We Need Electric Powered Cars Today - We Do?

Over at the San Jose Mercury News there is an article which basically states that we need electric vehicles ASAP, with some facts thrown in to backup this premise. There is one statement that I agree with totally:

There is no issue more urgent. History shows a pattern of using access to energy to influence diplomatic outcomes, with events often escalating into violence. We must prevent this from happening to our country. National security as well as economic needs require that we urgently adopt a strategy to strengthen our energy resilience. The most practical and immediate way is to encourage the mass manufacture of vehicles, as well as the retrofitting of existing ones, so that they first run on electricity.

I believe that this statement ‘There is no issue more urgent,’ says it all. There is no more important issue that will affect all of us and how we live. From the cost of food to housing, higher fuel costs will hurt our quality of life.

The second statement ‘History shows a pattern of using access to energy to influence diplomatic outcomes, with events often escalating into violence,’ should remind us of what happened before the attack on the US fleet at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. The US had cut off the supply of oil to the Japanese, which was one of the economic punishments the US used, because of the Japanese invasion of mainland China.

When I first read this article, it brought one thought to my mind. Obviously electric cars would need batteries. Batteries that can be charged to hold a power source. But we are all aware that batteries eventually fail and must be replaced. What does one then do with the old batteries?

Recycling will help, but I am sure there may be some components that may not be recyclable and could pose a potential hazard to our environment. What do you think?

Comments welcome.

Source.