Changes in Attitudes about Green Auto Development

In a previous editorial I shared that I'm a big supporter of electric drive. Now I'll add that I'm a big fan of Jimmy Buffet as well. What does one have to do with another?

Every time I visit Hawaii , whether it's on vacation, to experience Oahu's quick-charge electric vehicle infrastructure, or drive vehicles on island-produced biodiesel , there's always that island ambiance. The tropics do that to you. Swaying palm trees. Balmy breezes. And, of course, Jimmy Buffet's unique style of tropical folk-rock playing somewhere. When I'm there, the tune "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes" almost always plays in my head, whether or not it's coming from somewhere else. It's an island thing and I can count on it.

Part of the lyrics lend a special significance: "Oh, yesterday's over my shoulder / So I can't look back for too long / There's just too much to see waiting in front of me / And I know that I just can't go wrong."

It's an affirming thought and a reminder to me that no matter how mired in inaction that industry and consumers may have been in the past, everyone seems to be moving headlong toward a better direction now. Let's just call the past ... the past. But, I'll also call it as I see it: A lot of years of opportunity have been lost that could have found us so much farther ahead of the curve than we are today.

Now, it's interesting to reflect on how far all things "green" have come in the automotive biz in just the past few years. Chalk it up to historically high gas prices that have finally captured everyone's attention. Or maybe it's the realization that we really do have an oil supply problem and depending on unfriendly places for the lifeblood of our vehicles and our economy isn't such a good idea, after all. Several major studies supporting the existence of global warming and a growing chorus of voices calling for reductions in CO2 greenhouse gas emissions have also had an impact. Going "green" has suddenly become popular.

At Green Car, we've reported on this very small, and "green," slice of the auto industry for the past 16 years. I've been focused on this long enough to be hearing the same words being said now that were verbalized back then. While I'm heartened these days by the changes in attitudes, I'm equally frustrated by the unending platitudes. Going "green" is not new. The bright-eyed and newly-greened do not get credit for the brilliant, but for-so-long-unrealized, ideas that others have been forwarding all through the 1990s, but never gained popular support. Latecomers are welcome to join in, but shouldn't lay claim.

To witness a wholesale change in products and buying patterns that embrace a more positive environmental direction is welcome, and necessary. I'm just amazed that it has taken so long. Here's hoping that we've really tired of the same old tune and we're ready to move on. Let's pick up the tempo and get it done.