Here in the Peace Corps, we are blessed with a free copy of Newsweek every freakin' week!!!!
My response to Fareed Zakaria’s latest Newsweek column,
Imagine:500 Miles to the Gallon
Dear Newsweek Editors:
All Hail Fareed!
How delightful it would be if Fareed Zakaria were Mr. Bush's speechwriter. And so much the better if Bush's speeches on energy independence led to serious, responsible actions rather than mere lip-service.
Instead of any legitimate action on freeing the American and world citizens from the crippling health, economic, and environmental effects of petroleum dependence (from countries with quite un-democratic leadership,) we re-elected a man notorious for stacking the courts with judges who kowtow to the corporate energy interests, who as Fareed mentions, have "vested interest in not changing much."
For a president who loves to talk about research, he hasn't shown any evidence he's read the reports by The Apollo Project or the Natural Capitalism folks practically screaming that the technologies we need for energy independence already exist. (And he certainly doesn't listen to any of the evidence on climate change.)
So, I propose to let the campaigning begin. Fareed For President 2008. Wherever I am in the world, I'll punch the chad for him in on my mail-in ballot, and pray it gets counted. Until then, I'll keep riding my bicycle.
daniel bowman simon
bohol, philippines
P.S. Here's another related topic you all might find interesting (from grist.org)
AAA FOR EFFORT
Legislation would force EPA to get realistic about fuel-efficiency stats
A bill debuting in Congress today would require the U.S. EPA to revamp its gas-mileage tests to more accurately reflect real-world driving conditions. Currently the EPA determines mileage ratings for vehicles by using 30-year-old tests that allow vehicle engines to get warm, never push the speed above 60 mph, never run the air conditioning, and never accelerate quickly. Enviro groups have long argued for reform of the tests, but now the bill has garnered the support of behemoth auto club AAA, which has conducted its own tests and found that the EPA is overestimating average gas mileage for several vehicle models, sometimes by almost 10 miles per gallon. The AAA's test, though not scientific, involves drivers around the country "getting groceries, getting stuck in traffic jams, driving the same way you would," says AAA spokesdude Mantill Williams. Now if only AAA would stop lobbying for more highways and fewer emissions
standards ...
straight to the source: USA Today, James R. Healey, 02 Mar 2005
see also, in Grist: Road Warriors -- A travel club provides a greener alternative to AAA -- by Michelle Nijhuis
see also, in Grist: Sticker Shocking -- The EPA has been misoverestimating the fuel economy of cars sold in the U.S., says enviro group -- in Muckraker
Posted by dbs at March 8, 2005 09:15 AM