Schwarzenegger: Keep SUVs, but Green Them

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says people shouldn't be guilted into being green, and that SUVs can be part of the environmental solution as well as part of the problem. Speaking at Georgetown University, the Governator said that SUVs shouldn't go away, but we should make them more fuel efficient, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

"We don't have to go and take away the muscle cars. We don't have to take away Hummers or SUVs or anything like this, because that's a formula for failure," he said. "Instead we have to make those cars more environmentally muscular."

The Guv has hit almost all of the right notes so far in his pragmatic approach to addressing greenhouse gases and climate change, and I agree with most of what he said in D.C. However, just an ounce of guilt when people drive an 18 mpg tanker to drive only themselves around town is appropriate. While we can't outlaw oversized vehicles, they should be made more environmentally friendly, and those who choose to drive them as a matter of taste should pay a heavier price.

Arnold should also be flexing his political muscle to ask the federal government to remove the SUV tax loophole that lets small business owners write-off most of the cost of the biggest trucks on the road.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle