Let us begin with the money shot, courtesy BiofuelsDigest. “If it were up to me, I would put every cent into electric cars.” That would be the US Secretary of Energy, Dr. Steven Ch, at a meeting on alternative fuels, according to “a source present at the meeting.” As a part of an administration whose election campaign received cash and free jet travel from ethanol producer Archer Daniel Midlands—not to mention political support from farming states for whom the term “pork barrel” seems to have been invented—Chu’s remarks were, shall we say, politically inadvisable. And so the DOE’s Director of Public Affairs swung into damage control mode: ”I can’t verify the quote you are using from an undisclosed source at an undisclosed meeting, which is at best wildly out of context,” Dan Leistikow backpedals. “Secretary Chu talks about the potential of biofuels in nearly every public speech, as well as on Facebook and Youtube.” Thanks for the YouTube link Danny. Meanwhile, the only Facebook page I can find is “The fans of Steven Chu,” which celebrates “the erudite hotness of Nobel Laureate/eco-warrior Steven Chu.” Strangely, there’s no mention of the torrid subject of bio-fuels to be found.
7 Comments on “Department of Energy in Hot Water Over Electric Vehicle Love...”
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Funny, Toyota is putting its money into hydrogen research with electricity on the back burner,( no pun )
There is no consensus on which approach or approaches will be successful, nor is there even a true front-runner. Many short term successes become long-term failures (Betamax? Dos?). Smart alternative vehicle investors at this time should diversify.
A quick wiki search tells me that biofuels are burned to create electricity anyways. So…what’s the problem?
I hope ADM isn’t trying to push ethanol (from corn). I thought we were moving away from that because “they” all quietly agreed that it was the worst idea ever.
“Funny, Toyota is putting its money into hydrogen research with electricity on the back burner,( no pun )”
Um, Toyota has two electric vehicles coming out within the next couple years, while their hydrogen vehicle is “5 years away” (the same distance it’s been for the past 10 years)
Patapon,
Former general and presidential candidate Wesley Clark is leading an effort to get the ethanol content in gasoline bumped from 10% to 15%. Ethanol-from-corn lobbying has not quieted at all.
”I can’t verify the quote you are using from an undisclosed source at an undisclosed meeting…” –Dan Leistikow
Danny-boy, you “protest too much, methinks.” One can’t know it to be “wildly out of context” if it’s not verifiable.
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Let’s wise-up & move away from using food sources as vehicle fuel.
I respect the energy dudes wanting all electric cars, but it reminds me of how conformed the world has always been when choosing leaders. Chu sounds outright stubborn, ignorant, and arrogant, and I mean that in the nicest way possible, really. All he gets is hot water for this? (lol). We need a more open minded person imo. I don’t care what the lobbyists want (but I’ll listen). I want well thought out conclusions, not fairy tale happily ever after through electric cars or corn fields fantasies.