Campbell Rotary

Today’s speaker was Kate Horner, representing “Plug-In Bay Area,” a regional volunteer movement promoting the use of plug-in hybrid cars, which can operate on batteries following an after-market conversion.

Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) are outfitted with a battery pack sufficient to power the vehicle from 20 to 60 miles on battery charge alone. Considering that half the cars on America’s roads are driven 25 miles a day or less, a plug-in with a 25-mile range battery could eliminate gasoline use in the daily commute of millions of Americans. The cost of an equivalent electric gallon of gas is estimated to be less than $1.00.

Although plug-in hybrids are not yet commercially available, the plug-in movement is promoting interest and securing future purchasing commitments from governments and corporations.

Longtime “Visiting Rotarian” Ted Keetch availed us with war stories from his years on the police force in Santa Clara, including international travel he took in the name of homicide investigations. His travels to The Philippines and to Mexico were both harrowing and enlightening, and potentially life-threatening, all in the name of justice.

Ted joined the SCPD homicide unit in 1983 after a few years in the narcotics unit and as a military police officer in Vietnam. As an aside, Ted’s father was a Rotarian with 100% attendance in his life, and was one of the original sponsors of the Campbell Rotary Club, first charted in the 1940′s.