----- Original Message ----- From: "Remy C" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "ETList" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, February 22, 2003 2:51 PM Subject: [ETList] The Green Car Scam > From: > http://www.berkshireeagle.com/Stories/0,1413,101~6267~1168342,00.html > via: http://www.idontcareaboutair.com > > Sunday, February 09, 2003 > > The green car scam > > Environmentally minded Americans -- which according to polls is most of > us -- might reasonably have wondered what the catch was when in his State of > the Union address George W. Bush rhapsodized over an American future replete > with hydrogen-driven, pollution-free cars. Environmental pros were skeptical > right away. They knew that today, 96 percent of the world's hydrogen is > produced using oil, coal and natural gas. So even though hydrogen-run > fuel-cell vehicles would be clean, the anti-greenhouse-gas net gain would be > negligible. > > The environmentalists' skepticism was borne out last week when Mr. Bush's > budget revealed that nearly all of the $1.2 billion for hydrogen-vehicle > research and development over five years would go to the coal, petroleum, > natural-gas and nuclear-energy industries. The also-rans were solar and wind > power, whose share of the R&D funds would be minuscule. > > Investing in fuel-cell technology that's all clean and relies on wind, sun > and the exploitation of agricultural waste makes good environmental sense. > And even though the widespread use of hydrogen engines may be decades away, > perhaps Congress can change Mr. Bush's mal- distribution of funds. That's > unlikely. The new head of the relevant Senate committee is Oklahoma's James > Inhofe, who thinks environmentalism is a communist plot. > > Individual states, however, can be helpful in producing greener cars, as > California has demonstrated. That big state's tough anti-air-pollution laws > have forced auto manufacturers to design and build both cleaner > internal-combustion cars and -- most promisingly -- a fast-growing fleet of > hybrid cars. Hybrids use two engines, one a standard gasoline burner, the > other an electric motor that's recharged by the internal-combustion engine > and by braking. The two engines alternate, with overall fuel usage greatly > reduced. Toyota and Honda have sold tens of thousands of hybrids, and > General Motors -- fearful of being left in the dust by the Japanese again -- > is planning a 40-mile-per-gallon hybrid SUV for the 2005 model year. Though > they're a little more expensive than standard cars, hybrids may account for > as much as 15 percent of U.S. vehicle sales within a few decades. > > California and other states should also mandate significantly greater fuel > efficiency in standard cars, a step the Bush administration refuses to take. > The administration's mileage standards for next year don't even take > advantage of existing technology. Far-sighted states should also regulate > and tax gas-hog SUVs into oblivion. More than just symbols of aggression and > arrogance, these dangerous behemoths are more responsible than any other > single factor for U.S. dependence on foreign oil. A fair way for the U.S. to > fight any war in the oil fields of the Middle East might be to field an army > of draftees composed entirely of SUV owners. That might produce some second > thoughts. > > > > ET List > http://www.electrifyingtimes.com > > To view ET List message archive go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ETList/messages > Steve Spence Subscribe to the Renewable Energy Newsletter & Discussion Boards. Read about Sustainable Technology: http://www.green-trust.org [EMAIL PROTECTED] Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
