In his State of the Union address last month, President Bush announced a grand objective of reducing gasoline use in the U.S. by 20% by 2017. In an effort to keep the spotlight on the issue, the President yesterday visited a plant in North Carolina that’s researching the science of alternative fuels. He’s been making tech/energy media trips lately, playing up the notion that America can R&D its way out of its growing reliance on foreign oil.
The sky’s the limit for alternative fuels, the President advised on Wednesday. “Someday you’re going to be able to get in your car, particularly if you’re a big city person, and drive 40 miles on a battery,” he said via The Guardian. “And by the way, your car doesn’t have to look like a golf cart. It could be a pickup truck.”
The notion of using corn and other domestic supplies of home-grown materials to produce fuel is an optimist’s dream. The stakes are certainly high. If the United States could reduce imports of foreign oil, the savings would be huge, delivering a massive windfall on the economy.