Good Energy Coming Out of a Bad Situation: Electric Cars in Gaza
July 18th, 2008
There aren’t many positive things about the current situation in Gaza. There’s fighting between different factions, conflicts between Israel and those in Gaza, and the Israeli blockade of supplies to Gaza since Hamas took control of the area last summer, resulting in shortages of almost everything, including fuel.
As Rachel Bergstein (who often writes about how environmental issues and Israeli-Palestinian relations overlap) from Green Prophet writes, necessity is the mother of invention. And if nothing else good comes out of the shortages in Gaza, then the electric cars that have been developed in order to overcome the shortage of fuel are a small shining light.
Waseem Khazendar and Fayaz Anan, two innovators in Gaza, have responded to the need for an alternative to fuel and found a way to convert regular cars into electric cars. For their first project, Khazendar and Anan converted a 1994 Peugot 205 to run on 34 standard car batteries. You’d think that a car like that might not be very effective or fast, but it travels up to 60 mph, and can run for up to 100 miles on a single charge. The car can be charged by a standard electrical outlet for just $1.50 per charge, which is a stark contrast to the $50 per gallon highs that Gaza Strip drivers have paid for gasoline.
Around 400 Gazans have lined up to have Khazendar and Anan convert their cars (at the cost of $2500), but due to the blockades from Israel there are only enough supplies to convert around 30-40 cars. If Israel drops the blockade, the price would probably drop to $1700 meaning more people could afford to have the conversion performed which would be better for the Gazans and better for the environment (which, ultimately, would be better for everyone in the long run).
This project, though at a very small scale now, has the potential to bridge Palestinian-Israeli relations through business as well. To date, Khazendar spoke with an Israeli firm about obtaining a patent for their engine. And as for Anan, he said that he would be happy to work with Israelis for business: “Maybe we, Israelis and Palestinians, can save the world together.”
We hope so too.
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I think this is a great idea.
There are three threats in the world, which are converging as we speak: the threat from Ideological Extremism, the threat to the Environment, and the threat from Extreme Poverty.
As you suggest, these theats are inter-related, and therefore it is logical to assume that a solution is possible which solves all three problems in one shot.
If Israelis and Palestinians can partner together in business, for the sake of protecting the environment, this would be a huge step forward toward peace, toward neutralizing some of the extremism with good paying jobs, toward protecting our environment, toward inspiring people with hope, and toward giving poor people a helping hand out of the clutches of poverty.
In short, all our problems solved in one shot. A model of this sort could be set in place for the entire world to emulated, thus brokering a peace between the West and the Muslim world.
It’s a big dream, but it can start with as little as two guys in Gaza coming up with a hell of a good idea.
Electric and plug in hybrids ARE the way forwards. I own an electric car myself now.
Clive.
Location – a very large power station at Didcot, Oxfordshire.