The protection of the environment is a big deal these days, with people all over the world contributing in various ways to the reduction of our dependence on the planet's finite resources.
The concept of an electric car has for years been high on the list of desirable environmentally-friendly technologies and, as a result of this, has been the subject of great scientific interest.
The ubiquitous use of the gas-powered car across the globe would also make the invention of an efficient electric car big business.
Last month Baltimore rolled out the nation's first electric car-sharing program at the city's Inner Harbor, as reported in an article by MercuryNews.com entitled All-electric car-sharing debuts in Baltimore.
At the centre of the scheme is the Maya 300. Manufactured by Electrovaya, the small four-door city car is available for rent from the city's Maryland Science Center.
A total of ten vehicles will be rentable, with a two-hour loan costing $29 from the car-sharing website Altcar.org.
The focus of the initiative is to turn the city green and convince Baltimorean commuters that electric driving is not only good for the environment, but cheap also.
The Maya 300 can drive 120 miles on a single charge of its lithium-ion battery, which can be charged from a standard 110-volt outlet.
Furthermore, a fifty mile drive will cost the driver only $1 in energy – something that even the least environmentally-conscious citizens can't ignore – and with the average city commuter travelling 30 miles to work, that's a driving cost of little over $2 a day.
Sankar Das Gupta, chief executive of Electrovaya said that one of the particular advantages of the Maya 300 over alternative electric cars is that it looks like a standard four-door car, enabling those more concerned with aesthetics to consider it.
The primary concern however, is the car's environmental impact. Das Gupta described the car as a "game changer" and insisted that "creative ventures like this are essential in finding new energy solutions".
The May 300 is expected to be made available to the public in 2011. Two vehicles will be made available: a 60-mile-range version at a cost of $25,000 and a 120-mile-version at a cost of $35,000.
Should other cities begin to follow suit, environmentally-friendly cars could soon become a more frequent sighting on US streets. Particularly considering the May 300's more standardized look, electric cars could be set to become altogether less shocking.
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