Thursday, June 26, 2008
McCain offers $300m bounty to develop green car
Republican presidential nominee wants to to cut US oil dependency
John McCain, the Republican presidential hopeful, has proposed a $300m (£153m) prize to encourage the development of fuel-efficient cars.
McCain is offering the money to whoever can develop a car battery that is 30 per cent more efficient than current hybrids and helps reduce the US’s dependency on foreign oil.
The bounty equates to roughly $1 for every US citizen.
The Arizona senator has also proposed harsher fines for carmakers that skirt current fuel-efficiency standards and is pushing incentives to increase the use of alcohol-based fuels such as ethanol.
McCain has said another way to drop fuel prices – which have reached a record $4 per gallon in the States – would be to follow though with President Bush’s proposal to lift federal bans on off-shore oil drilling.
Democratic nominee Barack Obama has spoken out against this plan, stating it would not reduce America’s immediate concerns regarding fuel costs.
Lifting the ban could be risky, according to a recent study by the US government.
According to its findings, there is a 33-51 per cent chance of a major spill in the lifetime of an offshore oil and gas lease in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska.
DATED: 26.06.08
FEED: MT
John McCain, the Republican presidential hopeful, has proposed a $300m (£153m) prize to encourage the development of fuel-efficient cars.
McCain is offering the money to whoever can develop a car battery that is 30 per cent more efficient than current hybrids and helps reduce the US’s dependency on foreign oil.
The bounty equates to roughly $1 for every US citizen.
The Arizona senator has also proposed harsher fines for carmakers that skirt current fuel-efficiency standards and is pushing incentives to increase the use of alcohol-based fuels such as ethanol.
McCain has said another way to drop fuel prices – which have reached a record $4 per gallon in the States – would be to follow though with President Bush’s proposal to lift federal bans on off-shore oil drilling.
Democratic nominee Barack Obama has spoken out against this plan, stating it would not reduce America’s immediate concerns regarding fuel costs.
Lifting the ban could be risky, according to a recent study by the US government.
According to its findings, there is a 33-51 per cent chance of a major spill in the lifetime of an offshore oil and gas lease in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska.
DATED: 26.06.08
FEED: MT
