A Better Look at A Better Place (A Company Profile)

Ezra Drissman
October 23, 2009

Ezra Drissman
http://www.GreenCareersGuide.com

A Better Place is an ecologically forward thinking company that has won awards for its new battery switching station - a drive-up kiosk that looks like a carwash where depleted electric and hybrid car batteries are removed and replaced while the driver remains in the car. The whole process is reported to take less than ten minutes and has been demonstrated in several places. Battery switching sites are cropping up in a number of locations, including a McDonald's parking lot.

The company wants to find ways to make it simpler to own and operate electric and hybrid cars because "gas powered vehicles account for around 33% of carbon emission in the United States and up to 50% across parts of Europe. Further, the World Health Organization reports that 900,000 people die from outdoor air pollution every year." (abetterplace.com)

A Better Place states on their website that to reduce carbon emissions, we must "increase energy efficiency and shift away from products that burn fossil fuel" (abetterplace.com). Not only do they wish to help accomplish this by making hybrid cars a better option for more people, they believe they can do it and help the economy in the long run as well. Reducing our dependence on foreign oil is necessary and cannot come soon enough for most people. It is necessary to find new energy resources because the nonrenewable energy resources that have not already been consumed are difficult if not impossible to get to and would have much higher costs both economically and environmentally than finding the costs of finding alternatives.

Eventually, there will be a great demand for the battery switching spots worldwide, leading to the creation of more and more jobs. These cars will become more popular and more cost effective to build and to buy and will lead to jobs in the areas of manufacturing and selling. Repair people who are familiar with electric and hybrid cars will need to be trained because no technology is every one hundred percent perfect. The batteries will need to be created and tested, as well as recharged at the switching spots. The switching spots will need someone to monitor them from time to time, leading to the creation of even more jobs.

A Better Place is a global company with partners that range from A123 Systems to electric companies and many others worldwide. Eighteen partners in all are listed on the company's website, under "partners".

Reference: A Better Place website at http://www.abetterplace.com, retrieved on August 17, 2009

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