Let’s reframe the crisis in Detroit. The troubles facing the American auto industry could actually be a chance for us to  tackle global climate change. What the automobile manufacturers should be working on is replacing the internal combustion engine with a design that uses renewable fuel – without hazardous emissions.
 
Perhaps the simplest solution is an economic stimulus program, underwritten by the government, that creates a market for the development, manufacture and sale of better American cars – better in terms of fuel efficiency and emissions. People who buy a new car could receive a government rebate if, and only if, they choose a better domestic car. Old cars would have to go straight to the crusher and not the used car lot.
 
This system provides built-in incentives for the adoption of hybrid/electric cars as a transitional technology. This will help get us on the road to a future of pure-electric cars, and a national grid powered by sun and wind – not fossil or nuclear fuel.