McCain Would Sponsor $300 Million Battery Prize
June 24, 2008
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Senator John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, said that if elected he would introduce a $300 million prize for the automaker that develops a battery that ‘leapfrogs’ commercially available hybrid or plug-in cars. The new battery would be a big step in fighting global warming as it would help bring to market a technology that would allow drivers to drastically cut their carbon footprint.
This announcement came in a speech where Senator McCain introduced a number of other initiatives that would help the US reduce their dependency on foreign oil and tackle global warming.
McCain unveiled a plan called the Clean Car Challenge that would give a $5000 tax credit for everyone who buys a zero-emissions car. This would help new technology that could lower your carbon footprint to reach the masses much faster than otherwise possible.
“For every automaker who can sell a zero-emissions car, we will commit a $5000 tax credit for each and every customer who buys that car.” McCain later continued, “For other vehicles, whatever type they may be, the lower the emissions, the higher the tax credit.”
McCain also discussed imposing stricter fines on car makers that don’t meet regulated fuel efficiency standards, and opening the biofuels industry to foreign imports by reducing tariffs. This is aimed mostly at ethanol derived from sugar cane that is produced in Brazil, which is far more efficient than the corn-based ethanol produced in America.
All of these measures would be a big step towards helping individuals cut their carbon footprint and stopping global warming. However, it remains to be seen if any of these actually make it into law.
More importantly, this is another sign of the importance of global warming in the presidential election. After these proposals from McCain, Obama will feel the need to respond with similar green initiatives of his own. This back and forth could continue all the way to November making global warming a central theme of the election.
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