NY-29: Eric Massa’s Not-So-Green Journey To D.C.

Posted by Matt in NY-29 on January 14th, 2009 | no responses
Tags: environmental hypocrisy, Eric Massa, green technology, NY-29, Washington

WNY’s newest Democrat congressman, Eric Massa, tried to make a statement about going green in his trip to Washington D.C. The only problem was he ended up using a lot more energy than necessary to make his statement.

A hydrogen fuel cell car driven by U.S. Rep. Eric Massa to Washington, D.C. on Monday didn’t actually get him all the way there.

Massa had to be in the nation’s capital Tuesday for his swearing in as the 29th Congressional District’s new representative. He drove the General Motors Equinox prototype car to draw attention to the technology, some of which is being developed in the district.

The problem is the car can go about 150 to 200 miles without a refill, and the trip from Corning to Washington, D.C. is 282 miles. And there are no hydrogen refilling stations along the way.

As a result, Massa had to switch to another GM hydrogen fuel cell vehicle that was standing by in Harrisburg.

After the trip, both cars were towed back to their original locations by two Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid SUVs.

The need to make the switch was also part of the effort to promote the more environmentally friendly hydrogen fuel cell cars, said Massa spokesman Jared Smith.

FamousDC also noticed. As did Reason.com.

Matt Margolis is co-author (with Mark Noonan) of Caucus of Corruption: The Truth About The New Democratic Majority. He also blogs at Blogs For Victory. Follow Matt on Twitter.