The City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County and Clean Fuels Ohio hosted a workshop and showcase from 9:30 to 3:00 today discussing city planning for electric vehicles and the newest models of electric cars by Chevy and Nissan. Despite reports of the technology’s death due in large part to oil lobbyists and car companies as documented in “Who Killed the Electric Car?”, many have kept their faith alive in an alternative to gas-powered vehicles. One such believer, John Peterson, director of Oberlin’s Environmental Studies department, said that he trusts electric vehicle technology has a bright, green future.

Recently, electric vehicles have gained attention in big cities; though some claim that the once exciting and prominent mention of these types of cars has dwindled in mainstream society, Peterson said he thinks just the opposite. “The assumption about electric vehicles disappearing from minds of environmentally-friendly Americans is inaccurate. In fact, I think, with the introduction of hybrid-electric vehicles, we began transforming electric cars from novel technology to mainstream technology,” he said.

Peterson noted that despite the obvious advantage in avoiding gasoline usage, the electric car still has its faults. “Well-meaning people are often swayed by misleading advertising that suggests that electric cars create no pollution when they run. While it is true that there are no emissions from a tailpipe, the electric car is only as green as the energy source used to generate the electricity to run it,” he said.

Michael Maniates, visiting professor of Environmental Studies, echoed Peterson’s concern about the electric car’s environmental impact.

“My sense is that the electric car hasn’t disappeared from the minds of environmentally-friendly Americans. … My larger concern is with the possibility that electric cars aren’t the environmentally friendly product we often think them to be,” Maniates said. “We’ll see a lot of marketing of electric cars in the years to come … as part of a strategy by car manufacturers to meet increasingly stringent fuel-efficiency standards.”

“In the early days of the automobile, there were several manufacturers of electric cars … Back in the 1970s, General Electric came out with an electric lawn tractor, the ElecTrack, that was quite capable, and a number of electric cars like the Chevy S-10 were on the streets,” Frye said. “Most Americans have forgotten those earlier attempts with electric vehicles, but with gasoline prices climbing once again, interest in electrics is growing once again.”

The starting cost of new electric cars averages $7, 500, significantly less expensive than the Volt or Leaf. Electric cars are able to plug into a standard 110-volt electrical outlet, and while many owners charge them overnight in their garages in this way, cars can also be charged using solar energy. The Adam Joseph Lewis Center is home to one of those photovoltaic charging stations.

Frye, a self-proclaimed fan of electric cars, likes them for their myriad benefits including, but not limited to, the way they boost one’s environmental bragging rights.

“They can be speedy, sporty, sexy or utilitarian, and they offer you terrific street cred — as such an environmentalist, you bleed green. Mine is a cheerful yellow and white and looks sort of like a grownup version of a Little Tykes car. It’s eye-catching and fun to drive,” Frye said.

Frye acknowledges that Oberlin’s city layout happens to lend itself well to electric cars, but elsewhere the vehicles’ faults might discourage others from using them in place of gas-powered vehicles. Frye himself owns a gas-powered car in addition to his electric one, but limits his use of the former in an effort to save money and reduce his environmental impact.

“Most people are not ready to drive an electric as a first car. Since I live in Oberlin and over 90 percent of my driving is entirely within Oberlin, [the electric car is] a perfect match,” Frye said. “Electric vehicles are not an ideal nor universal replacement for the American gas guzzler. But in their own quiet way, they’re making inroads. Lithium batteries are bringing both greater range and longer lifetimes to electric vehicles, making them practical.”

While conceding their environmental footprint, Frye said that electric vehicle’s negative impact is dwarfed in comparison to the alternatives.

“It’s true that they are not totally green unless you’re able to completely recharge your car from a solar panel or wind turbine. But they are more efficient than most any internal combustion engine, and even if your power comes from a coal-fired power plant, it’s easier and more effective to deal with the pollution at the source than at the tailpipe,” Frye said. “As our electric grid becomes cleaner in the future, the electric car will inherit all those improvements automatically. Plus, by charging at night when demand is lower, it’s possible for many electric vehicles to plug in without making it necessary to build more power plants —we just use the ones we have more effectively.”

Oberlin resident Christa Champion opted to purchase an electric car when she and partner Nancy Boutilier, visiting instructor of Rhetoric and Composition, moved to Oberlin and needed to purchase a new car to replace their previous one.

Champion attributes the relatively limited success of electric cars in the American market to targeted political attacks against the technology.

“There is no reason, other than politics and oil company lobbying, that a full-size, highway-safe, 100 percent electric plug-in car hasn’t been available for purchase all along,” Champion said. “The fear of ‘running out’ of batteries is exaggerated: People would adjust quickly to the habit of plugging in to charge up, just like they do with their phones and computers. As soon as more electric cars are out there, the charging stations will pop up.”