HiDee Brian!

I've already penned 2 Songs (Board 3) on this Subject.."Work One Less Day a Week" (Which'd cut commuting 20%/solve the Imported Oil Needs & our National Wealth getting Siphoned-Away) and "AUTOMAKERS HAVE OIL ON THEIR HANDS", which reports on Rumored & FACTUAL Examples of Detroit selling (& buying) patents that benefit ONLY Themselves & The Oil Companies..(INCLUDING a VERY Marketable Battery-Motor Patent which WOULD'VE resulted in a PRACTCAL Electric Vehicle with a Range of about 180 miles per charge, best I remember.) Chevron's Bought & KILLED IT, in 2003. So..Good Luck with marketing a GOOD Electric Replacement Vehicle.

As for Nuclear Power Plants...Anybody remember Three Mile Island?
Far as I know, Nuke Plants STILL Generate Power by Rods heating water to Steam, which runs thru PIPES,..to spin Blades which turn a Generator to create Electricity. NO Plant's "Entirely-Safe"..but I think I'd rather have a Conventional Coal-Burnin' Plant FAIL than a Nuke-One. Lots less-Cleanup/Lots More-Affordable for the Local Customers to Fix. (You STILL get some Thermal Pollution off the Nuke's Cooling Stacks..dunno the Diffo in Amount between Nukes & Normal ones, tho.) Yeah, Less Carbon & Sulfur emissions...BUT...ARE there Really SAFE Storge areas for spent fuel rods..(& LOTS MORE of Them) for the next Thousand Years? Maybe Longer?

As I got passed by a NUMBER of Fast-Drivin' SUV's today on the way home from work, I reflected on a TV program I saw a few days ago: PART of the "Cure" is ALREADY Taking Place: This SUV Owner..who owed $13K on his rig..took it to a Car Dealer seeking a Smaller Vehicle. Dealer only offered him $3K. BECAUSE "These are No Longer IN-DEMAND...and are HARDER-TO-SELL nowadays."

So..Word is OUT: BIG-Gulpers cost ya MORE than MOST Normal Folks wanna SPEND. So: Future Trend, Long-Overdue: SMALL Cars/BIG Mileage. Maybe SLOWER Speed Limits again..& perhaps Electronic Enforcement..for a change.

Here's an Idea: Change MOST of the Country's STOP Signs to YIELD.
Bet ya'd IMMEDIATELY Save over 10% of the US's Gas Consumption..maybe MORE..Permanently! Instead of BILLION Dollar Nuke Plants, how 'bout Thousand Buck "Smart" Stoplights..that sense Traffic Flow. Speed up Flow/Cut Down "Stop-&-Go" Traffic & save a lot MORE Gasoline Consumption. (Euros got "Roundabouts"...traffic rarely STOPS "Dead"..result: Gas Savings. Fewer Fatalities at Intersections is a Side Benefit.)

While I yearn for the day that all Hummers are Artificial Reefs, I dread the day Gas goes up Another CENT. Why? Because the US Economy's already BEEN in a Recession for the last 2 years, as far as my "Luxury" Business goes. NOONE's buying another Grandfather Clock here in Florida..(Down from One Sale a Week to one every TWO Months, of late) BECAUSE Nobody HAS Much "Disposable Income" ALREADY. Property Taxes: DOUBLED over last 3 years or so. Insurance: More than DOUBLED 3 years ago. Income? You Don't Wanna Know. You hit the Average Consumer $10 a gallon to Get To Work, & he's going to mostly Stay-Home..IF he has one to go home TO.

New National Trend: Living IN Your Car, when your House gets Foreclosed-On. New Urban Problem: Creating SAFE Places FOR Car-Dwellers TO Live in Their Cars. Solution: Sure to require a Tax Increase..You Betcha!!!

Other Energy-Savers, already-used around the world successfully: The Pedicab. Zero Gasoline Necessary. & One JOB is Created!

Just Seen on TV: An American who's made a 4-Passenger Bicycle..looks like a lightweight CAR..but has 4 sets of Pedals.

I still have Faith in Yankee Ingenuity..And the Free Marketplace..to solve Our Energy Crisis...sans Big Taxes & Big Gov't Projects. Europe's had $6 a Gallon Gasoline for AGES...& their Money is now Worth MORE than Ours..by HALF already. Why Is This? PARTLY because their Average Citizen lives in an Appartment...IN the City..& Takes Mass Transit to work. Less-Living Area to Heat-&-Cool than Us House-Dwellers...NO Expensive Auto to maintain. Or even CARE what Gas Costs!!!

There's a Limit what the US Consumer WILL Spend on Gasoline...& I'm sure we're not there yet. But I still think we CAN Control Prices...by slowing down a LOT..to a bare CRAWL when Gas Costs More than we think it's Worth.

I remember bitchin' when it hit a Buck-a-Gallon. &..now..heh..These apparently ARE "The Good Ol' Days." (Alas.)

Big Guy-Hug,
Stan

Last edited by "TampaStan" Good; 06/12/08 12:53 AM.