Foreign
oil dependency: It's in the governments hands
Monday, October 20, 2008
Converting
a Prius to a plug-in Prius
A lot of Toyota
Prius drivers, as well as the owners of other hybrid
cars, can't wait to be able to plug-in their hybrids.
Plugging in significantly increases fuel economy and,
therefore, significantly reduces both carbon and foreign
oil footprints.
Sadly, however, all hybrid drivers combined make up a
minuscule percentage of American drivers. Converting all
of these drivers into plug-in hybrid drivers would have
very little overall effect on either global warming or
foreign oil dependency.
Many more need to be converted into hybrid vehicles and
other fuel efficient technologies.
As gas prices increased, fortunately, polls indicated
American interest in hybrids also increased - as long as
the costs of hybrids were similar to non-hybrids. But,
what happens to this interest if gas prices decline?
"Declining oil prices can give us an artificial and
temporary sense that reducing oil consumption and energy
consumption is an issue we can put off," said
Greg Kats, a managing director of Good Energies, a
multibillion-dollar venture capital firm that invests in
global clean energy.
Quite simply, most consumers are not idealistic enough to
ween America off oil any time soon, especially if gas
prices continue their slide. Yet, the longer America waits
to end foreign oil dependency, the greater the dangers of
foreign oil dependency. It's Russian Roulette.
Thus, isn't it time for the government to develop an
energy policy that guarantees the end of foreign oil
dependency by a specific date? Considering the government
effort it will take to keep US automakers in business,
isn't it time for a government/industry partnership?
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