Having read Travis W. Knight’s Dec. 14 pontification on oil shale (“Oil shale isn’t energy of the future”), it’s painfully obvious that he is a firm believer in the “energy fairy.” He obviously despises the use of oil as a basic energy source. This despite the fact that oil is what lubricates the world’s economy.

In turn, Mr. Knight extols the virtue of electric vehicles which receive their motive power from their batteries. He specifically postulates that “we should not let this (oil and gas exploration) slow our movement toward electric vehicles.” However, this “movement” of battery power vehicles has been going on for over 100 years.

Some progress in battery technology has been made. In fact, I have a patent for the manufacture of plastic auto battery cases, which is assigned to General Motors. So some progress has been made but we’ve only seen 100 years of baby steps. Unfortunately, the laws of physics and chemistry keep getting in the way of breakthroughs in battery charge or power density.

Mr. Knight is welcome to his erudite view of electrical cars but the fact remains that an electric car had a range of about 35 miles in 1911. Today it’s way up to an average of about 70 miles. Let’s hear it for the energy fairy.

Don Carlson

Chapin