Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Show Me The Green

Here's a "money where your mouth is" opportunity for Al Gore. Rick Haglund, at mlive.com, suggests that the former V.P., turned environmental advocate, could revolutionize the auto industry:

It's time for him to stop relying on the bully pulpit and the big screen, and put some skin in the game. He should buy Chrysler, which parent DaimlerChrysler put up for sale in February, and make it the greenest automaker on the planet.

Dump Chrysler's gasoline-fueled internal combustion engines altogether and replace them with fuel cells, electric motors and engines that run on biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel.

Haglund thinks Gore could raise the cash to buy Chrysler by tapping into all the celebrity eco-consciousness, and environmental activism, and that his political connections and Democratic union ties could serve him well in making a go of turning the auto industry green. The theory is that if one company can do it at a profit, the others will follow.

Interesting idea. I wonder if there's any chance that some such thing could ever happen, not specifically with Mr. Gore, but with any of the big money environmental champions who want to change the way America gets around? They say the best way to lead is to go someplace first yourself. If it really is possible for auto makers to "eliminate the internal combustion engine over the next couple of decades," as Gore contends, then what better way to prove it than to be willing to be the one taking the financial risks to make it happen?

HT: Instapundit