I don’t think I could ever go back into an office 40 hours per week. The commute, the politics, the obligation to wear a bra — no thanks. All of this was once normal, but now it sounds dreadful. Aside from those drawbacks, I’ve found inspiration working from different locations. Sometimes I crave a big city and need an urban fix, other times I want to get lost in the desert. As long as I have Wi-Fi, I can pretty much clock in from wherever I desire.
Recently, I wanted to feel the sand between my toes and decided to work from San Diego for a couple of weeks. I figured I’d drive out with my dogs and let them frolic in the ocean while I chatted with employees and clients from a beach chair. Given the length of my trip and that I was packing roughly 160 pounds of dog, driving to Southern California was the best option. Logging that kind of mileage lends itself to a lot of thinking, overthinking, and podcast listening.
Coincidentally, I’ve also been in the market for a new vehicle. It’s been a haphazard effort at best. I know it’s time, but there’s no rush. I’m leaning toward an electric vehicle, but other than that, I have no idea what I want, much less what’s going to be available when I decide. I figured my road trip would be an investigational starting point. One is exposed to all sorts of vehicles for 10-plus hours on I-15. However, one is not exposed to all sorts of charging options on that stretch of road.
That certainly got me thinking about recent announcements and zero emission goals. I’m all for the effort — we absolutely have to put the brakes on our fossil fuel dependency. But as it stands, electric vehicles often don’t exactly mean an environmentally clean conscience.
The batteries in electric vehicles are charged with power from the electric grid — which is generally powered by coal and other fossil fuels. There’s also an argument to be made about the greenhouse emissions during the manufacturing process. And the batteries in electric vehicles require raw materials like cobalt and lithium, which are usually mined. Hardly an ethical or sustainable practice.
My limited new-car research has been far more focused on the greenest option than anything like resale value or safety ratings. So far, from what I can gather, buying an electric vehicle requires an upfront “emissions investment,” which pays off over time. Electric vehicles create a lower carbon footprint over the course of their lifetimes than traditional internal combustion engines, but the full benefit requires renewable sources of electricity — and lots of it. We are nowhere near that right now. But there are goals and there are plans to get us closer. And frankly, the cost of doing so is minimal compared to the cost of doing nothing.
In the meantime, transportation experts confirm the greenest way to get where you’re going (aside from walking or biking) is public transportation. Fortunately, in Park City each of these are relatively easy options, at least if your ACLs are in good shape or you live near the bus route. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s better that what a lot of communities have and it gets better as ridership numbers increase. Hopefully we’ll soon say the same thing about charging electric vehicles.
Amy Roberts is a freelance writer, longtime Park City resident and the proud owner of two rescued Dalmatians, Stanley and Willis. Follow her on Twitter @amycroberts.