Sep

Richardson: you won’t lose your SUV

Posted by admin Published in Biodiesel, Tesla, Ethanol, Legislation and Policy

Salon has an interview with Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson. He is probably the main candidate on green issues. He talks about a number of things including CAFE, biofuels and electric cars. In contrast to recent statements by John Edwards, Bill says you don’t have to give up your SUV. He says “what I’m asking for is not sacrifice, like Americans’ wearing sweaters and turning the heat down. What I’m asking for is being increasingly energy-efficient with appliances, with vehicles, with mass transit. … You can have an SUV with a fuel-efficient engine. We do have the technology to accomplish that.”

When asked whether Detroit could reach his proposed 50 MPG CAFE by 2020, he says “Detroit will benefit from that. We’ve got the technology. They need a little gentle prodding and they need incentives, but Detroit has always stepped up with ingenuity. They must realize that to keep jobs in America, to be

part of that globalized world, they gotta compete. I’m not at all averse to giving Detroit tax incentives for these vehicles or having the government jointly invest in R&D with them, rather than clubbing them by the head. ”

Bill wants to support ethanol by helping gas stations convert at least one pump to ethanol and thinks the government should buy increasingly flex fuel vehicles. He plus believes “in cooperative ventures with other countries.” He would ” expand our ties to Latin America with increasingly collaboration in renewable energy and technology.” Bill walks the talk in New Mexico. He’s “very proud to get Tesla Motors to move here (New Mexico) from California.” plus, the governor’s fleet includes Ford Escape hybrid and Chevy Tahoe flex fuel.

[Source: Salon]

Original post by Lascelles Linton