Federal clean car legislation
There are a few news items about fuel economy that I've been meaning to write about. The Star Tribune has a good editorial about legislation that passed the Senate to improve fuel efficiency. Also, if you missed coverage of the Senate energy bill, check out this New York Times article. The Senate's support for better fuel standards is encouraging but pro-pollution Republicans managed to block legislation that would have encouraged a responsible course on clean energy generation.
The above Star Tribune editorial mentions this interview with Dick Durbin and Missouri Senator Kit Bond about fuel standards. Kit Bond, who receives hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the oil and auto industries, chooses to ignore the interests of the people he represents by repeating the bogus scare tactics of the auto industry. Durbin had a great line about the auto manufacturers and their doomsday predictions:
I think America can meet this challenge. I'm optimistic. And I think, if some of the Detroit manufacturers spend a little more time with their engineering department rather than their legal department, that they could meet this challenge.
Barack Obama is talking a lot about this issue. His statement about the Senate bill calls it a "modest first step" and mentions his Low Carbon Fuel Initiative. He also introduced a bill with Republican Orrin Hatch and Maria Cantwell to promote plug-in hybrids, which I think is the most promising technology for the near future.
Clean Cars is an issue I've been focusing on lately and all of this news reminds me of why I think Illinois has the best representation in the US Senate of any state in the nation.