Awake at the Wheel

From the San Francisco Chronicle

STATE OF THE STATE
Bold move on global warming
A WORLD FIRST: Governor to order new standard to reduce carbon content of motor fuels

… Schwarzenegger contends that the new policy will help foster more investment in alternative fuels and that increased use of them, in turn, will prevent gasoline prices from rising.

“Competition from alternative fuels will have the effect of driving down gas prices. We certainly expect less volatility in the market because we won’t be reliant on a single source of fuel,” said Jackalyne Pfannenstiel, chair of the California Energy Commission, which is studying cost of alternative fuels.

California has a ways to go before ethanol-powered vehicles pose a competitive threat to gasoline.

There are four pumps that dispense E85 — a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline — in California, a state with 9,800 gas stations and 30 million vehicles.