PORT ANGELES — At least three things motivate people to choose electric cars, said Tony Billera: helping civilization, good performance and low costs.
An electric vehicle (EV) is “like a blender. You have instant power, instant torque,” said Billera, the Olympic Climate Action member and Port Angeles resident who will give a free online presentation Thursday evening.
“Why All the Excitement About EVs?” is the title of the 6:30 p.m. Zoom program. Viewers can sign up via www.olyclimate.org, where Billera plans a talk just less than an hour, followed by audience questions for about 30 minutes.
Billera will review the history of EVs and discuss the choices on the market now, and seek to explain home and public charging networks, battery technology and recycling. He’ll also go into purchasing incentives and how it feels to drive an electric car.
In the eight or nine times he’s given this talk, Billera has heard many questions about EV maintenance, battery life and the range electric cars can have on the road. In Thursday’s program, he’ll share the data on those topics plus his experiences driving an electric car. Billera has been an EV owner since 2017.
When drivers choose electric cars, they’re immediately doing something to address the climate crisis — and they could be helping to make EVs more affordable for more people, Billera said.
“[Sales] volume brings down the price,” he added.
Gas-powered cars and trucks are still the overwhelming majority of purchases, though.
“Those with a business-as-usual agenda have been pumping out misinformation,” Billera said.
As an activist for more than a decade with NOAA Climate Stewards, Citizens Climate Lobby and Carbon WA, he seeks to dispel misconceptions. After a career in telecommunications and information technology, Billera is a senior director at the Center for Advanced Transportation and Energy Solutions, a Seattle-based think tank. In this capacity, he focuses on reducing traffic and emissions while transitioning to electric vehicles of all kinds.
Billera, who can be reached directly at www.olydriveelectric@gmail.com, also volunteers on local efforts such as Port Angeles’ Climate Resiliency project and with Olympic Climate Action, a group whose mission includes a safe, prosperous future for residents of the Olympic Peninsula.
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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
