Mygreenwheels

Why am I not surprised that the Israelis are showing some real joined-up thinking when it comes to electric cars? After all, it's the way they go about most things. So, if you're really planning to get yourself off the 'oil' hook, here's the way to do it.

Israel is planning to have the world's first electric car network installed by 2011. It's not just the health and environmental argument that's driving this one. Understandably in their part of the globe they want to get away from dependence on foreign oil from 'undemocratic regimes'. Amen to that.

"Today is a new age with new dangers and the greatest danger is that of oil. It is the greatest polluter of our age and oil is the greatest financier of terror," said Israeli President Shimon Peres in the Middle East Times.

I've enthused before about Shai Agassi's Project Better Place to provide lithium ion batteries AND the infrastructure to refresh or replace them. Such a cool idea. Now he's in a JV with Renault and Nissan building electric cars (we're talking proper family cars here, not souped up golf carts) to run in Israel on a network of half a million recharging points as well as service points where batteries can be swapped over. The goal is to make Israel a lab test for a new model of environmentally efficient transportation. They've already begun targeting China and India saying that if it works in Israel it'll work even better there - these are countries where the pollution is killing them already, but the new middle classes understandably want a car just like the rest of us have enjoyed for so long.

That's why it's specially interesting that Israel is pushing the 'green' electricity angle with a solar energy project in the Negev desert involving huge mirrors. Their alternative energy expertise includes 7 universities that produce a higher number of engineers and scientists per capita than any other nation. They've also got the highest per-capita rate of solar collectors in the world.

This just sounds so exciting! A project that might actually work and serve as a model to other countries who will have to adopt something like it at some point. Too bad for those of us living with all the joys of a weather system dictated by an ocean with Attention Deficit Syndrome. I barely get enough solar juice to illuminate my little lamps in the garden ...