Do you have the balls to support this?
It's time to end the bullshit and solve our energy problems once and for all. We can either act decisively or be namby pamby. To be decisive involves tough choices. Here's how,
- Convert all natural gas power plants to coal power. Give governmental incentives, assign a technology level that is acceptable without question and cut the EPA crap, and require only American Technology and components.
- Require all new power plants to be nuclear plants. Give governmental incentives, protect the plants from challenges by the unenlightened, and require American Technology in all aspects of the content and components.
- Incent wind power projects which use 100% American Technology and get them up and running. Fasttrack new power line construction to the wind sites, and cut the red tape. 4) Set a minimum combined gas mileage of 30 mpg on any car, truck, SUV, or ANY vehicle used in a non-commercial activity.
- Tax any new or used vehicle sold which has an average mpg more than the national average fuel economy target and rebate taxes to any vehicle which gets better than the average. Put this on a sliding scale to magnify the incentive/disincentive aspect of the program.
What about high mileage cars, I say. Set a target to do it in 5 years. Make manufacturing of the large tank-like vehicles illegal, and only allow ultra-efficient vehicles to be manufactured. A rapid change in echnology required by the government? Why not, we did it with televisions, why not cars.
Here are a couple of great examples of what we can do right now. These vehicles do not have exotic technology involved and get great mileage. At the top left is the "Smart" Fortwo, a car to be manufactured by Daimler Chrysler. Fortwo is expected to get 40 miles per gallon, 60 mpg for the diesel version and is not a hybrid.
The second picture is of the Aptera, a car featured in the January 2008, Popular Science Magazine. This car is based on being extremely slippery in the airstream and has an extremely low coefficient of drag. This low drag, along with the low weight allows this hybrid to get 300 miles to the gallon. Think how such a national project would benefit us if managed properly. The only thing between energy independence and full satisfying employment is our need for huge cars.
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