Through green eyes

This Kent is no hero

Posted at 9:27 AM on 26/1/2008

Dear Editor,

Conspiracy theories get a bad rap. Just when they develop sufficient following to become acceptable as expressed opinion, suddenly they morph into "common knowledge". Our hapless conspiracy theorist goes unrewarded for daring to believe where no man believed before.

For years, I've been telling any stationary ear that the blogosphere is infected with PR agents of big oil and the auto industry, working to maintain our fossil fuel addiction by discrediting climate science, electric cars and renewable energy. But the conspirators have blundered by using a single name for too many posts and the evidence is pretty damning...

Google this name: "Kent-Beuchert". Don't forget the hyphen, or you will find a million other Kents, most of whom are probably nice people. Now sample some of his posts. Below is a typical exchange. Note the use of one of his many aliases on this occasion (Ken/Kent/Kerry Beauchrt/Beuchert/Beuchrt/Biker/Rider/Krider)

I look forward to David Lassiter's exposé (see the last post) and I hope it receives deserved exposure in the SMH.

Regards,
Carl Sparre
Eastwood

• Kerry Beaauhrt says on February 1st, 2007 at 12:01 pm
The major accomplishment of “Who Killed the Electric Car?” is that it’s easy to pawn off a basketfull of stupid lies on the public if it concerns a subject that no one is familiar with.
If Chris Paine feels vindicated, I can’t understand why. It has become painfully obvious that even with the advancements of batteries since the days of the EV-1 and Honda EV and Rav 4 electric, that the automakers still have no means of producing a practical affordable electric car. The best any have promised for so far is a plug-in hybrid within 3 years, assuming battery problems are overcome, a far cry from Paine’s birdbrained assertions that electric cars were viable in 1997. He always knew that was a lie - that the batteries in the Ev-1 cost over $20,000
and lasted about five years, and powered a car that couldn’t reliably get its owners to a destination and back over 35 miles away, a distance that grew smaller as the batteries deteriorated. It’s absolutely amazing how ignorant the media has been about Paine’s juvenile lies and conspiracy theories. I suppose that proves they know even less about electric cars in general, and the EV-1 in particular, than even their embarassingly gullible audiences. I wonder how many know such things as, What the EV-1 cost, or why it was not legal to sell it to the public, or how few morons actually were foolish enough to lease the piece of crap. Or the fact that the Honda Insight hybrid was more energy efficient overall than the EV-1 and prosuced fewer harmful emissions.

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Richard says on February 7th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
Well Kerry, It’s obvious you work for the auto industry or the oil industry because you make so many general inferances without any proof. The EV1 was a “viable” car. All the owners loved it and it had a 130 mile range (not 35 as you said). Even the Ford Ranger EV had a 50 mile range! The batteries did cost a great deal of money to replace, unfortunatley the EV1 was recalled long before the batteries could go bad even after a six year operating life, so we may never know how long they could have lasted before needing replacing.
The EV1 was legal to sell in California or any state, for that matter, as was the Rav4ev and Ford Ranger. It was GM that decided not to sell the car. Last I check, free commerce means that you can sell anything legal in the US. That of course means an electric car! I don’t know where you get your foolish assumptions, but they are wrong and it would seam to me that you were trying to foolishly sabatoge the EV movement becasue you are afraid that the oil industry will suffer! As far as making a practical affordable electric car, there are many on the market right now, and will be many more in the near future. Feel Good Cars, Zap, and many others.
As far as the Honda Insight is concerned, it does not produce less emmisions than a comprable EV. In fact not only is the Insight no longer being produced, there were so few of them made that I doubt you’ll find a used one around. The Tesla has the equivalent of 135 mpg compared to 60mpg for the insight. How do they even compare???
Stick to your little oil stories, I think they make more sense in your head!

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Catching Up With Directors Leila Petersen and Chris Paine // Archives // ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip says on December 12th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
[…] Chris Paine’s next icy adventure? The director of the successful Who Killed The Electric Car was working on a film about alternative […]

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David Lassiter says on December 12th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Kerry Beaauhrt also goes by the name Kent Beuchert and has beem paid extensively by the oil and gas lobbies to reject current electrc car technologies. He posts usually in the first or second listing and works at a lobbying firm in Virgina. He has recently changed his name to continue receiving salary targets while trying to throw others off his efforts. Regards - David Lassiter