In past State of the Union Addresses, President Bush has mentioned hydrogen cars as one of the main solutions to America’s addiction to foreign oil and cleaning up the environment. Other technologies such as advanced batteries, hybrid vehicles and ethanol have also been mentioned as part of the solution.
In the 2007 State of the Union Address, hydrogen cars were not mentioned at all. The other alternative energy technologies that were mentioned include ethanol, clean coal, solar, wind, advanced batteries for plug-in and hybrid vehicles and safe nuclear energy.
For the first time also, President Bush has connected the use of these alternative energy technologies not only to national security, but also to combat “global climate change.” In each State of the Union Address for 2003, 2005 and 2006, hydrogen cars were discussed as solutions to protecting the environment and reducing dependence upon foreign oil.
In 2003, President Bush stated, “Tonight I’m proposing $1.2 billion in research funding so that America can lead the world in developing clean, hydrogen-powered automobiles.” In 2005, he stated, “And my budget provides strong funding for leading-edge technology – from hydrogen-fueled cars, to clean coal, to renewable sources such as ethanol.” And, in 2006, Mr. Bush, stated, “We must also change how we power our automobiles. We will increase our research in better batteries for hybrid and electric cars, and in pollution-free cars that run on hydrogen.”
So, what happened with talking about hydrogen cars as a viable long-term solution to environmental and national security concerns is anyone’s guess. Hurricane Katrina and the city of New Orleans was also not discussed. There were also many other agendas that were dropped from this speech as well. Getting one’s nose out of joint, though, for failing to be mentioned will only strengthen our resolve for overcoming obstacles and building for a bright future ahead. Will hydrogen cars make the cut in next year’s speech? The odds are in its favor.
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