Electric cars have
been around in one form or another since before anyone thought about refining
gasoline from crude oil. But during a century notable for cheap gas, tail fins
and coast-to-coast freeways, internal combustion ruled. It’s still the dominant
mode of motorized transportation in the U.S., of course, but day by day,
hybrids and fully electric vehicles are taking market share. The
Legislature gave the technology a boost by passing Rep. Deb Eddy’s HB 1481 in 2009, and EV
charging stations can now be found up and down Washington’s Electric Highway, and in more and
more of the state’s communities.
And, as this photo
shows, the Legislature has taken its own advice. The Chevrolet Volt being
juiced up near the back door of the John L. O’Brien Building, where most state
representatives are officed, belongs to freshman Rep. Kristine Lytton of Anacortes.
But you don’t need to run for office to top off your battery in Olympia; there
are four more charging stations on the Capitol campus that are available to the
public, and another eight at the new Gateway Park across the street from the
Department of Enterprise Services building, just off I-5. To read this story in Spanish, click here.
