GASOLINE-FREE AND GASOLINE-SIPPING VEHICLES OFFER SOLUTIONS TO HIGH GAS PRICES: FORMER GENERAL MOTORS CEO AND HONDA SPOKESPERSON GIVE TALKS ON EARTH-FRIENDLY VEHICLES AT SOLAR 2000 BOULDER, Col � Gasoline-free and gasoline-sipping vehicles, which offer solutions to high gas prices, will be the focus the Emerging Sustainable Transportation session, to be held Tuesday, June 20, 5:30-7:00 pm at Solar 2000. �Choosing how you get around is the single most important environmental decision you can make,� says session organizer, Nancy Hazard, of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. �Luckily, new alternatives are emerging at a rapid pace.� Former CEO of General Motors, Robert Stempel, will talk about his vision of sustainable transportation, and his experience in the electric vehicle industry as chairman of Energy Conversion Devices (ECD), parent of the Ovonic Battery Company and United Solar Systems. ECD manufactures the nickel metal hydride battery used by the General Motors second-generation electric vehicle, the EV1 Gen II, as well as several other electric vehicle companies around the world. Joining Mr. Stempel will be a Robert Bienenfeld, Manager of Alternative Fuel Vehicle Sales and Marketing for American Honda Motor Company. Robert is in charge of launching the Honda Insight, the first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle on the U.S. market, available at all Honda dealers nationwide. �What is really exciting about this car is that from a consumer perspective it is just like the car you drive today,� says Hazard �It�s the revolutionary gasoline-electric hybrid propulsion system that makes this car a gas sipper that gets 70 mpg -- it emits only half of the greenhouse gases emitted by a normal car.� The final speaker, Steve Heckeroth of MendoMotive, will talk about some of the non-automotive solutions to establishing a sustainable transportation system. He will talk about the role that communities can play in reducing the need for the automobile, and some of the new exciting options for local travel and mass transit. These presentations are part of Solar 2000, the annual conference of the American Solar Energy Society, the annual forum for the exchange of information about advances in solar energy technologies, programs and concepts. The Solar 2000 Conference will include over 200 technical, symposium, and plenary presentations on the entire range of solar technologies, presented by leaders in technical and professional fields. The topics range from solar resource assessment to solar design methods and from energy policy to Sustainablilty. This conference will be held at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison, WI. SOLAR 2000 is sponsored by: United States Department of Energy Wisconsin Energy Bureau Duke Solar Wisconsin Public Service Corporation Spire Corporation/Spire Solar Chicago Energy Center of Wisconsin Madison Gas & Electric Pacific Gas & Electric Home Power Magazine To learn more about the Solar 2000 Conference, contact: ASES, 2400 Central Ave. G-1, Boulder, CO 80301. (303) 443-3130. American Solar Energy Society web site is: www.ases.org <http://www.ases.org/> . The Midwest Renewable Energy Association will be hosting the ASES conference in conjunction with their annual Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair, to be held at the Dane County Expo Center, June 16-18, 2000. The Energy Fair is a three-day festival designed to teach the public about renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable living. To learn more about the MREA and the Fair contact: MREA, 7558 Deer Rd., Custer, WI 54423, 715-592-6595, or visit our web site at www.the-mrea.org <http://www.the-mrea.org/> .
