Cascadia Center

Katherine Long
October 25, 2009
Cascadia
1

Seattle Expected To Be Key Market For Electric Cars

Katherine Long
October 25, 2009
Cascadia
1
After years of hype, it looks like the mass-produced, all-electric car is really on its way. Puget Sound is poised to become one of the key markets for the initial wave of electric cars, in part because of plans to begin building next year a network of more than 2,000 charging stations throughout the region. Funded by part of a $100 million federal Department of Energy (DOE) economic-stimulus grant, the charging stations are to the electric car what the cellphone-tower network was to the cellphone. Just as the phones needed towers to make them functional, the network of charging stations will make it practical to own a car that does not use gas. By December 2010, drivers in our area should be able to buy mass-produced, plug-in electrics that create no emissions and run for pennies a mile. "It's going to blow people's doors off how fast this transition is going to happen," predicted U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, who took a spin around the Microsoft campus Friday in an all-electric Ford Focus. As part of the DOE grant, the Puget Sound area has been promised 1,000 Nissan LEAF all-electric cars, which will be sold here beginning in December 2010. But that's only the start. Because of the charging network, the Seattle area will be one of the major markets for other brands of electric cars, said Steve Marshall, a senior fellow at Discovery Institute's Cascadia Center, a Seattle-based transportation think tank. Ford, for example, plans to bring an electric commercial van to the area in 2010, one that will run for about 3 cents a mile and is designed for small-business owners and package-delivery fleets. The electric Focus will hit the market in 2011, as will the Chevy Volt, a car that can drive the first 40 miles on electricity before a gasoline-powered engine kicks in, driving a generator that provides electric power beyond 40 miles. Inslee predicts that within a decade, a significant portion of the American car fleet will be made up of electric cars, and "we're trying to make Washington the epicenter of this revolution," he said. The car companies know it. "Washington is a lot more aggressive and more hep on this than any part of the country," said David Berdish, manager of sustainable business development for Ford Motor Co. Meeting at Microsoft On Friday, state and federal officials and business leaders gathered at the Microsoft campus for a Cascadia-sponsored conference called "Beyond Oil." They talked about building sustainable communities and ensuring the electrical grid could handle the power draw if thousands of people all tried to recharge their cars at the same time. Outside, a half-dozen Tesla roadsters — all-electric sports cars that cost about $100,000 — were lined up in the parking area. But it was the somewhat homely Ford Focus, which arrived on a flatbed truck after an overnight trip from San Francisco, that attracted the buzz, in part because it's price is expected to be within the reach of the average family when it comes to market in 2011. The Seattle area is expected to be a leader in electric cars for a couple of reasons. (More) Read More ›
Gary Chittim
October 23, 2009
Cascadia
3

Electric Car Industry Pulls In For Quick Charge At Microsoft

Gary Chittim
October 23, 2009
Cascadia
3

This is the transcript of an interview about Discovery Institute’s Cascadia Center Beyond Oil Conference: Co-anchor Dennis Bounds: “The electric car industry pulled in for a quick charge at Microsoft’s Redmond campus today.” Co-anchor Jean Enerson: “And as KING 5’s environmental specialist Gary Chittim shows us, some of the nation’s biggest companies are ready to plug in to this technology.” Read More ›

Scott Gutierrez
October 22, 2009
Cascadia
1

Seattle Getting 2,500 Electric Car Charging Stations

Scott Gutierrez
October 22, 2009
Cascadia
1

This article, published by Seattle PI, discusses a conference put on by the Cascadia Center of Discovery Institute: So it was with great enthusiasm on Oct. 23 that 300 people attended a conference hosted by the Discovery Institute’s Cascadia Center entitled: “Beyond Oil: The Sustainable Communities Initiative and Clean Cities Conference.” The rest of the article can be found here.

Brendan B. Read
October 16, 2009
Cascadia
1

Cascadia Blog Article Highlights Teleworking Green, Productivity Benefits

Brendan B. Read
October 16, 2009
Cascadia
1

This article, published by TMCnet.com, mentions the Cascadia Center of Discovery Institute: The Cascadia Center which works on regional transportation and sustainable development issues for the Discovery Institute, has taken a strong interest in telework. The rest of the article can be found here.

Idaho State Journal
October 4, 2009
Cascadia
3

Crapo On Amtrak Numbers

Idaho State Journal
October 4, 2009
Cascadia
3

CRAPO QUESTIONS AMTRAK’S NUMBERS Will also forward comments from Idahoans in response to Pioneer Route study Washington, DC – Idaho Senator Mike Crapo is questioning the cost figures cited in a preliminary report Amtrak commissioned on the feasibility of restoring passenger rail service to Idaho along the former Pioneer Route. Tomorrow is the deadline for interested parties to comment on Read More ›

Snohomish Times Staff
October 4, 2009
Cascadia
1

Snohomish Leaders Spent A Day In San Francisco

Snohomish Times Staff
October 4, 2009
Cascadia
1

This article, published by The Snohomish Times, mentions the Cascadia Center of Discovery Institute: The Cascadia Center for Regional Development sponsored the tour to provide Puget Sound leaders an opportunity to meet with Northern California counterparts involved in the development of the Sonoma Marin Rail Transit (SMART) system that voters in that area approved for tax-supported funding in 2008. The Read More ›

Steve Marshall
October 1, 2009
Cascadia
3

Northwest Is Poised To Lead In Developing Electric Car Transition

Steve Marshall
October 1, 2009
Cascadia
3
Cars that run on electricity have made it to prime time. The new Jay Leno Show featured an all-electric Ford Focus in a challenge race. Drew Barrymore drove the battery-powered Ford around a track next to the NBC studio setting the pace for others to come. For most viewers, this was the first time they saw an all-electric car in action. And instead of a tiny, underpowered car, they saw a normal-looking, five-passenger car speed through turns. Leno has, in effect, made a public-service announcement: Cars that run on electricity are real and will help the economy, national security and the environment. The Northwest is also getting ready to take a prime-time role in helping to accelerate and integrate this technology. Environmental and business leaders will gather next month in Redmond to think through the infrastructure needs to support it. Last year the U.S. economy went into a tailspin, in part because we were spending over a billion dollars a day to buy foreign oil. Although the recession slashed oil prices, they are creeping back up. In August, the U.S. spent more than $25 billion to buy foreign oil. In his first week in office, President Obama said, "America's dependence on oil is one of the most serious threats that our nation has faced. It bankrolls dictators, pays for nuclear proliferation, and funds both sides of our struggle against terrorism." Replacing oil with electricity in transportation may be the best solution reasonably at hand. Read More ›
Liam Moriarty
October 1, 2009
Cascadia
1

Fast Train In The Fast Lane

Liam Moriarty
October 1, 2009
Cascadia
1

This article, published by Europe & Us (a special project of KPLU News), quotes Discovery Institute Fellow Bruce Agnew: … This conference was organized by the Cascadia Center, a Seattle-based think tank that promotes innovative approaches to transportation. Director Bruce Agnew says state lawmakers, port commissioners and business leaders are lining up behind passenger rail. The full article can be Read More ›

Al Scott
September 30, 2009
Cascadia
1

Ask Not for Whom The Road Tolls

Al Scott
September 30, 2009
Cascadia
1

This article, published by the Puget Sound Business Journal, refers to an article by Cascadia Fellow Matt Rosenberg: The Cascadia Center just posted a valuable piece about funding a replacement for the ailing State Route 520 Bridge between Seattle and the Eastside. The piece by Cascadia Fellow Matt Rosenberg highlights the $2.38 billion funding gap, and discusses the various plans to close the Read More ›

Jake Lynch
September 20, 2009
Cascadia
1

In Search Of A National Transportation Plan

Jake Lynch
September 20, 2009
Cascadia
1

This article, published by Reporter Newspapers, quotes Steve Marshall of Discovery Institute: … “One of the failures of the current system is that it doesn’t link transportation policy to energy security and climate change,” said Steve Marshall from the Cascadia Center for Regional Development. “97 percent of our transportation is fueled by oil. People literally do not have a choice. Read More ›