My thought exactly....
House Scams American Public with New (CNG) Natural Gas Bill
EDITOR'S NOTE: You'd think I'd be happy, being the big supporter of CNG that I am. But I'm not. I'm completely and totally pissed off.
This bill, as you'll read below, directs the Secretary of Energy to conduct a "five-year program of natural gas vehicle research, development, and demonstration..."
THIS IS INSANE. There's no need for a 5-year reasearch program; the technology, the mechanics, the distribution is already here. Virtually every car manufacturer is experienced in building vehicles powered by CNG. I currently own and drive a 2001 Dodge factory CNG van. If the technology were any more perfected it would have the ability to freakin' fly!
Conversion kits are already available for existing vehicles, and there's a base community of mechanics qaulified in installing the conversation kits (true, we need more, but the University of West Virginia has a nationwide college program to address this need). New research and development is a joke. We need only implementation. We need a national bill that immediately throws out federal and state laws that were put into place by the money of the gasoline gasoline lobby that keep CNG conversions of existing vehicles from happening.
Everyone that has supported or now cheers this bill's passage should be ashamed, including NGVAmerica, who know damn well that there's no need for more R&D funding and research. Instead of throwing away millions of dollars and five years to study this issue we should be mandating the elimination of all new gasoline powered vehicles by 2014.
WASHINGTON - July 20, 2009: Today, the House of Representatives, by unanimous consent, passed H.R. 1622 – a bill that would direct the Secretary of Energy to: (1) conduct a five-year program of natural gas vehicle research, development, and demonstration; and (2) coordinate with the natural gas vehicle industry and with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding streamlining the certification of natural gas conversion systems to federal certification requirements and in-use emission standards.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK), who has been a champion in support of natural gas vehicle issues.
“We commend Mr. Sullivan’s committed leadership on this issue,” said Richard Kolodziej, president of NGVAmerica. “NGVs can make an even greater impact on displacing foreign oil while reducing greenhouse gases and urban pollution. But to do so we need more natural gas engines integrated into more vehicle platforms. The two parts of this bill would help do that by providing federally supported R&D funding and streamlining the EPA certification process for conversion equipment to get more conversion equipment into the market faster and with less cost.”
The bill would authorize $30 million a year from fiscal 2010 to 2014 for natural gas vehicle research and development. |
