E-scooters are cute, amazing, and deadly.
EV school buses,
like our school district's,
are likewise
potentially fatal.
Calvin Luther Martin, PhD
August 12, 2024
Not long ago, in a city somewhere in China, a middle-aged gentleman stepped into the elevator in his high rise apartment building, carrying the battery to his E-scooter (electric scooter). Millions of Chinese own these scooters. They love ’em. They are becoming increasingly popular, as well, in America.
As I was saying, he got into the elevator, carrying the Li-ion (lithium-ion) battery for his scooter, which was probably parked in the parking garage in the basement.
Click on the image to the right to see what happened when the elevator door closed.
It breaks my heart to show the video. I show it as a warning to people who own these things or are thinking of buying one.
The battery is obviously removable and it looks like the illustration shown to the left. Nondescript-looking and small, easily carried in one hand.
What I don’t know is whether E-bikes (electric bicycles) are as susceptible to battery explosion. It would seem to me they would be, since it’s the same Li-ion battery, only a little smaller.
The thing is, it’s not just E-scooters. It’s all electric vehicles. Cars, buses, trucks. Yes, including EV (electric) school buses.
Watch this video. A compendium of Li-ion battery vehicle fires in China. These fires and explosions are not unique to China, of course; they are happening around the world.
What especially alarms me are the EV school buses the Malone School District bought this past March. They were paid for in large measure—perhaps totally?—by a grant from the US EPA.
When I spotted the article on this in the Telegram, I sent this email to Superintendent Brandon Pelkey. (Click here if you can’t read the PDF, below, or if you wish to download it.)
He responded graciously, noting that he, too, was concerned, but that the school system had been notified by Albany that all school buses would soon be required to be electric. Mr. Pelkey figured that, since the EPA was lavishly funding the buses at the moment, the school might as well grab a couple and put them through their paces—very cautiously, he added.
I followed that email with this one. (Click here if you can’t read the PDF, below, or if you wish to download it.)
- The Village and Town of Malone should each pass a local law forbidding E-scooters and E-bikes from being charged inside any building.
- The Malone School District should pass a resolution that it refuses to be forced to purchase or use EV school buses. The Li-ion batteries are too unstable and potentially catastrophic for there to be mandated use of these buses at this time. The School District does not have the moral or legal authority to expose children to such risk. Nor does the State of NY or United States of America.