It is a shame that "reporting" is done like this, where Ms. Ramirez says that "X is true, therefore what do you think, Senator?" rather than telling us, for instance, about how much it would cost to convert the non-flex-fuel vehicles to run on E85 (less than $300 if the dealer makes a packet on each one.) With this sort of writing, we are left to assume that Ms. Ramirez is an expert in the subject of flex-fuel vehicles, and is competent to quiz the senator and to inform us.
SPONSORED BY:
- 1
- 2
‘More Than We’ve Ever Done’
Email To A Friend
Please fill in the following information and we'll email this link.
SPONSORED BY
It seems like there are serious goals but no concrete plan for how this technology might pan out. Isn't that a pretty big gamble?
Yes. It is a gamble, but the alternative is to continue to import more oil from overseas. There's some gamble in that too. The hope is that we can begin a process to wean ourselves off more foreign imports of oil.
What happens if the U.S. can't meet these goals or they don't produce the hoped-for results?
It depends. If we can't meet the goals in any particular year then we can adjust the requirement. If it turns out the use of biofuels doesn't prove to be a valid way to offset our need for petroleum products then we would have to put more emphasis on something else like plug-in hybrids. The truth is we are trying to move ahead in the various areas where we think technology will provide us with solutions. At this point, we don't know what will prove to me the most useful.
You said this Act would help America "be more secure in the face of uncertain world energy markets." What else has to be done in the next session and into the next presidency?
We need to continue to diversify our sources of energy. We have to make serious progress in developing plug-in hybrid technology and proliferating that so that much of our transportation needs can be met with electric power instead of petroleum products. We're also going to have to find ways to transition our whole electricity sector to production of more power from clean energy sources.
If the U.S. meets these biofuel goals, that will aid in cutting roughly 25 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions that some scientists say must be eliminated by 2030. Is that enough?
There is no way we're doing enough with this law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it is a significant step in beginning to reduce them. There are a lot of other things we need to do as well. A lot of greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings and coal-fired power plants. We do very little in this legislation to deal with that. So there's a lot we're not addressing. I think these are significant steps, but they're not anywhere near the level of effort bound to be required to beat the problem scientists have defined. On the other hand, this is more than we've ever done.
© 2007
- 1
- 2
Discuss