.
This evening, Mark Williams a talk show host on the conservative radio station AM 1530 in Sacramento was expanding at some length about this. He was not convinced that it was all that bad, noting:
- A rather small group of protestors, perhaps 30, showed up to protest, looking worse than nothing.
- the actual text of the bill doesn't seem to contain most of the things that its detractors have been objecting to, such as dramatic increases in taxes on SUV's, gas and mileage, and
- the California Air Resource Board (CARB) has done much good in cleaning up our air, such as the Los Angeles smog.
To be fair, at the same time, Williams acknowledged that given the sneaky underhanded way the bill was passed, he was looking over his shoulder, figuring something must have been snuck in that would be really bad.
On another front, a few months ago, Popular Science had an article on hybrid engines (combination gas/electric), going at length into their anticipated usage in SUV's, with expectations of getting SUV mileage up to 40 MPG in 2 to 4 years.
From this article Hybrids Get Hot:
The initial focus will be on gas-guzzling pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles, where automakers can use smaller, more fuel-efficient engines without compromising power. Ford, for example, is planning a hybrid version of its compact Escape SUV for the 2004 model year. With an electric motor, the 2.0-liter four-cylinder 127-horsepower hybrid Escape will match the acceleration of the 3.0-liter 201-hp V6 version currently available—and deliver 40 miles per gallon. "We're breaking the link between fuel economy and performance," Wallace says, adding that though a hybrid drivetrain will add about $3,000 to a new vehicle's cost, this premium will likely be offset with a federal tax credit.
My take is that we're overreacting. Yes, this bill has the usual problems with extending government and appealing to the environmentalist wackos. And it may be good for some Dump Davis votes -- which could well justify the overreaction. But SUV's could easily have the needed mileage in the needed time frame, and that's not that bad an outcome.
So long as Simon is governor ...
The ball GrayDown's worried about right now is Green gubernatorial candidate Manuel Camejo's breaking the 5% barrier. It puts paid to his re-election bid. He's gotta toss the moderates overboard and keep the enviro wackos happy. The way GrayDown figures it, the moderates have no where to go.
engineers have made car engines much more efficient, cutting harmful emissions of the typical new car by more than 95 percent since 1970, when the original Clean Air Act was passed.But that's not the point! (of course) The socialists in society want to change the way EVERYONE lives. They want to force be to give up what they want for the COMMON GOOD in order to further indoctrinate them. Tear down society and wants and desires one at a time, then build society in the Leftist image.
