Hi Team,
I just wanted to put my CHF0.02 into this. It will be a bit of a hurried rant before I get on a plane.
To give some background, I am just finishing a trip, mostly for work around the world. Auckland - NZ, Las Vegas - NV, Austin - TX to the maker faire
http://makerfaire.com 
where I met some AustinEV converters (Ian you are famous), Clifton - NJ, Warsaw - Poland and finally Basel - Switzerland where the Hilton has a factory Citron EV about 10 years old. OK, don't accuse me of bragging. I will try and make some useful points.
In seeing these places with reference to sustainability I have to say that the Swiss have done it right. They have made the correct decisions with regard to travel and infrastructure.
The continuing growth of the major Australian cities and seeing the US cities, the model of continuing building the car infrastructure is simply unsustainable.
In Basel, Switzerland there is an electric tram system, and a bus system that extends beyond the CBD. Hardly anyone needs a car in the city.
They rely as GOW... mentions on the corner dairy / convenience store for food, and tend to work local. Even the major supermarkets (Coop) have smaller community shops (like 4 square). The smaller villages are all connected by rail and bus. The bus to the airport leaves every 6 mins! OK there is a rush hour on the motorways but the public transport is light years ahead
The current excise tax that only increases as fuel prices increase needs to be put into public transport infrastructure, not new roads.
I am probably stating the obvious buy I firmly believe that Australia and the US have been living well beyond our means, if not as individuals, as a nation. Credit crisis anyone.
The money the government borrows has to be paid back with interest sometime. Is the money borrowed being used to make back as much as the interest paid?
As a nation we can not afford nice smooth wide roads. The US is a testament to this. The I280 that I travelled on is full of holes about 300mm diameter and up to what seems like 80mm deep. It is absolutely dangerous to drive at 55MPH at night!
The solution IMHO. Make some hard decisions on putting money into public transport and away from expanding roads. Promote EVs and an alternative to ICE to reduce reliance on imported fuel.
Incidental I did the math on CO2 emissions for my ute. Using an old inefficient coal power station in NSW as the benchmark, the CO2 output of the power station is about the came as the equivalent ICE. Modern power stations would output about 20% less than the equivalent ICE. The output of one power station is also easier to scrub than many ICE vehicles. The point of output is also away from the city. This point was reinforced to me in Warsaw. I would have had a wonderful view of the city from the 47th floor if it weren't for the smog. It seems that many of the up and coming cities of the world are making the same mistakes we have made. I heard that the subway in Warsaw took 27 years to complete.
Anyway you are all lucky I need sign off now.
Regards, Mal
. But.. the masses and/or velocities needed to power a car for any significant range are really not feasible in a mobile application.
