Schwarzenegger aide outlines fuel plans

LOS ANGELES -- A top aide to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger described the administration's plans to reduce California's oil dependence, calling Thursday for more conservation, fuel-efficient vehicles, and hydrogen power.

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Terry Tamminen, the governor's newly appointed Cabinet secretary, delivered the speech by videotape at a conference on transportation. It was sponsored by Calstart, a consortium of government agencies and private companies, including automakers.

Tamminen said drivers should try to conserve fuel in the near-term, with the midterm goal of buying more fuel-efficient cars and the long-term goal of finding cleaner fuels than petroleum, including hydrogen.

"Proper tire inflation, using your air conditioner more sparingly, driving the speed limit -- basic simple things. No matter what you drive you can save 15 to 20 percent of your current fuel use," Tamminen said.

Tamminen, a former Santa Monica-based activist who once sued the state over ocean pollution, served as Schwarzenegger's director of the California Environmental Protection Agency until he took over Wednesday as Cabinet secretary. In his new role he serves as a liason between the governor and Cabinet.

Tamminen said unless California reduces its reliance on petroleum, it will likely face a shortage of petroleum in the next few years that will threaten the state's economy. He said drivers should conserve supply and seek alternative-fuel vehicles, such as those powered by electricity.

"We know battery electrics work extremely well," he said. "I drive a battery-electric around Sacramento and it's one of the best cars I've ever driven."

Tamminen predicted that the state would rely much more on hydrogen fuel in the next decade.

"By 2010 we will have a network of hydrogen fueling stations in the state, thousands of hydrogen vehicles to select from, initially from fleets and buses and mass transit but then expanding to consumer vehicles, and beyond that we can look for ways of moving toward hydrogen," he said.

Schwarzenegger has made hydrogen a key part of his environmental plans, but even some supporters of the technology say his timeline is overly optimistic.

Andy Weisser, an American Lung Association of California spokesman who attended the conference, commended the administration for backing hydrogen. But he said the state should also urge automakers to produce larger numbers of existing vehicles that are clean-burning and fuel efficient.

He noted that there are long waiting lists of people hoping to buy electric, natural gas, and hybrid vehicles.

"We need to focus on those existing technologies in addition to the governor's future plans," Weisser said.