The Hybrid Oscar-Hybrid Post

It's Oscar Sunday (second only to Super Bowl Sunday in American media-created holidays--and, indeed, Cracks Centraal is hosting quite the shindig), and you know what that means: Hollywood stars driving up to the red carpet in hybrid cars. It's already been reported that George Clooney, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Frances McDormand will be arriving either Toyota or Lexus hybrid cars. Be sure to tune in early to see who else might be popping out of a Prius.

You gotta admit, though, that it's a somewhat sad commentary when it comes down to Hollywood stars (albeit, deep and meaningful actors who also happen to be part of Hollywood's current celestial map) promoting energy effiicient vehicles rather than the government. Sure, President Bush can tout tax credits and tour battery factories--but until people see more than just Jennifer Aniston riding around in a Prius, it just won't seem anything other than a fashion statement to the larger populace. (Well, that and the initial sticker shock at the moment.)

Laurie David (aka, the very green wife of Larry David, star/writer of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, whose character--also named Larry David--has been a longtime driver of a Prius) has been working hard over the last couple of years to bring more awareness of global warming to the masses. Her big project is the virtual march through all 50 states at StopGlobalWarming.org, which you can add your name to and join such luminaries as John McCain, Barack Obama, Washington Senator Maria Cantwell, Seattle Mayor Greg "Gridlock" Nickels, James Taylor, Julia Louis Dreyfus, and more. It certainly isn't as motivating a site as, say, MoveOn.org, but I signed on as a marcher get occasional news bits via email. Laurie is also a regular blogger over at the HuffPo, and she's got a good post this weekend summing up some of the successes in getting the word out from this last week:

[W]e had a number of effective voices being raised on the issue this week, led by Barak Obama and New York Times columnist Tom Friedman (who coined the catch phrase for 2006: "Green is the new red, white, and blue").

Speaking to a gathering of the nation's governors, Obama called our leaders' efforts to reduce America's dependence on oil a "trance of inaction", pointing out: "President Bush's funding for renewable fuels is at the same level it was the day he took office. He refuses to call for even a modest increase in fuel efficiency for cars and trucks." Obama's suggestion: "health care for hybrids," in which the federal government would help pay retiree health costs for auto workers in exchange for the auto industry agreeing to make more fuel efficient cars. That's a terrific idea. Instead of closing factories and laying off workers, Detroit could take a step into the future -- and actually start making money again.

Here's another suggestion: why doesn't the federal government, in an act of leadership, demand that every vehicle purchased by the U.S. government must get over 30 mpg (unless a lower mpg vehicle is required for a specific task)? Boom: guaranteed business for Detroit's newly retooled factories and the chance to start making cars Americans actually want (for the first time since it began publishing, Consumer Reports awarded all of its Top Ten best new car picks to Japanese brands).

For months now, Tom Friedman has been saying that the only solution to breaking our dependence on oil is to raise the gasoline tax -- which in now a miniscule 18 cents a gallon. And a new New York Times/CBS poll this week provided jaw-dropping evidence that Americans would support such a tax increase -- as long as it was used to slow global warming and reduce our oil dependence.

Speaking of George Clooney, seems he's also ordered an electric car--the Tango (which is still aways away from being close to a consumer car).

Here's a summary of other recent news tidbits on hybrid/alternative-energy/gas-efficient vehicles:

• Green Car Congress notes a news report from Agence France Presse that GM expects to have hydrogen fuel cell cars in dealerships in four to nine years.
  
  
• Wired's Autotopia blog notes that Republican Senator Chuck Grassley (Iowa) and Montana Democratic Senator Max Baucus have drafted a bill that would provide the same tax loophole (for a tax credit of up to $25,000) to small businesses who currently use this loophole to purchase big trucks and SUVs. Despite their support for cleaner, more efficient vehicles, they're not for this measure.
  
  
• Autotopia also has a post on the lovely prototype hybrid diesel Citroen C4, which can get up to 84 miles per gallon. God, how I'd love for Peugeot/Citroen to come to America--I fell in love with their cars when Mrs. F and I were in Paris last year (how long ago that seems...).
  
  
• One of the complaints about hybrid cars has been their cost, but as this market matures, the prices will inevitably go down. And it could be happening sooner than later. Treehugger notes a report from Japan that it might release a hybrid version of its compact five-door Fit model possibly as soon as spring of 2007.
  

For even more news about green cars, check out the latest This Week in Sustainable Transportation over at the WorldChanging blog.

Here's hoping Clooney wins an award tonight, and he drives onto the stage in his Tango to pick it up...

Happy Oscars!