HUGE NEWS
Remember Bush v. Gore? Ted Olson argued for Bush (and was later his Solicitor General), David Boies argued for Gore. Now the two have teamed up to argue for marriage equality. ‘We believe this is the kind of matter where Americans must come together and recognize the rights of all citizens,’ Olson told the Associated Press. ‘For a long time I’ve personally felt that we are doing a grave injustice for people throughout this country by denying equality to gay and lesbian individuals,’ he told The Advocate.
39 MPG
Bill Kistler: ‘The Bride and I laugh every time we read about better automobile mileage in your column. Honda made the CRX in the ’80s which consistently got 40 and 50 mpg plus – no special tricks, just made them that way. So the answer is just get the manufacturers to do what they already can (and did) do.’
☞ Here‘s a great piece that explains how Honda could manage that – the CRX was 1,100 pounds lighter than today’s Prius – and the trade-offs involved.
DIESEL
Peter K.: ‘Before you go out and buy a diesel vehicle like the VW TDI Diesel Jetta that Stewart Dean recommended, first you should know: 1) diesel exhaust is poison, far worse than gasoline exhaust – as explained here. (‘The cancer risks from diesel emissions are about ten times higher than the cancer risks from all other hazardous air pollutants combined.’) And here. (‘The American Lung Association and the EPA have estimated that soot pollution causes more than 4,700 premature deaths annually in just nine major American cities.’). . . . 2) when you can find it, diesel fuel costs about 20% more than regular gas. . . . 3) the EPA ratings for his VW TDI Diesel Jetta are 30/41 city/highway mpg versus 48/45 for a Prius. He may do better with his diesel but so do Prius drivers; the new EPA figures are underestimates. I averaged 45 mpg with my Honda Civic hybrid, driving like a typical driver here in Massachusetts, where ‘hypermiling‘ means 75 mph. . . . 4) Off the highway, hybrid and electric vehicles get much better mileage because they use ‘regenerative braking’ to recoup the energy normally lost when you slow down. A hybrid’s engine turns off when you stop, saving fuel and avoiding pollution during traffic jams.’
☞ But those pollution links are old and lately diesel has not been more expensive than gas. Stay tuned.
Tomorrow: A Truly Great Commencement Speech