Jericho: Imagine ... a Green Bush
My wife spotted this interesting tid-bit.
As many of our long time readers know, I think cars are polluting death traps that should be recycled into large scale public transportation systems. This nation's unhealthy dependence on fossil fuels is an embarrassment and huge chip on my shoulder.
For those of you born after the 70s, there was a previous gas shortage. Prices sky rocketed, lines formed around the block only to be turned away at empty pumps, people bought lockable gas caps to prevent siphoning, people turned in their land yachts for Toyotas. Of couse, Toyota now makes some of the biggest SUVs on the road.
We should have learned the lesson of fossil fuels in the 70s. But, no, cars grew from sub-compacts back up and then got even bigger, the Ford "E" for "Excessive" series being the case in point.
Why did we go this way? Simple economics. Auto manufacturers made larger and larger cars, oil producers kept raising prices. Auto manufacturers produced more fuel efficient cars. Oil producers lowered prices. Auto manufacturers made larger cars that used more gas. Oil producers raised prices. Etc. To get the advantages of the new car, you have to buy it. The more cars on the road means more gas sold. Everybody wins except the consumer.
Now, we have Jeb. Jeb Bush has been in the news a lot in the last five years. The coup he and his brother Bush committed gained Jeb much public attention and gained Lil'George the Whitehouse. Jeb has gotten a lot of attention with all the weather ruckus in his state. If you think that it's just coincidence, you need to have your paranoia meter tuned. I'm sure that Jeb is already thinking of himself as the third President Bush. Do you think Jeb will sign the Kyoto Accords?
The fact that Jeb is driving around in a Ford Hybrid just illustrates everything that is wrong in the world today. Okay, I can hear you now, but really it does. Ford is one of the worst when it comes to producing gas guzzling cars. So, they produce a hybrid SUV, it will get gas mileage like a midsize car, instead of a luxury sedan. Whoop-tee-doo-dah! So what? If it used no gas at all, I'd call it a step forward. Ford produces something that makes them bank, saves a little gas, still pollutes and they are heralded as leading the industry.
Jeb is just as bad. His entire family fortune is based on the oil industry and politics - an incestuous duo if there ever was one. Jeb Bush driving around in a Ford Escape Hybrid is like Bill Gates listening to an Apple iPod. Jeb Bush telling people to conserve gas is like Bill Clinton telling kids not to have oral sex. Hypocritical is not a strong enough term.
I mean, what is it with this country and their cars and gasoline? When I was in high school, I had an advanced biology text that talked about the fact that the US Department of Energy at the time offered a set of instructions and a license to build a home refinery - a moonshine still. You could take grass clippings and other organic matter and make ethanol, what some might call garbahol, because you have taken all the garbage in the house and made alcohol. Any car without a catalytic converter, pretty much any of the land yachts I mentioned before, could run this stuff. It was higher in octane than gas and it would wear out an engine faster than gas, but it was free, non-polluting and renewable! It could be made for pennies in your garage and give new life to cars that were clogging up junk yards the country over. This was never promoted and never caught on.
Hell, you can't even get NASCAR to take the lead out of their fuel. Indy cars use M100 and are going to E100, but all those NASCAR fans, especially their kids, are getting lead poisoning from going to the races. Perfect example of the stupidity of this subject.
These days there are all kinds of debates about alternative fuels. Hydrogen is a big headline maker. I've never understood it. I mean, sure, I'm behind "the hydrogen economy" because any fuel is better than gas. But, we live in a country where we pay farmers to NOT grow crops to support crop prices and we are paying $3 a gallon for gas. They could be growing sugar beets for ethanol. We have entire cities wiped off the map because of hurricanes, those extra strong hurricanes are probably caused by global warming which is likely the result of a hundred years of fossil fuel usage.
"Pollute me?" says Mother Nature, "Well, Hurricane you, buddy!"
We get people warring over E15 and E85 and E100. Why? I mean, alcohol is the perfect alternative fuel. You can make it from any organic substance. Other countries, Russia and Brazil, have long standing E100 programs. We should really push in that direction. It's easy, cheap, renewable ... what's stopping us? Lower gas prices bother people? Cleaner air a problem? More jobs in the agricultural sector hurting people's feelings? Someone explain to me why we shouldn't ditch oil?
Oh yeah, the Bushes. I forgot.
As many of our long time readers know, I think cars are polluting death traps that should be recycled into large scale public transportation systems. This nation's unhealthy dependence on fossil fuels is an embarrassment and huge chip on my shoulder.
For those of you born after the 70s, there was a previous gas shortage. Prices sky rocketed, lines formed around the block only to be turned away at empty pumps, people bought lockable gas caps to prevent siphoning, people turned in their land yachts for Toyotas. Of couse, Toyota now makes some of the biggest SUVs on the road.
We should have learned the lesson of fossil fuels in the 70s. But, no, cars grew from sub-compacts back up and then got even bigger, the Ford "E" for "Excessive" series being the case in point.
Why did we go this way? Simple economics. Auto manufacturers made larger and larger cars, oil producers kept raising prices. Auto manufacturers produced more fuel efficient cars. Oil producers lowered prices. Auto manufacturers made larger cars that used more gas. Oil producers raised prices. Etc. To get the advantages of the new car, you have to buy it. The more cars on the road means more gas sold. Everybody wins except the consumer.
Now, we have Jeb. Jeb Bush has been in the news a lot in the last five years. The coup he and his brother Bush committed gained Jeb much public attention and gained Lil'George the Whitehouse. Jeb has gotten a lot of attention with all the weather ruckus in his state. If you think that it's just coincidence, you need to have your paranoia meter tuned. I'm sure that Jeb is already thinking of himself as the third President Bush. Do you think Jeb will sign the Kyoto Accords?
The fact that Jeb is driving around in a Ford Hybrid just illustrates everything that is wrong in the world today. Okay, I can hear you now, but really it does. Ford is one of the worst when it comes to producing gas guzzling cars. So, they produce a hybrid SUV, it will get gas mileage like a midsize car, instead of a luxury sedan. Whoop-tee-doo-dah! So what? If it used no gas at all, I'd call it a step forward. Ford produces something that makes them bank, saves a little gas, still pollutes and they are heralded as leading the industry.
Jeb is just as bad. His entire family fortune is based on the oil industry and politics - an incestuous duo if there ever was one. Jeb Bush driving around in a Ford Escape Hybrid is like Bill Gates listening to an Apple iPod. Jeb Bush telling people to conserve gas is like Bill Clinton telling kids not to have oral sex. Hypocritical is not a strong enough term.
I mean, what is it with this country and their cars and gasoline? When I was in high school, I had an advanced biology text that talked about the fact that the US Department of Energy at the time offered a set of instructions and a license to build a home refinery - a moonshine still. You could take grass clippings and other organic matter and make ethanol, what some might call garbahol, because you have taken all the garbage in the house and made alcohol. Any car without a catalytic converter, pretty much any of the land yachts I mentioned before, could run this stuff. It was higher in octane than gas and it would wear out an engine faster than gas, but it was free, non-polluting and renewable! It could be made for pennies in your garage and give new life to cars that were clogging up junk yards the country over. This was never promoted and never caught on.
Hell, you can't even get NASCAR to take the lead out of their fuel. Indy cars use M100 and are going to E100, but all those NASCAR fans, especially their kids, are getting lead poisoning from going to the races. Perfect example of the stupidity of this subject.
These days there are all kinds of debates about alternative fuels. Hydrogen is a big headline maker. I've never understood it. I mean, sure, I'm behind "the hydrogen economy" because any fuel is better than gas. But, we live in a country where we pay farmers to NOT grow crops to support crop prices and we are paying $3 a gallon for gas. They could be growing sugar beets for ethanol. We have entire cities wiped off the map because of hurricanes, those extra strong hurricanes are probably caused by global warming which is likely the result of a hundred years of fossil fuel usage.
"Pollute me?" says Mother Nature, "Well, Hurricane you, buddy!"
We get people warring over E15 and E85 and E100. Why? I mean, alcohol is the perfect alternative fuel. You can make it from any organic substance. Other countries, Russia and Brazil, have long standing E100 programs. We should really push in that direction. It's easy, cheap, renewable ... what's stopping us? Lower gas prices bother people? Cleaner air a problem? More jobs in the agricultural sector hurting people's feelings? Someone explain to me why we shouldn't ditch oil?
Oh yeah, the Bushes. I forgot.
posted by Jericho Brown at 10/27/2005 04:49:00 PM
5 Comments:
We obviously can't count on the government to pull this off. Their approach to fuel efficiency is like my approach to healthy eating. We'll both get around to it someday. We need a Richard Branson type person, a nut with money, to build the fuel efficient alternative and make it sexy enough to win over all the people who think that their oversized V8s are a good thing.
If NASCAR got their hicktown act together, they could be a force for positive change instead of a health risk. "Hey. NASCAR there runs Eee One Hunert - maybee I kin run E85 inma truck!"
If you didn't read the article on that link, have a look. I don't see how they can claim engine wear when Indy pulled the lead a while ago, is currently running M100 and looking to go to E100.
Maybe once Winston is gone and the smoke clears, they will be able to think more clearly. Whoops, forgot about the brain damage from the lead - oh, well.
Hmmm, I think we are both right. We need NASCAR to make E100 sexy for NASCAR fans and the rich nut to make it sexy for those of us who aren't inbred.
In my class last week, one of the students lives and works in Florida. She was commenting on the fact that she is a democrat and thinks Jeb is a great govenor.
*Sigh.*
You get the feeling that eventually we are just going to forget about the title of "President" and we'll all just elect the "Bush"?
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