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If I was to write a kind response to your Low Carbon Standard
initiative I would say, "Shucks, looks like you missed the mark
again."
 
The problem with that response is that I would be dishonest. The
honest response is to say that once again the California government
and it's self-interested appointee organizations is about to level
another scam that milks and bilks the working public of its
hard-earned income.
 
If CARB or CALSTART really had any interest in low-carbon fuels;
freeing us from foreign oil dependency; and trying to make the
environment healthier; they would have long ago mandated the use of
the two fuels that are available to do the job. These two fuels are
compressed natural gas (CNG) and ethanol. Instead, they continue to
favor electric power, a solution that won't be affordable and in
meaningful availability for 2, 3, 4, 5 maybe 6 decades from now.
 
CNG and ethanol is available right now - today - and can be used by
the overwhelming majority of passenger vehicles that are currently
on the road; and in the case of ethanol, these vehicles would not
even require any engine conversions to use the fuel. Starting
immediately we could make an enormous reduction in harmful
emissions, while saving the public billions of dollars.
 
Nearly three years ago, to the day, California’s Air Resources
Board unanimously approved a package of new emissions rules that
they claimed would save drivers money, create jobs, and cut smog
and greenhouse gases under what was labeled “The Advanced Clean Car
Program.” 
 
This program only referred to electric. They never talked about the
contribution that ethanol and CNG could make. What was particularly
ironic was that the report from CARB stated that they relied in
part on Ron Cogan and his GREEN CAR JOURNAL to help them make their
decision to support their electric car program. But there was a
problem with this: they never consulted Ron Cogan, and Mr. Cogan
was not in favor of CARB's program. I know this because I discussed
it with him at the Los Angeles Auto Show that convened a few months
later. 
 
Even more interesting was the fact that just prior to CARB
unveiling this program, Mr. Cogan had bestowed (one again) his
company's Green Car Of The Year Award on the Honda Civic GX, car
powered exclusively by CNG. Honda won this award for virtually the
same vehicle just a few years earlier.
 
In addition, although CNG has received great press in the past
couple of years, California continues its refusal to allow existing
gasoline-powered passenger vehicles to be converted to CNG. If you
purchase a vehicle that was legally converted to CNG in another
state, and bring it into California, you can not register the
vehicle. CNG conversions are performed everyday around the rest of
the world. If there was a danger in doing so, we would be hearing
terrible stories about this everyday, rather than the terrible
stories we do hear everyday caused by people who are supported by
oil dictators.
 
Moreover, although today's CALSTART article finally does mention
CNG, they never said anything about the dearth of available new CNG
powered cars. For the past several years only Honda is regularly
producing CNG-powered vehicles - that is, if you can describe
annual production runs of about 2,000 vehicles to be regular. The
auto manufacturers make more electric vehicles per year than that,
and that low number is just a totally meaningless. If California
(and the EPA) removed their unjustified restrictions on CNG
conversions, at least millions of cars could be converted even if
there is no increase in the production of new CNG vehicles.
 
Not only is the number of electric cars being produced meaningless,
they are too expensive: for the consumers and for the auto
manufacturers. Consumers who purchase an electric car are paying a
significant premium over the true value of the car, and auto
manufacturers lose thousands of dollars on every electric car they
sell. Sergio Marchione, CEO of Chrysler-Fiat says it best: "Our
electric Fiat 500 is great, but please don't buy them; we lose too
much money."
 
Added to the cost and availability problems with electric cars is
the fact that battery production makes us dependent on China. At
present, there's little to suggest that reliance on China is any
better than reliance on foreign petroleum oil. 
 
Incidentally, 100% of our CNG and ethanol supply is produced
domestically, and none of the ethanol producers are owned by
foreign or terrorist controlled regimes. No American serviceman or
woman have ever been killed defending the domestic production and
distribution of ethanol.
 
So when CARB, CALSTART, Jerry Brown and the California Legislature
say "Let's Keep Going," what they mean is let's keep milking and
bilking the working public; let's keep padding our staffs with
additional friends, relatives and campaign donors.