Hello all. It's time to get revved up for the spring activities! We've gota few good things coming up which I'm sure you'll want to check out.We are getting good response to the call for committees to head up these activities. I cannot emphasize this enough, to be successful in bringing EVs to the community we must be motivated and well resourced. I appreciate the energy that is going into our activities today, and I hope that we can build on that in '95 for a successful year. Clean air week coming up in April is something we have a special opportunity to get the message out in many different ways. I am hoping for a good turnout at the Clean Air Commute (Third annual!). Also, the city of Rosevillehas expressed an interest in having us participate in an event there. We will try to do as much as we can with what we have.
I have the luxury of internet access at work, so I spend some time "netsurfing"and watching the EV distribution list daily. It's great to see the amount ofenergy going into EVs on a daily basis, and very encouraging to see the progress of important developments "as they happen". Because of this, I feel that it is really important for us to work at the local level to support this. With all the activity going on world wide trying to promote EVs and bring them any benefits they have to offer to local communities, can we do any less to support them? All of us in this group have, by our participation, stated an interest in electric vehicles, and a belief in the technology. That's a great first step, and I am pleased to be a part of that first step. But we can, and must do more. I know it's difficult when you have a life, and time is always in demand. But a big part of what we are in SEVA is making EVs a part of life along with everything else.I beleive that by working together, we can bring electric vehicles to Sacramento. This is a big job to say the least, but with enough people participating, we can do it without killing ourselves. By the way, if you use a computer, and have access to the internet, drop me a line. America On Line, Compuserve, and some of the local Sacramento BBS's all offer online access to the internet. There has been some interest expressedin making the EV Update available online. You can reach me at: mbahlke@mcd.intel.com It's a great, easy way to communicate at a low cost, and much faster than the US Post Office.
Well, I am steadily pursuing the reconstruction of my vehicle, PBH2S04. I began in early December, with a complete battery test, much thanks to Bob Dean at Drive Electric. This revealed one bad battery, which Bob was able to replace. From there, it was make room for two more batteries (provided by Bob), to upgrade power and range. Unfortunately, I ran out of vacation time before I got done. Big problem. Well, progress is much slower, but I'm getting there. It is a real drag though, having to go back to the smelly old pickup truck I wasdriving before I aquired my electric. Not to mention expensive! I am appreciating the work that goes into a conversion, though. I have completely redesigned almost all of the under hood structure which holds the batteries, and other equipment. There is alot to that. It is gratifying to see the design I have worked up in my little head actually coming together in the car, and working.
Well, another weekend is coming up, and I will make another effort to get back on the road in the EV.
Meeting opened by V.P. Tim Loree at 1005am, on Feb. 11th.Tim introduced this months speakers, A.J. Mergan and Steve Moran from California State University, Sacramento and their Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. A.J. gave us a presentation on the electric race car they are building, the MC-1.
Their car is designed around a 1995 Camaro Z28 Composite body,with a purpose built tubular frame and roll cage, which meets NASCAR specs. It sports four-wheel coil-over independent suspention, 4-wheel disk brakes and Goodyear Eagle racing tires and will use a unique design to transfer power from the motor to the wheels, that incorporates a motorcycle style rear end to supply direct drive to the rear wheels.
The car is being designed to have a 50 mile range at 120mph. GVWR of the car, with batteries, is expected to be 2000lbs.A.J. expects to be able to establish records at many of ourCalifornia race tracks and they also have the goal of winning the APS Electrics in Phoenix and to set a course qualifiying speed record for EV's.
A.J. says they need business, community, and individual support to reach their goals. They are looking to develope partnership opportunities, so if you would like to help them out with equipment, labor, or money, please give A.J. or Steve a call at (916) 278-6308.
Some SEVA members gave some monitary assistance during the meeting to help them out and Scott Perry requested that the SEVA board should look into sponsoring part of the car. The board members present said they would bring it up on Monday's board meeting as an agenda item.
Ruth let the members know about a campaign by the gas industry against the electric industry that could impact the building of EV infrastructure and other projects. See the article on "Political Action Needed" in this issue.
The meeting adjurned at 11:50am.The SEVA board met Monday, February 13 at 7:15pm to discuss club business.
First on the agenda was the Clean Air Commute, Saturday May 6. Tim Loree chairs a committee of five to organize SEVA participation. The cars could charge overnight at shop near the Capitol. Mark Bahlke recommended that SEVA get parking permits for the starting line. The press should be invited to see the cars off. The 15-mile trip to Davis will not discharge the cars, but they need to make it back, because of lack of confidence in ability to recharge in Davis.
Roseville has invited SEVA to participate in an Earth Week activity on Sunday, April 23. Mark looks forward to meeting with them.
The SEVA picnic will be Sunday, July 9. The Board formed a committee to plan the picnic.
Mark pointed out that until now SEVA has been just a monthly meeting organization. If we sponsor some public events, we get people to come who have never seen an EV.
The Smog Squad invites SEVA to set up displays at events. The Smog Squad is a professionally run lobby organization. During the summer they have a table each Thursday on the K Street Mall. SEVA members are invited to bring their EVs. Tim has talked with Michael Parker about a grant-writing workshop for SEVA members, three weekends each separated by two weekends. Tim suggested May or June to be ready for new regulations in August. Last time, Michael had 11 in the course, and four received funding.
Steve Smith and Doug Johnson will design and purchase a large banner with the SEVA name, logo, and motto ("Plug Into the Future"). Steve knows where to get a banner for about $50.
Mark talked about the need to write letters to City Hall to mention the positive things done there and to keep the pressure up. The Board discussed the preparation of form letters to PUC to have ready by the March meeting.
Board members need to join the national EAA. When that happens, the national office will send SEVA a package detailing the steps to become official. Then SEVA can get $100 per year insurance for the monthly meetings.
The SEVA brochures have old addresses on them. Labels need to be put on existing brochures to update the address.
The McClellan carpool is Saturday, April 8. Members can carpool from SMUD at 10 or show up at McClellan at 10:30. A good parking place is the McClellan Aviation Museum.
Several members received write-in votes in the election. Some of them have attended a board meeting. Mark will contact the others, to see if they wish to be on the board.
Tim urges more recruitment effort. Specifically he suggests bringing brochures to meetings and events, inviting the Bee and News & Review to cover the club, and locating and contacting environmental newspapers.
The board had a lively discussion about contributions to MC1. Several ideas were advanced, but the board did not reach a conclusion.
Tony Cygan reported that the copying of the newsletter cost $26 this time. Michael Simpson said that he can provide free copying, but we would have to collate by hand. Steve said that SEVA should set aside a portion of membership dues for the newsletter. Tim suggested setting aside $100 per month for the newsletter, freeing up money after the fact when costs are below that level. Most of the board think that cash flow for the newsletter is not a problem at this time.
The board meeting was adjourned at 9pm.SEVA members, do you have E-Mail ?
If so SEVA would like to know your e-mail address for our records. Please e-mail to me at tonyc@144volts.com with your information.
If you would like to know how to get e-mail, the first thing you must do is to get a computer and modem. Second is to get an account set up on one of the numerous companies that provide access to e-mail.
Companies range from local BBS's (Bulletin Board System) here in Sacramento, to national BBS's like Compuserve or America On-Line (AOL), to the Internet companies like Netcom or NS Net here in Sacramento.
You should call around to many different providers, as cost range from virtually free ($0-5/month) for local BBS's, to $10 and up/month for the national BBS's and $20 and up/month for the Internet.
Costs for some providers (ie: Compuserve) are cheap if you only use their basic services, but they charge for sending mail to people outside of the Compuserve network (ie: to a friend on AOL or the Internet) or if you use their advanced services. Also some local BBS's may only offer what they call 'netmail', which is not neccesarily e-mail that can be sent out over the Internet to your friends at AOL, but rather is only good from one BBS to another, so make sure you ask before signing up with them. The Internet providers generally have one price for dial-up service and which allows you access to all of the features of the net, but limits you to a certain number of hours per month and extra on-line hours will of course cost extra.
If you only want e-mail and cost is a major concern, then go with a local BBS. Look for a local magazine called CCN (California Computer News) which has 2 pages of local BBS's that you can call. Most are free to join, but may charge for Internet e-mail, if they even have it available.
If your interested in using your computer for things other than e-mail, then you will definitely want to look at the national BBS's or the Internet providers.
These other things are IRC (Internet Relay Chat), where you can converse with people all over the world (live) on various subject; Usenet groups, which uses something similar to e-mail where you read other peoples mail on a given topic and then post your own responses; News Digests, in which you specify your items of interest and the system will track down stories from around the world and send to you daily; file downloads (FTP/Telnet) give you access to remote computers; and then there is Web (World Wide Web or WWW) Surfing.
Web Surfing is to me the most fun. It allows you to travel all over the world looking at information from various individual and business computer systems. This information includes audio and pictures as well as text and is a great source for doing research or just being nosey.
The President and Vice-President are on line, as are many members of Congress, so writting them is pretty easy and checking out our governments (local, state and federal) on-line filesmakes for some interesting reading.
Let me know if you have questions and I'll try to help you out.
See you on 'The Net'.CALL FOR LETTERS TO THE PUC - THIS AFFECTS YOU!!
The oil companies are at it again. Last year it was reported that Chevron spent $20 million fighting the CARB Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate. This year they are spending at least that much fighting the California Utilities electric and natural gas vehicle programs by pressuring the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to deny the request for a rate increase to keep these programs going.
The theme of the oil company campaign is "Stop the Hidden Consumer Tax". That really makes me mad and you would be too, if you only knew how many millions of dollars of hidden subsidies our government pays to oil companies from our tax dollars.
The Western States Petroleum Association, which Chevron and Arco (as well as others) belong, are funding a "front" organization created for the purpose called "Californians Against Utility Company Abuse (CAUCA). They are asking for postcards and letters to be sent to the PUC to support their cause.
ARCO is sending postcards to their employees and customers addressed to the PUC Commissioners. All the customer has to do is to sign the card telling the commissioner not to allow the utilities to have a rate increase to provide funds for their EV Programs. They have used every scare tactic in the book in these mailings, making it sound like the utilities are embarking on a big profit making venture by promoting EVs.
In reality, for utilities, EVs are not a big money making venture. They are primarily motivated by cleaning up the air and by creating a demand for electricity at night when most EVs will be charged, by their very nature. This will allow electric generating plants to run more efficiently and therefore cleaner, too.
The application to the PUC for a utility rate increase also covers many years, so the cost is spread out over the years and should not amount to more than 5 cents a month to each customer. Since all the utilities have applied together, to save the expense of each of them doing their own similar application, it looks like a huge amount of money and therefore it was easy for these negative campaigners to blow it out of proportion. This rate increase amounts to $500 million and admittedly that sounds high, but remember, this is the total application for four utilities over a ten year period.
These utility programs are important in helping the electric vehicle industry develop. These utility programs are vital for setting up the infrastructure for electric vehicles, something that the automakers say they can't live without. Here are some of the accomplishments of the utilities thus far:
* Demonstration of the GM Impact so that over 240 drivers in California could each have the Impact for two weeks. This included installation of the wiring circuitry for the charger in the drivers home and sometimes at their place of work.
* Public charging stations: 157 in Sacramento, one at a BART station, several in Los Angeles. There is also free parking for EVs in Sacramento city garages.
* Each utility has incentives for off-peak charging such as lower priced electricity at night.
* Utilities EV Programs have been managing some of the Federal funds from ARPA, DOE, CEC, etc. that has helped push the development of components for EVs and have benefited many small and large businesses in California.
The utilities would like to continue installing public charging stations and also to be able to set up programs to provide cost rebates to residential customers that install home EV charging stations and commercial customers who use EVs in their fleet.
How do we fight back? We write letters!
When you write a personal letter to a PUC Commissioner supporting the utility rate increase, it makes far more impact than these canned postcards that they get from the opponents. Just tell them what you know about the situation: that a negative campaign is paid for by the oil companies, and that you as a utility customer see merit in supporting EV infrastructure, and that EVs are great and we need to start creating alternatives to polluting the air with gasoline burning cars.
Your letters really count. The first line should state your position. That you think the PUC should decide in favor of the utility rate increase. They probably don't read much more than that but they do stack the letters up and count each letter as representing about 1000 citizens. So don't be shy. They know it takes a lot of effort and guts to sit down and write a letter! Readers - we know you are Pioneers - and you've got what it takes.
California Assembly
Senator Bernie Richter, R-Chico, introduced a bill, AB339, which would require the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to establish an incentive for automobile manufacturers to remove high-polluting vehicles from the highway in lieu of producing electric vehicles.
Editors note: Mr. Richter is anti-EV and has tried to stop CARB from forcing the auto manufacturers to build EV's before. Please write or call your representitives and urge them to vote against this bill.Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. plans to convert the power of ocean waves into electricity through piezoelectric polymers. When physically strained, these materials have already been used to produce energy in microsensors. Now, Ocean Power will laminate many of its hydropiezoelectric sheets and hang them from rafts anchored to the ocean floor. Strain from wave action will send electricity to attached electrodes, with special components used to convert the power into dc current.
AMP, Inc., a producer of piezoelectric film, likes the concept so much that it has invested in the project. Ocean Power plans to make 1 to 100kW systems for small coastal communities and offshore oil rigs. Multimegawatt systems loom in the future.
Fax Charles Carroll at (609) 924-7220A low-cost solar energy technology has set a new commercial-scale energy conversion record. The system, called Integrated High-Concentration Photovoltaics (IHCPV) achieved a solar conversion efficiency greater than 20% in a 2,000W testbed array at the Shenandoah Environment & Education Center of the Georgia Power Co.
The system, built by AMONIX, Inc., Torrence, CA, consists of low-cost plastic concentrating lenses to track and focus the sun's rays onto small-area solar cells. By concentrating sunlight 200-500 times, such systems can substantially reduce the cost of silicon cell material needed to generate a given amount of electricity.
Fax Dave Roubideaux at (310) 325-0771.
SEVA Activities --
o General Meeting, Saturday Mar 11th at 10:00am
o Board Meeting, Monday Mar 13th at 7:00pm
o General Meeting, Saturday Apr 8th at 10:00am at McCllelen
o Board Meeting, Monday Apr 10th at 7:00pm
o Roseville Earthday Festival, Saturday Apr 22rd at 9am to 3pm.
o 3rd Annual Clean Air Commute, Saturday May 6th.
o General Meeting, Saturday May 13th at 10:00am.
o Board Meeting, Monday May 15th at 7:00pm
Bay Area & Modesto EAA Activities --
o SF BEAR (Bay Electric Auto Rally), Apr 29th at S.F.Presidio.
National EVents --
o APS/Phoenix 500, March 3-5, 1995.
o Tour de Sol, May 22-26, 1995.
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