Science Cafe Concord discussed electric cars on Tuesday – it was a full house, despite the snow – and I think the best part came from a 97-year-old audience members who recalled starting his dad’s Model T, which required hand-cranking the engine, and setting the choke and spark by hand. He had questions about how feasible it was to power electric cars with rooftop solar panels, so this is a man who handles future shock with aplomb.
Unfortunately I was in moderator-mode at the time, taking microphones to people so they could ask questions, rather than reporter-mode, so I didn’t get his name. D’oh!
If you haven’t attended a science cafe in Concord or Nashua, you’re missing out. This week’s event was a perfect example of how well they work: The casual atmosphere in a bar and the mix of audience members – some engineers or electric car owners, some new to the whole idea of electric cars – made for a fascinating discussion. Panelists answered questions about everything from details of the upcoming all-electric Chevy Bolt (for sale in N.H. by May) to whether electric transportation does or doesn’t help, environmentally. (It does but it’s not a slam dunk, by any means.)
A video will be posted by ConcordTV when they finish the editing, probably in about a week. You can watch some past cafes there, too.
In February, both Nashua and Concord will discuss Seasonal Affective Disorder – “winter blues” – while in March, Concord will discuss New Hampshire’s demographic dilemma, a.k.a. the “silver tsunami”.
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