11:48 a.m., July 28, 2009----In 1996, electric cars began to appear on roads all over California. They were quiet and fast, produced no exhaust, and ran without gasoline. Ten years later, these futuristic cars were almost all gone. What happened? Why should we be haunted by the ghost of the electric car?

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Those words lead off the theatrical release trailer for the 2006 documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” Written and directed by Chris Paine, the film has been described by various reviewers as “powerful,” “educational,” and “thought provoking.”

Members of the Newark and University of Delaware communities will have the opportunity to hear about the life and death of the electric car when Paine speaks at Clayton Hall at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 9. The lecture is the centerpiece of a free public event that kicks off Energy and Sustainability 2009, a student-run conference to be held from Aug. 9-12.

Paine was motivated to produce the documentary when the EV1 electric car he was leasing from GM was suddenly repossessed and destroyed. When Paine began talking with other EV1 lessees, he discovered that the entire fleet was meeting the same fate. GM had no explanation for the destruction and no apparent plans to replace the EV1 with another alternative-fuel vehicle.

Paine mined the media for coverage of this strange phenomenon, and, when he came up blank, he decided to do some sleuthing of his own. The resulting documentary, set as a “who-done-it” and narrated by Martin Sheen, features interviews with celebrities who drove the electric car, such as Mel Gibson and Tom Hanks. It also includes commentary from some of the engineers and technicians who led the development of modern electric vehicles and related technologies.

The film was nominated for several awards, including a Best Documentary Screenplay award from the Writer's Guild of America and a Best Documentary Award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association.

“We're very fortunate to have a speaker of Chris Paine's caliber coming to speak at this public event,” says Robert Opila, professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and director of the Solar Hydrogen IGERT program at UD. “In making the film, he helped to highlight the need for alternative energy sources while also addressing the role played by corporate America in environmental issues.”

Paine studied film at New York University and acting at New York's Playhouse Theater and then went on to graduate from Colgate University in 1983. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he was both an entrepreneur and a political activist. Since 2000, he has written and produced several documentaries.

Energy and Sustainability 2009 is co-hosted by the Solar Hydrogen IGERT program and the University of Delaware Energy Institute. The open session on Sunday, Aug. 9, is aimed at opening channels of communication and awareness about energy and sustainability.

The remaining three days of the program will include technical talks, poster presentations, networking sessions, and guest speakers. Talks by experts will address a broad range of topics, including climate change and public policy, green architecture and urban planning, the economics of climate change, solar fuels and materials, and photovoltaics for the 21st century.

For more information about Paine's talk or the conference, visit the Web site or contact Mo Bremner, IGERT Program Coordinator, at (302) 831-8830 or [mbremner@ee.udel.edu].

Article by Diane Kukich