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Proposal
Father Tuttle first became interested in electric cars after seeing a display at the State Fair. When he looked into buying an electric car, he discovered that buying an electric car was not quite so easy. They were only sold to commercial fleets. That was when he realized that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh could be considered a fleet because there are over 150,000 members, most of which have at least one car. He applied for a grant from the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources and became a recipient of a $20,500 grant shortly afterward which he used to lease a Chevrolet S10 pickup.
Father Tuttle came in as a guest speaker one Friday afternoon to talk to us about the importance of electric vehicles in North Carolina. He stressed the fact that North Carolina has the 6th worse air pollution problem in the United States. We spent that afternoon driving his electric 1998 Chevrolet S10 pickup around campus. It was the most amazingly smooth drive that you could imagine; it felt like you were driving on a bed of air. The pickup also had pretty good acceleration, which was surprising for us. It made the class and all that we were working on seem more real. This car was actually on the road, being used by everyday people and helping the environment at the same time.
After Father Tuttle talked to the EE149 class that Friday, we have toyed with the idea of submitting a proposal for one of these grants. If we just consider the class itself, which is composed of at least 10 students, we have a fleet right there! Not to mention the Duke Electric Vehicle Club (DEVC) which is composed of approximately 20 students. As members of the DEVC and students of the Electric Vehicle Project (EE149), we wanted to apply for a grant for two reasons. The first is for educational purposes; it would help students and members understand electric vehicles' relevance and application outside of the garage and in the real world. The second reason is that as a group of students who understand the significance of electric vehicles, we find that it would be important for us to show this by supporting the use of such a vehicle.
We have included a link to the page which supplies more information on the program and its inception, along with the project proposal application. Although the deadline is Dec. 31st, we do not have enough time to draw up a proposal in time to meet the deadline, but we are planning on submitting one for the following year.