Remember John McCain’s energy policy proposal to have a contest for developing better batteries for hybrid cars.

His proposal was to award something like $350,000,000.00 to the company that developed a new battery to be used in plug-in hybrid cars.  When combined with Drill, Baby, Drill and the usual oil, gas and coal industry propaganda, it sounded pretty lame.  For the most part, McCain was talking about continuing our energy policy of the last 50 years, CHEAP GAS!!

But now it turns out that this battery building contest may have been more than a greenwash.

An article in the November 24, 2008 issue of Automotive News has this headline:

Japan poised to control key batteries

Panasonic-Sanyo deal yet another worry for Detroit 3

As if General Motors, Ford and Chrysler didn’t have enough to worry about, the stars are aligning for them to be pulling their hair out over another issue caused by sleeping at the switch.

From the same Automotive News article:

“The worry is that America’s reliance on imported oil will be supplanted by reliance on imported batteries”.

A combined Panasonic/Sanyo will control a majority of the market for both the nickel metal hydride batteries, used in current hybrids, and the lithium ion batteries that will be the next automotive power source.  Sanyo is already the top producer of lithium ion batteries for cellphones, computers and the like and Panasonic produces 83% of the nickel metal hydride batteries used in vehicles today.

Here are some videos about current hybrids and electric cars:

Electric cars with Nickel Metal Hydride batteries you can buy today

http://endependence.info/research/videos-c-1-v-107.html

The Tesla Sports Car that uses Lithium Ion batteries

http://endependence.info/research/videos-c-1-v-41.html

In the spirit of taking good ideas no matter which side of the aisle they come from, the Obama clean up crew (lots to clean up after eight years) should think seriously about McCain’s battery contest proposal.

Endependence is energy independence that ends dependence on polluting fuels.

Every barrel of oil we don’t consume reduces the market and political power of nations such as Saudi Arabia, no matter where that barrel would have come from. Likewise, every barrel we don’t consume helps the environment and slows global warming, and whether it is foreign or domestic oil makes no difference. Energy conservation is what’s important. Energy independence doesn’t matter. -By Roger Sant and Michael Kinsley Sunday, December 14, 2008; Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/12/AR2008121203280.html

Our sentiments exactly, energy independence doesn’t matter.  Energy Independence is politician speak for “we’re not really going to do anything about our energy challenges.”

That is why we are starting a War for Endependence, the key ingredient of which is ending dependence on polluting fuels.

Sant and Kinsley make the point quite well that the only true independence from “foreign oil” or let’s say “foreign oil from countries we don’t like” will come from reducing our oil consumption to the point where we are only using our own oil or oil from countries we do like.

So, how do we use an ever decreasing amount of oil while keeping a vibrant economy and a good standard of living.  The answer is combination of conservation and substituting renewable energy for oil and other polluting fuels.

Plot it out.  Personal, Local, State and Federal.

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