'We Are a Nation-State'

And the low-carbon-fuel standard. Is that something you want to export to the rest of the country?
Yes. And to the rest of the world.

You seem to promote a fun-loving environmentalism, not the put-on-your-cardigan and turn-down the-thermostat variety. Don't people need to practice some abstinence?
Let me talk about big cars, big engines, SUVs, trucks, airplanes. The bottom line is not to see the size of the engine, but the problem is that you want to replace greenhouse-gas emissions. God bless you if you like your little cars, but the real trick is, let's go and create engines that do not emit greenhouse gases. Take hydrogen. Total elimination. So you can "pimp out" a dump truck. So that is what we should focus on—alternative fuel and alternative engines that run different things that are more efficient and less greenhouse emissions. You will see in no time all of California's vehicles that are owned by the state will be clean fuel or hybrid.

You can afford $100,000 to convert your Hummer to hydrogen or $70,000 for a biodiesel conversion, but how many people can go out and do that?
There are cost issues always at the beginning. I was one of the first ones to have a cell phone. It cost me about $1,600. Now you can get $29 cell phones! These concept cars always go for a million dollars, but when they mass-produce them, the cost is going to go down.

So consume, but consume wisely?
I like when people want to switch to something lighter, I think that's great. But I think that my wife, she feels more comfortable in an SUV. With so many kids in her car, she feels more protected. But my wife feels bad about it. She wishes at the same time they can put a device in it which I'm working on with [Rep.] Dana Rohrbacher; it's like a box that you put in your car in the back and it takes 40 to 50 percent of the greenhouse gases out of your fuel. All the women that drive those SUVs, all the guys would like to feel better, to have a device. If the company offers them the alternative and says, "It will cost you an extra $2,000 to put this in and then we take 40 percent off your greenhouse gases." Now you have a deal. It's technology.

So this is a new California movement.
I think you have an unbelievable opportunity to go really all out and to make this something that everyone in the world writes about us, gets inspired by us, copies us, follows us.

© 2007