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Been so busy MySpacing or YouTubing or Flickring or Slashdotting --
or just old-fashioned IMing, emailing or driving -- that you haven't
heard what happens if you plug in a car?

As part of our continuing campaign to increase public awareness of
plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and let car-makers know how many institutions
and consumers want them to build 'em, we're happy to announce the
launch of BETTAH, an animation that shouts to the world: "Hybrids are
good, but plug-in hybrids are bettah!"

Visit <http://www.bettah.org> to watch.

BETTAH lets you know that drivers don't have to be stuck in gas
lines, that we could have something "bettah" without compromises. So
a couple of months ago we turned to the viral media moguls at Free
Range Studios <http://www.freerangestudios.com> -- creators of
Grocery Store Wars <http://www.storewars.org>, The Meatrix
<http://www.themeatrix.com>, and The Flip & Chilly Show
<http://www.nrdc.org/flipandchilly>, among others -- and we all went to work.

We made BETTAH for everyone who read the cover story in this week's
issue of Time Magazine, "Be Worried. Be Very Worried." That Special
Report says, "The serious debate has ended. Global Warming, even most
skeptics have concluded, is the real deal, and human activity has
been causing it."

We have in mind the 87% of people (according to the Time/ABC/Stanford
poll) who think government ought to give companies tax breaks to
develop alternative energy sources.

We'd all be better off with better cars. In a few years, people who
today can plug in their cell phones are going to love plugging in and
avoiding gas pumps.

Auto-makers have to build the cars. CalCars.org is getting the
message to the deal-makers in business, government and institutions
who can help make it happen. We've gotten the word out in traditional
print and broadcast media. Senators and Representatives are
listening. They have the Vehicle and Fuel Choices bill. President
Bush says PHEVs are an "amazing breakthrough" and we hope that will
lead to much more federal support. Cities and electric utilities set
up Plug-In Partners to gather group fleet buy orders for PHEVs..

Now we give BETTAH viewers the chance to sign a petition to
car-makers. We want 100,000 people (the number of regular hybrids
sold the past six months) to say they want "bettah" 100+ MPG plug-in
hybrids, and that they'll reward auto-makers that produce them.

Our co-sponsor for BETTAH has been Americans for Energy Independence
<http://www.ei2025.org>. They're putting up billboards, running song
contests and getting the word out about energy solutions. Their
founder, Chris Wolfe, says: "We're delighted to sponsor the BETTAH
animation with CalCars.org. Our mission is to educate Americans on
the dangers of energy dependence and available solutions. We hope
BETTAH will entertain, educate and motivate people to ask why
high-MPG, low-emission cars are not available from car-makers.
Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles offer us a way to lower our dependence on
foreign oil while reducing the impact of driving cars. As consumers
and voters, we must demand support from our political leaders and
actions from industry."

After you've seen it and signed the petition, please use the button
to alert at least five friends to watch and sign!

We owe thanks to lots of people, who are acknowledged in the credits
page at <http://www.bettah.org>, and especially to CalCars' new
Communications Director, John Davi. When John joined Ron Gremban and
me a few months ago, he increased CalCars' full-time staff by 50%,
and he's made a big difference!

By the way, we're glad others are also picking up on multimedia.
Hybridcars.com's latest in its cartoon series is about plug-in
hybrids: <http://www.hybridcars.com/cartoons/showroom-dummies.html>

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Felix Kramer fkramer@...
Founder California Cars Initiative
http://www.calcars.org
http://www.calcars.org/news-index.html
http://www.hybridcars.com/blogs/power
http://www.eaa-phev.org
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