As California and additional states contemplate banning the internal combustion engine (ICE), we need to watch what is happening in Florida, states DDP president Jane M. Orient, M.D.
“Most Floridians have a car with an ICE,” she states, “and they had enough warning to fill their gas tank before they were ordered to evacuate.”
Power lines are down, and millions are without electricity, she notes. “Renewables” will be producing zero electricity and may be destroyed by the high winds. Even if you find a roadside charging station, it will probably have no power.
If your electric car runs out of juice, you can’t call roadside service to bring a can of electricity. You need to wait for a truck that has a diesel generator and enough fuel for same, Dr. Orient stated. If the car is disabled for any reason, you can’t just hook it up to another car and tow it in order to get it out of the traffic. It probably requires a flatbed truck.
At the 40th annual meeting of DDP, Dr. Jay Lehr pointed out that to charge the 2,000 cars that could fill up at a gas station in 12 hours would require 600 50-watt chargers costing $24 million. He explains numerous other reasons why the ICE is not in the “dustbin of history,” as many politicians claim.
“The ‘horseless carriage’ with an internal combustion engine is not just convenient, affordable transportation that gives most Americans the freedom to move around as they choose,” Dr. Orient concludes. “In emergencies such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, or release of hazardous materials, they are the difference between life and death for thousands or millions.”
Doctors for Disaster Preparedness provides information to help save lives in the event of natural or man-made disasters.