Sunday, July 21, 2002

"Hybrid Cars & 7 Wonders" TALE O' THE DAY A group of students were asked to list their Seven Wonders of the World. Though there was some disagreement, the following got the most votes: 1. Egypt's Great Pyramids 2. Taj Mahal 3. Grand Canyon 4. Panama Canal 5. Empire State Building 6. St. Peter's Basilica 7. China's Great Wall While gathering the votes, the teacher noted one quiet student hadn't turned in her paper. When asked if she was having trouble, the girl replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't make up my mind because there were so many." The teacher said, "Tell us what you have." The girl replied: 1. to touch 2. to taste 3. to see 4. to hear 5. to feel 6. to laugh 7. to love RHINO HERE: My Grandfather was a tire salesman. Mark Morris. My Dad was too. They used to say that the auto manufacturers could build flying cars for the general public just as easy as building the cars they were building back then in the 1960's. But they said the rubber industry had kept that from happening. I don't know if flying cars is even a good idea for the general public, but I do know the auto industry can do anything it sets its group mind to doing. WITNESS! The coming 2003 Ford Escape, the first production hybrid gas/electric sport utility vehicle expected to cost in the mid $20 K's, it will be a 4 X 4, be able to tow 1000 pounds, get 500 miles per tank and meet the very stringent Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle standard set by the California Air Resources Board. Concerning the new greenhouse emmisions law that California Governor Davis is expected to sign this coming week, Fred Krupp, executive director of Environmental Defense, suggests in the column excerpted below, that the battle the auto makers are sure to execute against it would be money better spent designing better cars. When our auto lease comes due next year, we're definately going hybrid. TO READ UP ON THE HYBRIDS, CLICK: http://www.hybridcars.com/ TO LEARN MORE ABOUT FRED KRUPP'S, ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE, CLICK: http://www.environmentaldefense.org 8:51:07 AM    comment

Cars Can Get Much Cleaner By FRED KRUPP, New York Times, 7/20/02 ...It's no surprise that the auto companies are poised to go down the same obstructionist road on California's greenhouse gases law. The industry is likely to try to put a citizens' referendum on the ballot that would override the new law. No doubt they will spend tens of millions of dollars trying to swamp the public with the same false warnings. What if, instead, the auto industry were to take the resources it will devote to waging political warfare on the new legislation and use that money and the talents of its engineers to accelerate the development of technology to limit greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks? Much of the technology already exists today to accomplish this goal. As in the past, automotive engineers are likely to prove far more ingenious in producing new technological answers than their bosses give them credit for. There is simply no reason to believe that tighter emission controls can't be readily reached in seven years. In fact, four years ago, BP, the multinational energy corporation, committed to reducing their worldwide emissions of greenhouse gas pollution by 10 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2010. This spring, eight years ahead of schedule, BP announced that it had already achieved that level of reduction at no net costs while experiencing steady growth in its business... TO SEE THE ENTIRE ARTICLE, GO TO: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/20/opinion/20KRUP.html?todaysheadlines Reprinted under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law ( http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html ). All copyrights belong to original publisher. Rhino's Weblog is the responsibility of The Rhino. Gary Rhine rhino@kifaru.com http://www.kifaru.com http://www.dreamcatchers.org http://radio.weblogs.com/0103207/ 8:47:45 AM    comment

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