55 MPH
Just a general rant about the whole energy crisis.
There are lots of proposed solutions to the gas problem. Here is one story from the New York Times suggesting a return to the 55 MPH speed limit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/business/01oil.html?th&emc=th
I remember a quote I heard a long time ago, "Driving across Texas at 55 MPH is not a trip, it's a career." Bill Maher said the other night, "The problem is not that gas costs too much, it's that gas costs too little." Am I the only one who notices that gas shoots up 30 cents a gallon, then drops back 15 to 20 and everyone thinks they are getting a deal? Talk about the greatest scam in history.
I call bullshit on all these so called solutions. The problem is that gas is too fucking important. The problem is that cars use gas and, because of a myriad of factors, Americans are totally dependant on their cars. I lived in Germany for 6 years and rode my bicycle to work almost every day maily because I lived less than a mile away. That's impossible to do in Austin, not only do I live 25 miles away, I would be killed within the first 5 miles by some asshole on a cell phone. Alternate transportation is a way of life in most places in the world except America and the infrastructure is built with that in mind. In America, the automobile is all mighty and everything revolves around that. Bicycle lanes are unheard of and public transportation is a joke.
How many billions of dollars (300?) did we spend on invading Iraq when Iraq didn't need invading? What's the point. It's simple, how did we come up with 300 billion dollars to kill a bunch of goat farmers but we can't seem to address our dependance on foreign oil (or provide decent health care - a topic for a later entry to be sure)? Since we did invade Iraq, where is all their damn oil and why are we still kissing the Saudi's asses? How many problems with the world today would we solve by creating a vehicle that doesn't use fossil fuels? What could possibly be more important. Well, maybe health care but not much else.
There are lots of proposed solutions to the gas problem. Here is one story from the New York Times suggesting a return to the 55 MPH speed limit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/business/01oil.html?th&emc=th
I remember a quote I heard a long time ago, "Driving across Texas at 55 MPH is not a trip, it's a career." Bill Maher said the other night, "The problem is not that gas costs too much, it's that gas costs too little." Am I the only one who notices that gas shoots up 30 cents a gallon, then drops back 15 to 20 and everyone thinks they are getting a deal? Talk about the greatest scam in history.
I call bullshit on all these so called solutions. The problem is that gas is too fucking important. The problem is that cars use gas and, because of a myriad of factors, Americans are totally dependant on their cars. I lived in Germany for 6 years and rode my bicycle to work almost every day maily because I lived less than a mile away. That's impossible to do in Austin, not only do I live 25 miles away, I would be killed within the first 5 miles by some asshole on a cell phone. Alternate transportation is a way of life in most places in the world except America and the infrastructure is built with that in mind. In America, the automobile is all mighty and everything revolves around that. Bicycle lanes are unheard of and public transportation is a joke.
How many billions of dollars (300?) did we spend on invading Iraq when Iraq didn't need invading? What's the point. It's simple, how did we come up with 300 billion dollars to kill a bunch of goat farmers but we can't seem to address our dependance on foreign oil (or provide decent health care - a topic for a later entry to be sure)? Since we did invade Iraq, where is all their damn oil and why are we still kissing the Saudi's asses? How many problems with the world today would we solve by creating a vehicle that doesn't use fossil fuels? What could possibly be more important. Well, maybe health care but not much else.
posted by Big Ed at 12:23 PM
2 Comments:
Next year, the administration will phase out the $2,000 tax credit for buying a hybrid vehicle, which gets over 50 miles per gallon, but will leave in place the $25,000 tax write-off for a Hummer, which gets 10-12 mpg.
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=18800
Are you TRYING to make my head explode?
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