5 electric cars all parked in one parking lot in Boulder, Colo.

4 electric cars parked next to each other at NCAR in Boulder, Colo.
Four electric vehicles parked in a row at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. From left, two red Chevy Bolts (one of them my own), a silver Nissan LEAF, and a 2012 Tesla Model S, which belongs to my brother. [Photo by Christof Demont-Heinrich]
editor's blog logoSo, the density of electric cars in the United States is quite variable with some states, for instance, California, seeing much more EV penetration than others, for instance, Mississippi or Kentucky.

A variety of variables are responsible for the disparity — but, clearly, one of them, is (lack of) progressive politics. Generally speaking, more progressive the political landscape, the more likely one is to find more electric cars.

Red Chevy Bolt parked at NCAR
A red Chevy Bolt, one of five all-electric cars — and one of THREE red Chevy Bolts — parked all at the same time at NCAR in Boulder, Colo. last week. [Photo by Christof Demont-Heinrich]
That’s certainly true of Boulder, Colo. — where I spent five years getting my Ph.D. in the early 2000s, and where my brother, Thomas and his family now live. You’re just much more likely to see a lot of electric cars in, and around, Boulder than in most other places in the United States.

Still, even I was surprised when, last week, I arrived at the parking lot of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder and found not one other red Chevy Bolt just like mine — something that has happened once before at the First Universalist Unitarian Church in Denver — but TWO other Chevy Bolts exactly like mine.

In addition, parked right next to one of the red Chevy Bolts was a first generation Nissan LEAF. Then, when my brother arrived in his 2012 Tesla Model S, we had five electric cars, covering three makes and models, at the NCAR parking lot on this scorching July afternoon. This, when the lot itself had perhaps no more than 30 cars total.

That was just simply cool — and, of course, I HAD to take a picture of the cars, and write about it here on SolarChargedDriving.Com.


Wish all of America were like the NCAR parking lot, well-populated with electric cars. We’d all be breathing A LOT cleaner air if that were the case — and sending A LOT LESS money to places like Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.

Two red Chevy Bolts parked next to each other.
Two red Chevy Bolts parked next to one another at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. last week (the one on the right is mine). [Photo by Christof Demont-Heinrich]