Can you spot what's wrong with this picture?
I will give you a hint:
That's an electric car.
This is the first time there has been any gasoline in that car in over a year - since the car's gas tank was removed to make room for batteries to power an electric forklift motor that replaced the car's gasoline engine.
Unfortunately, I have been neglecting my lawn for the past two weeks as I was traveling to an
"eco-bed 'n' breakfast" and then off to the big
renewable energy fair.
While my car is powered by electricity, my lawn mower is not. Nope, I am stuck in the fossil fuel age when it comes property maintenance. Although my long-term goal is to have a bigger garden and planted areas, for now I must trim my lawn to acceptable neighborhood standards.
A few weeks ago, I had an appointment to go see an Electrak (GE-built electric riding lawn mower) that was for sale, but had it stolen out from under me by somebody who swung by and dropped off a load of cash, sight-unseen!
My friend Tim, with help from all our EV Buddies of the Milwaukee Electric Car Club, are converting an old Simplicity lawn tractor to battery electric. Once done, Tim will be able to mow his lawn fossil-fuel-free.
Although I am busy with several other projects, I think something similar would be great. We'll just let Tim be the Guinea Pig on this one.
So for now, I have to use my electric car to go buy gasoline for my petro-mower.
The irony is not lost on me!
(PS: Safety first! Gasoline fumes and electric components are not a good mix! Yes, I did have my windows down for ventilation, and was NOT engaging or disengaging sparking electric parts while transporting volatile fossil fuels!)