Dr. Edward “Terry” Wimberley was the guest speaker at the September meeting of the Aiken Senior Men’s Club He spoke to the group about how we are not worrying about the "common person” these days in energy policies.
Years ago, Henry Ford created a vehicle for the masses to help everyone become mobile, but now we are thinking of building only electric vehicles that are priced for the “elite,” Wimberley said during his presentation.
He explained in detail how one of the major chemicals, lithium, in batteries currently used in electric vehicle batteries is scarce, not recyclable and is being rapidly depleted in the world. He said there were some short-term alternatives such as hydrogen fuel cell cars, and zinc batteries, but that current world policies are not sufficiently forward-looking to commit resources to these.
Wimberley also said it was important to encourage the development of new battery technology, and that none of the current battery technologies are long-range sustainable.
He raised concern about China and our dependence on the technology and raw materials coming out of that country. He also said it was not viable for the U.S. to wean itself from fossil fuel in the near future for a number of reasons, including a dependence on raw materials which are not produce in volume by the U.S.
He said China and other countries in the world could hold our push to green energy hostage while further developing fossil fuels to grow their own economies.
Many attendees were in-sync with what Wimberley was saying, and at the end of the lecture several thought, “I wish I had said that.”
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Aiken Senior Men's Club. For more information or to join, call Rick Endler at 803-649-7697 or email afendler@bellsouth.net.
Gloss