State legislators and energy experts discuss ways to battle the effects of pollution, global warming and dependency on oil.
By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times
If, as Al Gore maintains in his recently released documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” Malibu and other coastal communities are in danger of being submerged by rising sea levels due to what some say is a warming climate phenomenon, it is incumbent upon the ordinary citizen to contribute to efforts to stem the tide, a panel of energy experts and state legislators said at a hearing last week in Santa Monica.
Global warming, air pollution and dependency on oil were the topics at the hearing titled, “The Future of Alternative Fuels in California,” which took place at Santa Monica College Concert Hall on Friday, headed by Fran Pavley, assemblymember for the 41st District, which includes Malibu. Pavley brought together a panel of experts, chaired with state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, to discuss ways to combat the effects of global warming and finding ways to increase the use of alternative fuels.
“One of the biggest disappointments of my three terms in the Assembly has been the lack of political leadership at the federal level in dealing with this global issue,” Pavley said in a press release prior to the hearing. “Instead, the political clout of the oil industry and the automobile companies has dominated, killing any initiatives to address this issue.”
“The U.S. has 5 percent of the world’s population, yet contributes 25 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions [the main contributor to global warming] generated by the burning of fossil fuels,” Pavley said.
Sen. Kuehl noted that, “We who grew up in California during the ’40s and ’50s have watched our air go bad because of cars.”
Worsening air quality has seen a dramatic rise of pulmonary illnesses in California, she added. “In the Central Valley,” Kuehl said, “more than half of the kids carry inhalers to school due to their asthma.”
As a consumer of energy, California ranks first in the U.S. and second in the world, and is the 12th largest global contributor of greenhouse gas emission. Pavley and other legislators in California are working to help to solve these issues.
This year, Pavley introduced AB32, the “California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006,” designed to coordinate emission reductions of greenhouse gases and climate change activity in state government. Although the bill has strong support from Speaker Fabian Nuñez and at least 40 other legislators, it faces tough challenges from big oil interests and the California Chamber of Commerce. If the average citizen wants to see action taken on AB32, Pavley said, “Encourage your city council, board of supervisors, members of Congress and all civic organizations to support this bill.”
With more than a million cars on the road in Los Angeles County alone, transportation is the one of the biggest influences on efforts to combat global warming. With the current conventional wisdom being that alternative, clean burning fuels are our future, Pavley invited representatives from the ethanol, FlexFuels, bio diesel, natural gas and hydrogen fuel cell industries to report on the status of research for these new energies in the marketplace.
Spencer Swayze of Ceres, Inc., a biotech firm in Thousand Oaks, noted that Brazil recently reduced its dependence on foreign oil to zero, thanks to its aggressive market introduction of sugar cane-based ethanol.
“But cellulose-based ethanol [such as ethanol made from switch grass, a tall-growing grass found in marshes, lakeshores, and meadows],” Swayze said, “is even more efficient than starch-based ethanol.”
The trick is to get the ethanol to the consumer, in a society where alternative fuel distribution centers are rare. Robert Babik, of General Motors, insists it is a matter of demand.
“Ask your local gas station retailer why he doesn’t have an ethanol pump and tell him you’ll go to the station down the street to find one,” Babik said of what consumers can do to encourage supply of alternative fuels.
Catherine Dunwoody of the California Fuel Cell Partnership conceded that the current prototype for a fuel cell-run vehicle is prohibitively expensive for the average consumer. “But it is the future” she said.
Lisa Mortenson of Community Fuels noted that the environmental benefits of biodiesel, which can be made from soybean or vegetable oils, among others oils and fats, are available today: “It’s nontoxic, renewable and flexible, as any diesel car can run on both biodiesel and petrol diesel.”
The South Bay area has dozens of biodiesel pumps available, including at the USA Petroleum station in Pacific Palisades. Priced at $3.49 per gallon, it is comparable with petrol fuel and gives almost the same mileage.
Santa Monica has taken the lead in Southern California in converting its fleet of city cars to “alt-fuel” vehicles. City Council member Kevin McKuhn, who arrived at the hearing on his bicycle, noted that Santa Monica has several electric and biodiesel-run vehicles and one of the only plug-in hybrid cars (125 mpg) on city streets. Alluding to the continuing unrest in the Middle East, McKuhn said, “Alternative fuels are a nonviolent alternative.”
Pavley also announced that an “Alt-Fuel” Car Show will take place Dec. 9-10 at the Santa Monica Pier, where the Wheels of Change will be displayed, including the Toyota Plug-In Prius, the Honda Natural Gas-run Civic, the Ecolimo, which received a Sustainable 41 Award for Environmentally Friendly business practices from Pavley’s office, and the Honda FCX, the fuel cell-powered vehicle of tomorrow.