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- Hybrids
cost less when you consider the entire life cycle of
the car from fuel efficiency, tax benefits, and
resale value.
-
Batteries
for hybrids will become cheaper due to economies of scale and
recycled just as everything else is.
Batteries made of lead are heavy and by far the most
polluting so most Hybrids use something other than
lead. Better batteries are long overdue
and Hybrid vehicles have forced the issue. We cannot
afford the mistakes of the past.
-
Fuel-efficient
cars will always receive favorable tax treatment. The
Government will tax heavy vehicles, tax excessive polluters
and tax cars with unnecessary horsepower to raise money for
road repairs.
- Hybrids
are here to stay. Driving a hybrid and conserving
energy is American and supports American
goals.
- Gasoline
hog manufacturers will suffer and their lack of vehicles
sales prove it. Smart automobile
companies will lead through discovery, creativity, and
innovation. Americans will lower individual
carbon impact through Government regulation. Go see 'An Inconvenient
Truth'. Go see Who Killed The
Electric Car.
- It makes no sense to burn foreign fuel in
your American car. If you chant 'Buy
American' then fight for American based fuels. Buy American
means just that. Let your Congressman and Senator
know that you want them to stop funding oil and support
clean American based energy. We
cannot afford the mistakes of the past.
- Driving
a hybrid makes sense in a real world. Those that try to
convince you otherwise believe in the status quo, high gasoline
prices and continued pollution. We cannot afford
the mistakes of the past.
- The oil
infrastructure has a choke hold on all of us. The next big step is to allow a new
infrastructure to phase out the oil infrastructure. It
is all about the infrastructure. The free market will
force plug in fueled/electric hybrids until they are all
electric. The automobile company that uses the best
battery or fuel cell will be the leader. The Government
must make the change before the consumer does. The consumer will
have no choice but to follow the new energy
infrastructure.
- Ethanol
does not cause food prices to go up. The increasing price of
oil cause food prices to go up. Anything that is
manufactured, stored and shipped has the high cost of oil factored
in. Ethanol is a solution and not the problem. Imagine if we replaced all of the grass in the right
of way on every highway and planted switch grass that can yield over 1,000 gallons per acre,
more than 3 times the yield of corn. Switch grass is a short-term
crop and produces prolifically with limited water, insecticides or
fertilizer needs. Switch grass prevents soil erosion.
We could harvest the crop periodically
and make ethanol as not to compete with our food supply. We
could use highway water run off in the process to
achieve even higher gains.
Sewer companies could use cattails and kelp, which are fast
growing, water purifying and high ethanol
producing. This proven technology could hold us over
until the next big renewable infrastructure is created. The
automobile companies need to bring back a real flex fuel
engine and stop pushing the compromise engine they use
today. I believe a flex fuel vehicle should
get the same or better MPG. Ethanol has over 105 octanes and
gasoline starts at only 50 octanes. The saw
grass, cattail and kelp ethanol jobs should stay
here. Ethanol is
a short-term answer to a
long-term goal for reducing our addiction
to oil. The
powerful oil lobby protects gasoline and discourages
alternatives due to a giant investment in the oil
infrastructure. We must think out of the barrel.
We cannot afford the mistakes of the past.
- Oil
will not last forever. Oil billionaire Boone Pickens
said, "We cannot drill our way out of this problem". It
is best to plan for the future by supporting alternatives now and
reduce pollution through renewables, conservation, and
local renewable electricity. See www.pickensplan.com.
- Anything
that threatens the oil economy has been unfairly
discredited and diminished. Hybrids and electric vehicles powered
by renewable electricity is the answer to our oil addiction.
Oil as a transportation fuel is running out and prices reflect
it. We cannot afford the mistakes of the
past.
- Energy is wasted on rooftops every day.
Imagine if every rooftop had a residential solar panel
and every municipality had a large wind power generator
contributing to the grid at the same time. This
power could be used to charge plug in hybrids and electric cars.
Any excess could be sold back to the power company. We could
reduce our carbon and nuclear dependencies.
A smart grid is necessary and only the
Government can create it.
- When someone says they want to drill off shore,
they are really saying protect the oil, natural gas
infrastructure, keep the status quo, and continue the
pollution. Give Tax breaks to companies that can provide
Americans better energy performance and jobs. Giving up oil
and natural gas will not be easy.
- Centralized oil,
coal, natural gas and nuclear power generation is
distributed using an expensive infrastructure. Decentralized American
Renewable Energy (DARE) like solar, wind, geothermal
energy, cellulosic ethanol and conservation reduce this
problem. No unfriendly regime can control Decentralized
Energy. Getting off carbon based fuels will provide a stronger and
secure nation.
- The
directors of automobile companies are about to fail and the
American people know it. Electric cars, hybrids, bio fuel and
flex fuel are the innovations that we need. GM had an electric car
back in 1997 but they crushed it and any hope of survival by
choosing the short sighted easy path. We cannot afford the
mistakes of the past.
- I
am hopeful that newly elected President Barack Obama shall not
make the mistakes of the past but rather
encourage electric car growth. The Government is in a
position to support electric cars by creating a
smart electric grid, new battery technology, a skilled
American automotive work force, and tax
incentives.
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