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In a mind-boggling display of main stream media complacency, The Wall St Journal reports that “As consumers brace for another round of gasoline-price increases after Hurricane Rita, car makers are rediscovering fuel economy as a marketing tool.”
Look for articles on “alternative fuel” or “alternative energy” in the Journal archives since 1996 and you’ll find scant coverage. The Journal is not alone. Aside from alternative media, there’s not much to read about fuel alternatives.
The Almighty Dollar Rules MSM
Gee, could that be because car makers are such big advertisers? Car makers are promising to develop fuel efficiency and alternate fuel vehicles by 2010. It’s like they’ve woken up from a long sleep. It’s too little, too late. And they’re only focusing on fuel efficiency because they see it as a marketing tool. They don’t give a crap about the planet.If they did, it wouldn’t have taken til 2005 for the subject to come up.
The need for fuel economy is not a new issue brought about by Hurricane Katrina. The technology for wind, solar and water energy exist. They’ve been around for forty years or more. Cars that run on alternate fuels exist. What hasn’t existed is car maker or government interest in developing fuel alternatives. Or tax incentives big enough to encourage their use.
The role of the media in a free society is to question the status quo, to report on alternatives. They didn’t, and, apparently, they still don’t.