Posted on 04/28/2002 8:00:00 AM PDT by Dog Gone
If that's the case, how about letting the market make that determination, not government fiat.
So what is a guy advocating more government control doing on a website call FREE Republic?
Cousin to "A Leap of Faith"? How about "Leaping from the Pan into the Fire"? Or "The Great Society".
Each represents a 'leap' from where we were at some point in time (market, society, culture) toward some unkown but no doubt desirable destination. Stupid ideas (enviro-whacko, gungrabbers, etc.) from the Left shall now be kept in my "Great Leaps Forward" folder. Thanks VOA.
Can anyone state anything good factual about ethanol as a gasoline additive? The only thing I can think of is that it boosts measured octane (allowing fuel companies to use lower-octane fuel for the rest of their gasoline) though unlike real octane which makes fuel less volatile but provide more energy, ethanol makes it less volatile by providing less energy.
Ethanol would improve emissions in a car without a catalytic convertor, but those aren't exactly the most common breed these days (and since they're generally collectible, people who drive them generally don't want to destroy the engines by running ethanol through them). AFAIK, farm equiment is exempt from fuel-additive requirements, even though gasoline powered farm equipment without catalytic convertors is probably the place such fuels would provide the most environmental benefit. Oh well...
When the "alternative" comes from taxes, it's government fiat. If you believe that paying taxes is a "choice," I guess that's your perogative. I happen to believe it's coercive.
For some reason, the EPA requires oxygenates in gasoline, presumably to lower emissions. There seem to be two choices, ethanol and MTBE. MTBE delivers better engine performance and does a nice job in preventing smog, but has a nasty habit of getting into ground water. Whether that is from tank leaks or is a tailpipe emission, I don't know.
Ethanol is safer for the environment, but it's a lousy fuel. Farmers love it, because it drives up the price of corn.
I agree that there are legitimate government functions - national defense being at the top. And as long as roads are publicly-owned, not private, obviously they must be paid for by taxes. Public transportation, however, never having paid for itself in any city, is simply a transfer payment from those who don't use it to those who do.
And yes, I realize there are taxpayers who don't use the roads who are also getting the shaft. That number, though, is much smaller than is the case with public transportaion. Even so, it should be mitigated through tolling whenever possible.
Two technologies were devised in the 1970's to reduce emissions: catalytic convertors and oxygenated gasoline. Used alone, either will significantly reduce emissions with minimal effect on fuel economy. Used together, however, the emissions reduction is little better than either alone, yet the reduction in fuel economy is greater than the sum of the two methods.
In the burroughs of London, mass transportation was a profitable business well into the 20th century. The above-ground and subsurface (shallow-underground) trains turned a direct profit for their investors. At least three of the deep underground routes were funded by private investors; though I don't think they turned a profit directly, they did lead to increased business for the surface adn subsurface routes.
No, those who don't use public transportation benefit by less congestion on the roadways. Mass transportation also provides greater availability of limited parking in urban areas.
I've seen police riding bicycles on the sidewalk along side the bicycle lane. I've seen a few bicyclists riding next to the bicycle lane (in exercise attire; this was meant to replace commuter traffic).
Someone got rich repainting all of those roads. And when they laid down new reflectors, the ratio was 1 to 5 (where there were 5, now there is 1 if any); this makes it hard to see the lanes at night when the roads are wet (or flooded).
Throughput of many roads was effectively cut in half doubling the wear on the lane and increasing congestion and pollution. Government inaction...
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