Lamar! Alexander thinks that all of us about to graduate will soon be driving plug-in hybrid vehicles to get to work.
He predicted that many graduates will be driving the plug-in cars and trucks to and from work in five years and reduce fuel costs to just a dollar or two.
He said Nissan, Toyota and General Motors all will introduce plug-in hybrids in 2010 and that Memphis-based FedEx is using plug-in trucks in their delivery fleets.
I don't know. I'd like to get a hybrid, but I got my Altima back in 2005, it only has 10,000 miles on it, and it still runs just fine. And it gets great mileage. I would consider getting the new Altima hybrid for my next car, but that won't be for awhile.
Still, this strikes me as a weird statement coming from someone like Lamar! He's not exactly known for deeply caring about the environment or renewable energy--he has a lifetime rating of 12 (out of 100) from the League of Conservation Voters.
And pardon me if I'm not understanding something here, but isn't the biggest obstacle with plug-in cars is that they have to be, well, plugged into something? Where is that energy going to come from? Unless you're connected to some sort of renewable energy source (and most Americans aren't), wouldn't you still be using energy from fossil fuels? Woudn't that just shift the costs of oil from your gas bill to your electric bill? Granted, it may not use as much oil, but it still doesn't address the central problem. I was always under the impression that plug-in hybrid vehicles wouldn't work as a long-term method of reducing energy dependence unless they were used in conjunction with some other form of renewable energy.
Lamar!, of course, has long been known as an opponent of renewable energy, especially wind power.
Vote for someone who doesn't just want to slap a Band-Aid on the problem.
-Bob Tuke for U.S. Senate
-Mike Padgett U.S. Senate
UPDATE: In the comments section, my good friend Jackson points out that with the current state of the economy, it'll be awhile before a lot of college grads are even able to afford new cars, much less hybrids.
6 comments:
Re: plugin hybrids.
First of all, you don't need a personal car. You're living in St. Louis; the bus system & the light rail line are plenty (they really are, though I don't seriously expect you to listen ... maybe if Zipcar comes to St. Louis??? )
As for plug-ins, yes, you're not understanding something (but you're definitely pardoned :))
We are in a far better situation regarding electricity than we are with liquid fuels.
Especially if you ignore the environment.
We've got plenty of uranium (although I'm fine with building more nuclear plants because it seems better than any other viable alternative that we can currently use as a baseload) and even more coal [coal is about the only thing we still export].
But even otherwise, we're still in a better position for electricity generation than for liquid fuel.
Lamar Alexander may not be a big fan of the environment. But he is a big fan of getting jobs in Tennessee.
More Nissan Hybrids = More Tennessee (specifically, Smyrna) jobs.
This isn't something I have a real problem with, frankly. For my next car, I want a Metro Nashville-made Hybrid.
There's absolutely no problem with it, but it has to be done in conjunction with long-term solutions for renewable energy. That's why I think it's odd and hypocritical coming from Lamar!
It's a mere band-aid, sure...but I wouldn't call it hypocritical or odd. Just not conservation-minded.
All cars I buy for the next two decades will be piece of shit clunkers, like my current 1985 Chevy celebrity with > 200,000 miles on it and until two weeks ago did not technically pass inspections due to missing a filter in the tailpipe
if he's banking on graduates buying new cars he should look at the escalating average student debt
between high debt, lack of available credit, a tough job market and flatlining wages a lot of new graduates won't ever be able to get a mortgage for a house much less buy a shiny hybrid
About 10 years ago "plug in stations" started showing up at parking lots in Los Angeles. I remember seeing them on on-street parking sites, even. You had to drive a plug-in vehicle to park in one of these places, which in Los Angeles is incentive enough.
This becomes an even better idea if one's energy comes from a clean source like solar or wind. I've read about a bright energy future in which individual homes become energy-generating "power plants." In addition to recharging your car at night, while selling back any excess energy generated to the power grid.
The bottom line is, nothing is going to change without massive governmental investment. We really need an "Apollo project" for energy. And honestly, we can't afford not to at this point. Look at how much we're spending on the Iraq War. If we'd devoted even a quarter of those resources to alternative energy technology, we'd be way ahead of the game.
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