Adam Smith: “This amendment would effectively ban electric vehicles and ban any effort to use them. Now, I will certainly agree that…”

“This amendment would effectively ban electric vehicles and ban any effort to use them. Now, I will certainly agree that we are a long way off from having all electrical vehicles, but that is not what we are debating here. We are debating whether or not this should even be an option within the military. First of all, from a readiness standpoint, having options is always a positive thing. Energy is enormously important within the military. Having access to it can be difficult, and if you have electric vehicles as an option, that gives you one greater option so that you don't necessarily have to rely on fossil fuels to power a vehicle going forward. More importantly, the basic debate over global warming--and that is what it is, more than climate change--comes down to the belief that digging up fossil fuels from below the ground and burning them is bad for life. There is considerable evidence of this. It is placing carbon in the atmosphere that is damaging to the planet, and we need to develop alternatives so we are not 100 percent dependent upon fossil fuels. That is the basic plan here, to save the planet, which is actually kind of important to all of us, certainly to members of the military, and certainly to the defense of our country. Eliminating this as an option goes in the exact wrong direction. Now, the gentlewoman is correct. It is an industry that is still struggling.…”