Al Gore plan to solve economic, energy and warming crises would boost electric car
As most Americans are aware, we are in the midst of several crises. Luckily, this country has people with, not only ideas, but also some clout to help see their ideas come to fruition. One of those people is According to Mr. Gore, the same things that are needed to tackle global warming will also solve our current economic and long-standing energy-security problem. He challenged America to look past the carbon-intensive 19th century technologies in use today and towards the renewable energy sources of solar, wind and geothermal that could be the basis of, not only our 21st century security and survival, but also our economic success. He also calls for a $400 billion investment in a "smart grid" to help handle bringing this future power to population centers and allow plug-in hybrids and electric cars to charge and share their energy when it is beneficial. Of course those cars should be built with American labor and so Gore calls for helping the "Big Three" and "innovative new startup companies" to begin the process of converting our fleet to vehicles that can use electricity as their source of energy. We can only hope that if this ambitious blueprint is implemented in whole or in part, it happens soon enough to pull Detroit's fat from the fire and spur future competitiveness from companies like the Teslas and Apteras of today.
[Source: New York Times]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mike!!ekiM 8:13AM (11/11/2008)
It's too bad we have to help the auto industry, and therefore help shortsighted management, that should be fired. With no long term focus, they virtually guaranteed their companies would eventually die.
One of the points in an interview that appeared hear or on AutoBlog, Management was focused on interviews from repeat buyers. And completely ignored the buyers who walked away. The yearly shrinkage of repeat buyers should have been their primary concern. Why didn't that buyer pick up another bigger better guzzling SUV, the only "car" we really want to sell? He must have been crazy.
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kert 9:13AM (11/11/2008)
The big three have played themselves into a corner they simply cannot get out of. Bankruptcy will make sure that only valuable parts will be bought up and retained.
Im sure Fiskers, Teslas etc will be happy to acquire quite a few bits of IP and talent from GM.
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Brian E 9:22AM (11/11/2008)
One word: "manbearpig"
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Schmeltz 9:43AM (11/11/2008)
Al Gore's suggesstion sounds remarkably similar to Shai Agassi's Better Place business being started in Isreal, Denmark, and Australia. Hopefully Obama will listen to these guys and get it rolling!
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TX CHL Instructor 10:22AM (11/11/2008)
Al Gore, the man who flies around in his private jet to lecture the Rest of Us on how we ought to live.
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Mike!!ekiM 10:26AM (11/11/2008)
Since bamboo plane's aren't available, what's your point?
TX CHL Instructor 3:03PM (11/13/2008)
I can see how a brain-damaged Liberal (capital "L") might miss the point. Should be perfectly clear to anyone else, though.
gorr 10:48AM (11/11/2008)
This is a dangerous incompetant that interfere with car manufacturers and their customers. Since political guys try to regulate car business for solving pollution all they have done is spend many billions from tax payers, forced manufacturers to lose billions in hydrogen researchs for nothing at all and now they try to kill manufacturers with battery technologies that is the most costly avenue for solving pollution. As of now no single car manufacturers is making money except toyota and honda, all the rest are near bankrupcy. It will cost 50x more money to change cars to batteries in new unproven invesments that it will cost to offer natural gas option for cars and big trucks and ships and big machineries. They are so afraid that i'll put some hydrogen gas in my natural gas converted limp neon 2005 that they choose to kill everything and they are killing chrsler, ford, gm first.
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paulwesterberg 11:05AM (11/11/2008)
It was the oil & car industry along with the bush administration that wanted to push hydrogen as the next fuel source because oil companies figured they could make it from reformulated natural gas.
Talking a lot about the "clean" cars of tomorrow the auto industry figured they could get their R&D subsidized by taxpayers without actually redesigning any of their existing car much beyond aesthetics. And since they were working on clean cars they could keep congress from requiring any significant improvements in mileage and emissions. Hydrogen has always been a huge bluffing game that never made sense from a scientific or business standpoint, but it generates a lot of positive marketing press releases.
Reptile 1:21PM (11/11/2008)
gorr said...
"As of now no single car manufacturers is making money except toyota and honda, all the rest are near bankrupcy."
Where do you get your facts?
Nissan - 126,344 mil. JPY
Daimler - 200 mil. EUR
Volvo - 1,977 mil. SEK
Volkswagen - 1,207 mil. EUR
And this is only for the last quarter.
Luke 3:06PM (11/11/2008)
I'll do anything he wants....Just don't let him use the PowerPoint again!
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state 3:34PM (11/11/2008)
"Al Gore and this past Saturday he had an editorial outlining his 5 point plan to solve the economic, energy and global warming crises in ten years"
So why did Al wait this long? He was VP for 8 years and did NOTHING. Other than cheap gas and SUVs.
Guess the speaking fees are a great incentive?
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s10 5:51PM (11/11/2008)
Maybe he became a wiser man during and after those 8 years and finally felt ready to talk about it in public?
david burgdorff 10:03PM (11/11/2008)
In the early 1990's both Gore and Clinton spoke about converting our transportation industry to natural gas. Given new sources available to us due to horizontal drilling and rock fracture this is clearly the way to go to address environmental and economic concerns.
I can't begin to imagine how intentionally choosing high cost renewables for 100% of our power generation would benefit our economy. We should go with nuclear and wind. We can include solar and geothermal if and when they become competitive.
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state 8:42AM (11/12/2008)
"In the early 1990's both Gore and Clinton spoke about converting our transportation industry to natural gas."
LOL, natural gas ;-) Hot air qualify as natural gas? All talk, no action, we are paying now for their do nothing approach.
MBS 10:34AM (11/12/2008)
I'm so sick of that two-faced, lying, profiteering, douchebag.
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