Editor,

Regarding the Feb. 10 letter to the editor, I think Bill Merrill might have accidentally switched EV (electric vehicle) and ICE (internal combustion engine) in his copy because all of us who have owned both EV and ICE for many years now know that it’s ICE that have the cold weather issues, use large amounts of precious expensive fossil fuels, that have high maintenance (never change oil again!), and that are just plain more fun and more cool to drive.

In case he was being serious, any of us EV owners would be happy to buy you a cup of coffee, give you a test ride and some actual EV facts. In the case of materials mined, there is no automotive technology that is perfect, but EVs are better on the environment in every way and get cleaner every day as the grid converts to renewables.

For police cars, this is a wise choice to go EV as we all move to zero emissions, and most departments are seeing lower operating costs, so saving taxpayer money. Best of all, you can plug in and charge locally without filling the pockets of the big oil, and if you have solar panels on your buildings like a lot of EV owners, you can make your own energy. That is a big win!

If you are concerned about lithium recycling, look up Redwood Materials. They and many others are doing lithium cell recycling, and also getting the cobalt and other materials out of the waste stream. It’s good stuff, and it’s going the same way we did with lead-acid a century ago.

Tim Economu

Clinton