not only large, it is populated with forward-looking residents and purchasers.
As of Sept. 30, 2021, the Golden State had 930,811 stations where a driver could pull in, charge up and be back on the road in a few hours. The sincere hope of potential purchasers of these vehicles is that that amount of time will eventually be dramatically slashed.
The state with the second-most stations was Florida, with 108,749.
New York was third, with 106,024.
Washington was next, 80,397.
Texas was fifth with 78,585. Texas is by far our largest state, after Alaska, so it ought to have more charging stations. Except that it’s also America’s leading oil and gas producing state, so it has no personal interest in growing the electric-vehicle market.
You might find it interesting that tiny New Hampshire and Vermont rank 30th and 31st, respectively, with 7,171 and 7,061 charging stations. They are states that typically see further into the future than many areas of the country.
Not so surprising is the occupants of the bottom of the list. Sparse Alaska had 1,113, South Dakota 1,015, Wyoming 707 and North Dakota 656, to bring up the rear. It would not be wise to plan a sightseeing trip in these northwestern states in an electric vehicle.
The hope, of course – and expectation – is that we won’t have to wait long before battery capacity is much greater and availability of chargers will be around every corner.
For, what we’re doing to Mother Earth with our gasoline and diesel engines verges on suicidal. While states such as Texas are reliant on that industry, most of us realize that the future of civilization as we know it is at stake.
So the lesson is that we’re not where we want to be with electric vehicles yet. But we’re getting there. And, with patience and dedication, it may be within sight.
