European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 19, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes Friday january 19,1990 columns James Kilpatrick clean fuel Auto plan still has Long Way to go he figures the Only Safe thing to do is sleeping we propose bold new Initia Tives said president Bush to reconcile the automobile to the that was Back in june. The president lived up to his word. He proposed the initiatives and they promptly got lost in a scientific and political smog. Bush s plan was bold All right. He asked Congress to impose a clean fuels program in nine metropolitan areas with the worst Ozone pollution. The nine Are los Angeles. New York Houston Balti More. Philadelphia. Milwaukee san Diego. Chicago and greater connect the Bill automakers would be required to manufacture and sell 500.000 clean fuelled vehicles in the nine cities in 1995. Another 750,000 in 1996. And at least i million a year for the next eight years. By clean fuels bus Means methanol. Ethanol natural Gas propane or electricity the measure would impose responsibilities not Only on automakers and fuel producers but also on local serv ice stations. The environmental Protection Agency would first decide which alternative fuels should be made available. Then Large service stations those Selling at least 50.000 Gallons a month would be required to sell a specified is reminded of that heroine in Spenser s Faerie Ucene who attacked a magic Castle and discovered a series of Iron doors. They carried a legend be bold be bold and everywhere be bold but the last door read. Be not too Bush s dramatic proposals were too bold for a House Energy subcommittee which gutted them in october. A month later a Senate committee treated the Bill with equal Courtesy. Sources in both Chambers say a clean air Bill is Likely to pass this year but its resemblance to the Bush Bill May be mostly coincidental. The issues Are Complex. The Rele vant data Are subject to furious Dis agreement. Everyone agrees that the nine cities and 92 other areas also suffer George will from serious air pollution. Almost no one agrees on what to do about it. At the threshold is what several participants have called the problem of the Chick in and the egg which comes first Auto makers Are reluctant to make a tremendous investment in clean fuelled vehicles until the fuel is available. Manufacturers of fuel Are unwilling to make an investment until the vehicles Are question assuming the clean fuel cars Are built and assuming sufficient fuel is made available will the people buy them who can say and philosophically speaking does the government have any business involving the Epa so deeply in the Auto business take the matter of methanol. It is the most widely discussed of the several alternative fuels. It can be produced fro Coal Wood or municipal wastes but mostly from natural Gas. About 800 methanol Fulcd automobiles most of them in California Are now in use. According to a bulletin from the environmental and Energy study Confer ence some environmentalist groups be Lieve methanol could bring dramatic reductions in Ozone and Ozone is the key component of Urban smog. More Over the use of methanol would significantly reduce Levels of four of the five principal toxic emissions benzene Buta Diene gasoline panic late matter and gasoline refuelling Vapours. On the other hand and there is an other hand at every Point in this de Bat methanol has its drawbacks. The fifth toxic element is formaldehyde a substance believed to cause cancer. And cars running on methanol would Emit three to five times More formaldehyde than gasoline powered vehicles. The stuff is dangerous. One authority say ingestion of less than an ounce perhaps by siphoning could cause permanent blindness. Designing a car to in on Mctha nol presents engineering problems. Using gasoline a Motorist May travel 125 Miles i four Gallons. The same trip would re lire about eight Gallons of quiz. Thus fuel tanks would have to be larger and because methanol is highly Corro Sive the tanks would have lobe made of plastic or stainless steel. Another draw Back was reported by Ford motor co. In october we be run into starting prob ices at temperatures below 50 similar arguments on other alternative fuels pro and con will be heard before a Senate committee this month. Out therein the smog Don t hold your breath until a clean air Bill makes it to the White House. It s a Long Way away. C Universal press Syndicate Illinois Senate race May be ugly encounter talk about Confidence. This politician puts onions on her lunchtime hot dogs. Onions and Dill pickles and tomatoes and celery Salt. But none of the Industrial strength Semi liquid cheese glop. Docs that make her a moderate Republican for 16 years. Rep. Lynn Martin 50, has been Scarf ing Down such hot dogs from the same Vendor on Chicago s Northwest Side in the neighbourhood where she grew up and from which she is mounting a Campaign to a horse democratic sen. Paul Simon who is 61. The hot dogs loaded in the Chicago manner pack a political message i am from Chicago and my oppo nent is from Dixie. Well almost. Simon s Home in Makanda iii., is farther South than Richmond a. It is 331 Miles from Chicago and just 173 Miles from Mississippi. The Northern Edge of mar tin s congressional District Borders Wisconsin and is North of Cape cod. Illinois other senator Alan Dixon is also a downstate Democrat across the River from St. Louis. When Martin s husband a Federal judge moved to Rockford iii., she ran for the House seat vacated by John Anderson. You remember White hair 15 minutes of Fame As a third party presidential candidate her District where Ulysses s. Grant lived and Ronald Reagan was born voted Republican right through the depression and now is being lapped by the encroaching Waves of Chicago s suburbs. There Are 7 million people in the Chicago metropolitan area. Rockford with just under 150,000 is Illinois second largest City. About 75 percent of Illinois voters lives North of interstate 80, which crosses the state not far South of Chicago and Martin s District. If republicans arc to recapture the Senate in 1992, when democrats arc defending 20 of the 34 scats at stake they must gain ground this year in situations like this one. Martin May be the Ideal kind of Republican candidate for 1990 an Irish Catholic who is pro Choice on abortion and is fiscally and generally conservative. Best of All just two years ago she Learned that she has polish ancestors a Good career move for anyone seeking votes in Chicago. After 10 years in the House Simon was elected to the Senate in 1984, by the skin of his Teeth. He won against the Reagan tide running 310,000 Voles ahead of the democratic presidential candidate Fritz Mon Dale. But he beat Charles Percy by Only 89,126 out of 4.7 million votes cast. He is one of four democrats who won in 1984 with 52 percent or less of the vote. The others Are James Exon of Nebraska Carl Levin of Michigan and Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia senators Are most vulnerable the first time they seek re election. From 1972 through 1988, 52 percent of the incumbents who lost did so after just one term 16 percent after a second term 20 percent after a third. And some formidable senators George Mcgovern Birch Bayh and Frank Church were presidential candidates before losing their Senate scats. In 1988, Simon sought the democratic presidential nomination because exclaims Martin sounding scandalized he considered Mike Dukakis too conserva however Simon won the Illinois primary and Bush beat Dukakis in Illinois with Only 51 percent of the vote. Simon has a 98 percent name recognition among Likely voters the result of 22 state primary and general elections since 1954 when then 25, he won a state legislative scat. To compensate Martin May spend Money Early on television. Recognition is a pricey commodity. Illinois has nine Media markets. In Chicago a 30-second local and on " . Law or cheers costs $ 11,900. Simon is As Earnest As All get out. Martin is Union and pickles a personality with Edge. Her position on abortion will complicate Simon s task of painting her to the right of the mainstream As will the fact that she voted with Bush Only 59 percent of the time last year the lowest rate of any Republican in Illinois congressional delegation. She is a conservative who will fault the Liberal Simon As a profligate spender who she says has Al Lowed Illinois to Sag from 43rd to 48th among the states in the return of Federal dollars a murky measurement to the state. Her position is that the Federal government should spend less and More of it in Illinois. On the Wall of her office hard by Chicago s o Hare Airport hangs a picture of an Issue Symbol of her Alma mater the University of Illinois. Simon says talk about unnecessary controversies the chief is an affront to native americans. Alumni arc not will run against Martin s Media adviser Roger ails who put much of the vinegar in George Bush s acidic 1988 Campaign. But Martin is already on the attack accusing Simon of liking wine and cheese or at least Washington s wine and cheese this is not going to be pretty the brie slinging has begun. Owai Hington poll in Larj group
