A FABULOUS SMART BUS.

An innovative new bus that straddles two lanes of a freeway allows any vehicle 6.6 feet or under to speed under it as they both travel together. The bus stops the cars continue on.  I saw a video of the bus moving swiftly along the freeway with traffic zooming under it. Wow, I thought. It is now a reality.

You can go to Treehugger to watch a video of it in action.http://www.treehugger.com/public-transportation/straddle-bus-exists

It comes from China.

It’s called a TEB, a Transit Explore Bus. It can travel at up to 60 km/h (37.2 mph) with passengers hopping on and off by way of ramps that fold outwards when the bus reaches a stop. Reportedly, the ETB could replace up to 40 conventional buses, save 800 tons of fuel and 2,480 tons of carbon emissions each year, all at around 16 percent of the cost of a subway.

The test bus does stretch over two lanes of traffic, though the model is only long enough for 300 passengers – the company imagines longer TEBs will carry as many as 1,400 people. Certainly could compete with planes if they can develop a higher speed TEB for cross-country highways.

The TEB-1 took to a test track in Qinhuangdao in China’s Hebei Province, on August 2. This allowed for testing of the braking system, along with drag and power consumption.

China Xinhua News reports that the TEB has already received interest from governments in Brazil, France, India and Indonesia.

We should have them here on long haul freeways like Highway 5. All trucks would be directed to their own lanes. Lets go for California first!!

SCIENCE TERRIBLY WRONG, GRATEFULLY RIGHT.

This scientist once approved the killing of 40,000 elephants to cure overgrazing in Africa. He knows now he got it terribly wrong.

In this astounding video presentation, his mistake made him careful and he answered a question that puzzled scientists for many years. It has great portent for all of us sharing a finite planet and may be the most important solution to reversing climate change. Don’t miss this video.

http://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_green_the_world_s_deserts_and_reverse_climate_change.html

 

POLITICAL CIVIL WAR

William Howard Taft was the President of the United States in 1910.  He was a Republican and called the Trust Buster President because he broke up over -arge corporations with  monopolies  on products.

He strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission , promoted Civil Service Reform and strengthened the Postal Service. He also passed the Constitutional Amendment establishing income tax.  The business interests of the day hated him and predicted the downfall of the United States over such horrifying changes.

Instead, we had years of prosperity and a burgeoning middle class. Workers made money and spent it and made  more money for Wall St. than even the Wall St. mogus imagined.

Today, we have a political civil war going on, it’s all about money and power, not the working people of our nation. We have a war on the middle class and an out of touch electorate.

Consider this quote from the past:

“We must close union offices, confiscate their money and put their leaders in prison. We must reduce workers’ salaries and take away their right to strike.”
– Adolf Hitler, May 2 1933

That quote has a frighteningly current ring to it among some politicians and media moguls I’ve heard.

There are hundreds of Electric vehicles being developed around the world. Fast vehicles, with better power, and distance.  Design engineers from every country have developed amazing new technologies.  These new technologies could translate into  jobs but our politicians can’t see beyond their own personal power cartel called a campaign committee, its sole energy devoted to getting them re-elected.

Published on Monday, May 9, 2011 by The Guardian/UK

Renewable Energy Can Power the World, Says Landmark IPCC Study

UN’s climate change science body says renewables supply, particularly solar power, can meet global demand

by Fiona Harvey

Renewable energy could account for almost 80% of the world’s energy supply within four decades – but only if governments pursue the policies needed to promote green power, according to a landmark report published on Monday.

 

—

This is America under a corpocracy, not a democracy. A blighted Detroit neighborhood after Ford closed their plant and sent production overseas. And, who is getting blamed for a neighborhood that should be bulldozed?  Not the Governor of this state. Not the Feds. It is the poor people, mostly immigrants who have moved into sectors and formed a community. People are rightfully fearful that because it is poverty stricken, crime and drug riddled, we will have a homegrown terrorists breeding ground.

America is getting more and more blighted neighborhoods because of the mortgage crisis. Some states, like Ohio, is taking over,  from the banks, these foreclosed homes.  ( We bailed out those banks with  billions of taxpayer dollars.) Fixing up the blighted areas as low cost rentals for people who have marginable jobs is working and doesn’t create instant slums like the old projects have in the past.

And the business sector that can fix our problems if only we allow them to be unfettered and unregulated?  This is one example of how they do it. This youtube video is very short and to the point.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuGE1VxVsYo

 

Read the preamble to our constitution and ask yourself, what part of Promote The General Welfare do our politicians not understand?

promote the general Welfare

This, and the next part of the Preamble, are the culmination of everything that came before it — the whole point of having tranquility, justice, and defense was to promote the general welfare — to allow every state and every citizen of those states to benefit from what the government could provide. The framers looked forward to the expansion of land holdings, industry, and investment, and they knew that a strong national government would be the beginning of that.

I’ve had my rant for today. I hope to blog in the days ahead, as we travel the road south, some positive values to counteract the negative here.

HATE TO HARP, BUT…

The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors is at it again. Two teenage high school girls appeared before the board to ask that April 15th through the 22nd be declared Earth Week. I guess they didn’t do their homework on the word sustainability, as it got maligned at an earlier board meeting. (See my blog of April 1st.) The text of the resolution, drafted by the student organization, explaining the goals of Earth Week, had the line “…a peaceful, just and sustainable world…” According to Supervisor Tom Tryon, a libertarian, in his opinon, using the word “just” means environmental justice. Which, according to him, has a whole agenda around it. Tryon said, “Sustainability, what it has become a term for, in my opinion, is economic stagnation. Sustainability is not about change. Its about having no change.” And, on and on and on about free market capitalism, socialism, the climate change is natural, and bad government. Sometimes I think we vote in idiots.
The rest of the board voted FOR the resolution. And, our tea party guy, Spellman, much to his credit, pointed out that this high school club goes around recycling cans and earning money for their school activities. Thank you Spellman for common sense.
These girls are not exactly opposing capitalism and promoting Marxist socialism. The girls think its about preserving a quality way of life. Spellman recognized these girls and their organization as working together for positive outcomes.
Tom and I have been friendly adversaries for years. I’ll have to ask Tom if he was ever a boy scout.