The Ethanol Papers - Paperturn manuscript - Flipbook - Page 169
manufacturing facilities that seem to be mostly in the hands of ‘enemy’ nations
who could do to us what OPEC has done and is doing.
Furthermore, studies from car makers, think tanks and governments indicate
that electric vehicles may not really come into use as we would like until as late
as 2090. The Auto Channel has links to a number of these reports. CLICK
HERE for more information.
Second: plug-in hybrids, as we commonly know them, use gasoline-powered
internal combustion engines to either supplement or provide most of the power
used to put the vehicles in motion. The key word here is “gasoline,” the same
gasoline that is at the heart of the pollution. There is no requirement or mandated provision for the engines to be fueled by either a non-fossil-fuel fuel or a
domestically produced fossil-fuel fuel that causes less harmful emissions. Consequently, gasoline and diesel fuel pollution will continue by government mandate. This is like saying that the government has now mandated cigarette smoking.
Third: the number of zero-emission and plug-in hybrid vehicles mandated is
insignificant to bring about the program’s desired results. Even if there is some
amount of reduction in the amount of fossil fuel-borne pollution that emanates
from each zero-emission and plug-in hybrid vehicle, the number of total vehicles
on the road will continue to grow, thereby creating as much or more pollution
than we have at present.
It's also important to understand that classifying a vehicle as a plug-in hybrid
doesn't require it to conform to any better emissions standards, nor does it signify that it offers better fuel efficiency than full internal combustion engine vehicles. It simply defines the vehicle as being able to operate in two modes. A large
plug-in hybrid vehicle operating in gasoline ICE mode can get decidedly worse
fuel efficiency and cause more pollution than a smaller gasoline-powered vehicle. Indeed, some newer diesel-powered cars get equal or better fuel efficiency
with less harmful emissions than some hybrids. CARB's use of the blanket-term
"plug-in hybrid" without requiring anything special of the vehicle in terms of fuel
efficiency is an exaggerated category.
Fourth: the new rules provide no relief from the use of gasoline by the existing
vehicles on the road in favor of less harmful fuels. Nor do the new rules provide
an opportunity for the owners of the existing vehicles to convert them into lower
polluting machines.
