Not only is Ohio ready to become the leader in alternative energy, said Sen. Sherrod Brown, but the state is in a better position than most to improve energy costs and alternatives. This is due to natural resources, skilled workers and research facilities such as the Ohio State Center for Automotive Research.
Brown held a press conference at CAR on Tuesday to discuss rising energy costs and the need for alternative energy sources. Brown is a "great champion for the future of energy," said Giorgio Rizzoni, director of CAR and professor of mechanical engineering.
Brown said Washington needs to get more serious about energy the way entrepreneurs and research facilities in Ohio have.
"Gas is a dollar more than it was a year ago," he said.
"We need to help places like OSU to do research in energy," he said, adding that some of the $3 billion that has been spent on the war in Iraq should be used for the kind of alternative energy research done at OSU.
| "I don't want the next generation of students to go to war over oil."
- Senator Sherrod Brown |
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Students at CAR have worked on changing a gas-run car into a hydrogen-powered vehicle and have also built other hybrid and hydrogen-fueled automobiles.
"All the things in here are way further along than the country was a year ago," Brown said.
He said this research is important to students because he thinks OSU cares about global warming and the environment, as well as energy costs for students and businesses.
When the Senate and Congress are back in session, Brown hopes to create a bill to help not just students and the environment, but the middle class, which suffers from high energy costs, and businesses that depend on energy, he said.
"Some people can't make it with housing foreclosures, and energy and food costs going up," Brown said.
He also said he plans to propose tax law changes so that investors will invest in new manufacturing processes such as solar energy.
This could stabilize energy costs and help wean the U.S. off foreign oil, he said.
Most importantly, alternative energy sources could benefit international relations.
"I don't want the next generation of students to go to war over oil," Brown said.
Everdeen Mason can be reached at mason.388@osu.edu.
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