First off, my disclosure, i’ve lived my whole life within 50 miles of the headquarters of each of the Big 3, now the Detroit 3, first in Michigan and now in Ontario.  So, i have a vested interest in the US auto companies surviving, while at the same time, i want to solve global warming.  There is an inherent conflict between the goal of saving the planet and gasoline powered cars and trucks. The only way to achieve an environmentally friendly vehicle is to create only non-emitting vehicles, most likely the electric vehicles that are starting to be launched and announced over the last year.  The transition to electric vehicles is expected to take 20 years, in the mean time, governments are increasing fleet mileage requirments to help reduce emissions.

Higher mileage requirements are on the way, the state of California has legislated it, others states have joined the standard and President Obama has weighed in with his support of the same.  Is it any surprise that the Detroit 3, Michigan’s govenor, senators and congressional deligation are less receptive to these tougher standards.  Whenever it’s come to high mileage (translate that to small) cars, Detroit has repeatedly failed to succeed in the marketplace, so the reaction in auto country is understood.  But what if we can help put Detroit in (dare i say ‘The Driver’s Seat’) an adventageous position through legislation that helps auto makers meet these standards by rewarding them for alternative energy vehicles.

My proposal is simple, reward automakers for selling rechargeable electric cars, that can run at least 40 miles without charging, whether a 100% electric or a plug-chargeable hybrid.  The idea would be to take the EPA mileage rating of a plug-in hybrid on a single tank tank of gas and let automakers double it for the purpose of calculating an overall average fleet fuel mileage.  Say the new Chevy volt can be charged up, filled with 10 gallons of gas and driven 500 miles for a average of 50 miles per gallon of gas, GM could add the sale of 1 car with a 100 mpg (50 miles x 2) to their overal fleet.  If a car was fully electric, with no gas engine, the manufacturer could take the range of the vehicle, per charge and triple it. For a 100% electric car that had a 100 mile range, the auto manufacturer who sold it could count it as a 300 mpg vehicle.  This incentivizes all auto manufactures, not only the Detroit 3, to introduce electric cars to help reach higher mileage standards, without limiting the range of hydrocarbon fueled vehicles they offer.  In short, this let’s Detroit sell SUVs and Pickups, if they can sell enough green vehicles to keep their fleet averages about the government’s minimum.

Electric vehicles are inherently more efficient than the internal combustion engine, so less CO2 is generated for each mile driven.  Electricity can be generated from large traditional power plants which are efficent to operate and limits the number of pollution sources compared to 100s of millions of gasoline powered vehicle.  Finally electric has number sources of generation including a growing number non-emitting, renewable sources.

As i write this article, the dispute between Russia’s Gazprom and the Ukraine Naftogaz is heading toward it’s second week and many contries, especially in central and southeastern Europe are suffering.  The suffering takes the form of economic losses due to fuel shortages and the human toll of the millions who rely on this gas to heat their homes and cook their food.  This crisis help focuses on the most important, non-environmental problem with fossil fuels: If you don’t have enough of the fuel in your country, you can fall victim to the whims of the market such as the $150 barrel of oil last summer and Gazprom/Naftogaz dispute today. 

The solution to these sorts of problems can be summerized in two words: Renewable Energy or even Green Energy if you prefer.  Yes, combining green power sources to replace dependence on fossil fuels allows local solutions to local problems.  In the current situation, it’s easy to cut off the supply of gas to Ukraine, but i doubt(i equivocate for humor’s sake)  the same can be done to stop the wind, sun and available biogas from supplying Ukraine’s needs. 

Since oil embargo of 1973, the facts have demonstrated that local sources of energy are more secure than those imported from far away lands.  Green energy might not supply the least expensive kilowatt hour of electricity, but it keeps money that is now being sent oil and gas suppliers in your own country.

Oh yeah, did I mention that replacing natural gas with green energy will reduce Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) and help fight global warming too?  Let’s hope that the opponents of fighting climate change jump on the “keep the money at home” bandwagon and help hasten the end of our dependence on hydrocarbon fuels.