The Cochrane Environmental Action Committee (CEAC) is presenting Living Sustainably, a series of presentations that will inform Cochrane area residents of ways to live a greener life.
Topics will include electric vehicles, residential solar power, reducing water for landscaping uses, wilderness awareness, as well as a talk on how else to reduce your environmental impact around your home.
The series will kick off on Saturday, Dec. 3 from 1 to 3 p.m. with a session about electric vehicles (EVs).
Some of the questions to be addressed include what people should consider when they decide to buy an electric vehicle, if they should consider used or new models, what they should know about batteries, trip ranges and much more.
Tim Giese of CEAC stressed that these talks are not designed to convince people of the advantages of EVs or any of the other subject areas coming up, but rather to provide information to those with an interest in learning more about them.
He said he made that point clear to the speakers invited to share their expertise, as well as to the local auto dealerships that have been invited to send someone to the EV session.
Giese, who commutes to the northeast of Calgary from Cochrane for work, said he has looked at EVs for some time, but worried his information might be a little dated since the technology is evolving so rapidly.
“It was about two years ago now, and they were so pricy and I wasn’t sure about reliability, but they’ve come a long way,” he said.
With some motorists spending $400 to $500 a month on gasoline at current prices, Giese said it may be time for some people to re-think the EV decision.
“It’s becoming mainstream for a variety of reasons – the technology is improving, fuel prices are crazy, and EVs are being mandated by governments to replace fossil fueled vehicles,” he said.
Giese said he thinks Cochranites may be wondering such things as if EVs have enough range to go to Banff, Kananaskis, or further destinations.
“People are wondering ‘Can I just drive around Cochrane, or can I go to Calgary, to Edmonton . . . what about charging batteries, what if the battery goes?’” he said, adding he predicts people will have a lot of questions at the upcoming session, and that time will be dedicated toward answering them.
The hope is that attendees will at least come away with a basic understanding, and would at least know where they might need to do more research.
Giese said eventually – in a few years – people will not have much choice when it comes down to gas vs. electric, since more and more automakers have committed to changing over to producing nothing but EVs.
Acura, for example, announced in August that instead of transitioning gradually from hybrids to EVs as some automakers are doing, they will bypass hybrids altogether and move directly to zero-emission vehicles. Honda will slowly transition from gas-only cars to hybrids and then to fully electric vehicles.
One of the speakers Dec. 3 will be Rajko Pavic from Go Electric Vehicle Corp. headquartered in Calgary. The company specializes in finding top value used EVs from across North America.
Giese said he heard about them through a Cochrane high school teacher, who enlisted their services to find her a used Tesla that she is very happy with.
For more information about CEAC or the rest of the series go to [email protected] or call 403-851-0562 .
The EV talk Dec. 3 will be held in the curling rink lounge, on the second floor of Spray Lakes Sawmills Family Sports Centre.
The information sessions are free to attend, but registration is required at Eventbrite: ceacserieselectricvehicles.eventbrite.ca.
Upcoming talks in the series come 2023 include residential solar on Jan. 14, wildlife awareness on Feb. 25, growing your own food on Mar. 25 and Xeriscaping on Apr. 22.
