PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 730 PRINTER'S NO. 4577
No. 107 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY COHEN, GEORGE, LEACH, DePASQUALE, HERSHEY,
SCAVELLO, BELFANTI, BENNINGTON, FREEMAN, JOSEPHS, PALLONE,
THOMAS, YOUNGBLOOD AND CALTAGIRONE, MARCH 9, 2007
AS AMENDED, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, NOVEMBER 12, 2008
A RESOLUTION
1 Calling for the holding of a conference on the use of alternate
2 energy sources in honor of Benjamin Franklin.
3 WHEREAS, Benjamin Franklin first named and demonstrated
4 practical uses for an electrical battery in Philadelphia in
5 1748; and
6 WHEREAS, Benjamin Franklin developed and promoted a stove
7 that heated homes more efficiently than existing fireplaces,
8 and, to encourage its use, he did not patent his invention; and
9 WHEREAS, The Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary was celebrated
10 last year in Philadelphia; and
11 WHEREAS, The United States is facing the problem of rising
12 gasoline prices and overwhelming dependence on an uncertain
13 future supply of imported petroleum; and
14 WHEREAS, Today's hybrid vehicles are more efficient than
15 nonhybrid vehicles: they do not idle, use smaller engines and
16 recapture braking energy into a battery for later use; and
17 WHEREAS, Most hybrid vehicles presently available are 100%
1 gasoline-fueled; and
2 WHEREAS, Additional technological advances could tap the full
3 potential of hybrid vehicles, saving much more gasoline and
4 providing many other benefits; and
5 WHEREAS, Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) simply add
6 electricity, a cleaner and cheaper domestic energy source for
7 passenger vehicles; and
8 WHEREAS, PHEVs allow consumers to have the equivalent of a
9 second small fuel tank which is always used first and can be
10 filled at home with electricity from an ordinary 120 volt
11 socket, at a cost equivalent to less than $1 per gallon; and
12 WHEREAS, PHEVs have demonstrated that electricity can be
13 successfully substituted for gasoline for the first 5 to 30
14 miles of driving each day; and
15 WHEREAS, Although PHEVs usually charge at night, the
16 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania currently has an ample surplus of
17 electric generation capacity during daylight hours and exports
18 electricity to neighboring states; and
19 WHEREAS, When a PHEV's battery has been discharged, it still
20 has the same extended range available from a gasoline engine
21 while remaining relatively clean and efficient; and
22 WHEREAS, Energy experts have concluded that widespread
23 adoption of PHEVs could result in significant reduction of our
24 dependence on foreign petroleum supplies; and
25 WHEREAS, Three hundred years after Ben Franklin was born,
26 students and teachers at West Philadelphia's High School are
27 working on hybrid vehicles and other energy-efficient vehicles
28 powered by alternative fuels; and
29 WHEREAS, It is fitting, useful and prudent to hold a
30 conference of experts in batteries, hybrids and electric
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1 generation as well as automobile manufacturers,
2 environmentalists, utility representatives, plug-in advocates,
3 first responders and representatives of Federal, State and local
4 government in Ben Franklin's adopted hometown to discuss how
5 PHEVs could impact our economy, environment and society; and
6 WHEREAS, Conferees should discuss how government and the
7 private sector can encourage the adoption of PHEV technology and
8 how to change traditional models of automobiles, electricity use
9 and car and battery utilization and disposal along with
10 traditional first responder rescue techniques as necessary;
11 therefore be it
12 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
13 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania call for a conference on PHEVs to
14 be held in Philadelphia in honor of Benjamin Franklin, the
15 city's most renowned resident and inventor of the electric
16 battery; and be it further
17 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge that the
18 conference serve as a building block for the development of the
19 PHEV industry and that participants include, but not be limited
20 to, automakers, battery companies, public utilities,
21 environmentalists and hybrid advocates in order to develop,
22 discuss, promote and deliver the possibilities of these
23 technologies and seek consensus without bringing in other <--
24 controversial energy issues like nuclear power or drilling in
25 the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and be it further
26 TECHNOLOGIES AND DEVELOP CONSENSUS; AND BE IT FURTHER <--
27 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be delivered to the
28 President of the United States, to the Governor of Pennsylvania,
29 to the Mayor of Philadelphia, to the Pennsylvania Congressional
30 Delegation, to the United States Secretary of Energy, to the
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1 United States Secretary of Transportation, to the Pennsylvania
2 Secretary of Environmental Protection, to the Pennsylvania
3 Secretary of Transportation, to the Federal Energy Regulatory
4 Commission, to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, to
5 The Franklin Institute and to the American Philosophical
6 Society.
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