Speaker: Darryl McMahon
Date: March 14th, 2016
Mr. Darryl McMahon has been an advocate for clean energy and clean transportation options since the 1970s. Mr. McMahon was a founding member of the Electric Vehicle Association of Canada (EVAC), the Electric Vehicle Council of Ottawa (EVCO), author of the award-winning book The Emperor’s New Hydrogen Economy, and Historian for the U.S. Electric Auto Association.
The electric vehicle (EV) should be a cornerstone of Canadian efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. EVs are an efficient, zero- or low-emissions, low noise asset for urban transportation today. With increasing range per charge and charging network capacity, they are becoming a viable inter-urban transportation alternative to conventional fossil-fuelled vehicles. Despite the fact the EVs once were the dominating type of motorized vehicle at the turn of the 19th century and despite a renaissance of zero emission vehicles in the 1990s, we have not seen the significant breakthrough many people have expected. Mr. McMahon spoke to the past, present and future of electric vehicles, and their physical, technological, social and regulatory context.