Senator Kim Carr happily subsidises fossil fuel but not electric vehicles

It is very disappointing that the Australian Government continues to provide massive subsidies for fossil fuels - around $9 billion per year - while Senator Kim Carr has ruled out any subsidies for electric vehicles.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

The federal government instead believes the future of the car industry lies in the development of existing technology across petrol, diesel and LPG engines.

''It's not our intention to run programs to support any particular form of technology,'' Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Kim Carr said.

This is yet another example of the failure of the Australian Government and our elected representatives to provide leadership towards a low carbon future.

Electric vehicles can reduce our carbon emissions if they replace fossil fuel powered vehicles, and they can achieve zero emissions when the source of electricity for recharging them is 100% renewable energy.

This is also a missed opportunity to develop an electric vehicle that could be exported around the world.  China, France, Japan, the United States, Germany, Korea and India are all building electric vehicles.

Kim Carr's so called "green car fund" spends $1billion of Australian taxpayers money on very dubious projects such as a "green 6 cyclinder motor" (Ford Australia).

Not surprisingly, the oil companies in Australia regard their profits from fossil fuels to be "safe for 10 years".

Kim, the government should subside the development of low emissions technologies.  You should also remove all subsidies on fossil fuel use.

General Motors, going, going, nearly gone

I haven't yet written about the enormous changes we have seen over the last year or so - when the capitalist system and imploded into a chaotic mess of greed, dishonesty and confusion.

I am talking about the 2008 crash, when the world's financial system and economies unravelled in a very conspicuous manner. More on that later.

I have been watching the demise of General Motors with some interests. The company has been manufacturing mostly large an inefficient cars and trucks over a quite a long period. They have remained seemingly oblivious to the previous oil shocks and more recently, the arrival peak oil.

The crash and subsequent recession in the United States has hit GM hard. Nobody is buying their cars (mostly gas guzzlers) any more. However, GM employs a lot of people in the US and across the globe, including Australia.

So the Obama administration's automotive task force has overseen a massive bailout to try and keep them afloat.

Since late 2008, GM has received $US15.4 billion from the US Treasury to keep it afloat.

On April 22 2009, GM received an additional $US2 billion ($2.8 billion) in federal assistance.

So far, the best they can do is to "ditch the Pontiac brand", while keeping the GMC, Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick brands.

Who would have thought the United States government (and hence taxpayer) would give a failing corporation over $US 18 billion in bailout payments?

It is clear that to survive, GM needs to reinvent itself and start making cars or other products that people actually want to buy.

They should retool to make electric vehicles and think about getting into transport manufacturing for a low carbon economy future - perhaps very fast trains?

The latest deadline for GM is the threat of a bankruptcy filing if it can't meet a June 1 US deadline. Time will tell if the $18 billion of taxpayers money to keep them afloat is good money after bad.

Links

• GM to ditch Pontiac, gets more aid
• Green cars, Greenlivingpedia
  

We need electric cars and we need them now

The Australian car industry is going the way of the American one - a headlong rush to extinction. With long term rises in oil prices inevitable, the days of large petrol and diesel powered vehicles are numbered.

Cars with electric drive trains produce 30% less carbon emissions than those powered by internal combustion engines - even taking into account the emissions from coal fired power stations to generate the electricity. They can also transition to being supplied by zero emissions electricity as supplies come on line. Plug in hybrids would be suitable for those requiring a longer range.

Blade Electric Car

Yet, no major Australian manufacturer yet makes an electric car that would be suitable for the majority of short trips made every day in the city. There are less than 300 electric vehicles on Australian roads right now. Unfortunately, the $6.2 billion allocated by the Australian government to make the automotive industry more economically and environmentally sustainable is still focused on tinkering with making internal combustion engines more efficient and hybrids that still require petrol to operate.

This is a missed opportunity. We need electric cars to dramatically reduce our carbon emissions, and we need them now.

Links

• Green cars, Greenlivingpedia
• A New Car Plan For A Greener Future, Media release, Minister - Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Kim Carr and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
• Blade Electric Vehicle - Australia's first production electric vehicle