First of all...Our hearts and prayers go to the people devastated by hurricane Katrina.

Now, to the point in my thread. Every newscast is talking about the terrible human and property lost on the Gulf Coast. Amazing and heart wrenching scenes.

Well, after the news cast has covered that info, there now comes the second big-ticket piece of news: that 20 to 25% of our energy needs come thru that region. Energy price increases will be inevitable.

Now, newscasts being the way they are, they conduct street polls: Do you know that Katrina's damage will increase the cost of gas? And what should we do?

No one, and I mean NO ONE of the interviewed mentioned the obvious, which should be "Energy Conservation".

Rather they had all sorts of suggestions, like "we should drill more in Alaska", "the environmentalists are at fault"...." and my favorite "we should demand the Saudis to pump more oil or else..." I stared in disbelief; environmentalists at fault? Or else what, we invade Saudia Arabia?


aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!! Let me out, Im surrounded by dumb people!

It might help you to understand, if you remember that Bush *was* elected, +/- a couple of percentage points.

R2-E2, 2G Prius.
Highway/City/Husband/Wife MPG: 56.5, as of 12/2005, 26K miles

Jac Nasser, Ford President: "We are planning to launch a hybrid version of
this car [P2000] within this year [1998]. We will also make FCEV available in
2004."

I prefer to think of it (incredulously) as that he actually won the popular vote this time (and I have my doubts sometimes about that as well).

However, your point is well made.
I lost faith in the electorate after November 2004, myself.

And that's why I close my posts with...

Schadenfreude...

"Fat Lazy Americans" - Is it any wonder why people "hate" us?

Kansas, not as flat as you think...

Yeah, that is clearly an over-simplification. Only 2/3rds are fat.

I was most impressed by the TV showing poor people who had decided to stay in New Orleans, at a time when Katrina was graded 5 and expected to hit NO directly (a day before landfall) because they did not have a car. When faced with a choice of *walking* or high risk of death, they chose death.

R2-E2, 2G Prius.
Highway/City/Husband/Wife MPG: 56.5, as of 12/2005, 26K miles

Jac Nasser, Ford President: "We are planning to launch a hybrid version of
this car [P2000] within this year [1998]. We will also make FCEV available in
2004."

EricGo, I'm disappointed in you. Your logic is usually well thought out.

What's the average speed of a person walking ?
A: about 4mph, I believe (and that's assuming a constant rate)

What speed was Katrina approaching at ?
A: a bit faster than 4mph (and she wasn't stopping to take rest breaks, either). IIRC, she was coming up on NO at about 14mph

You also infer that they chose *certain* death. Not the best assumption, IMO. In their minds, it was their best chance of survival to stay behind (we're talking lower income folks, not the 'die hards' who refused to leave out of principle).

You also have a percentage of that population that was infirm.

Of course, at about 4mph, they might have gotten out of NO faster than some of the people in cars - there's one major interstate out of town (and everyone was on it). A miracle that 80% of the populace was able to evac in a little over 36 hours.

It's disapointing, but you have to keep in mind that television is for entertainment. You might think that news is supposed to make you smarter, but it's not. News exists for it's entertainment value so you tune in and get their viewership numbers up so they can charge more for advertizing. Even if they got 95 smart responses, they choose to show the 5 dumb ones on the air for entertainment value.

Sad, but so true AZ.

Kansas, not as flat as you think...

Entertainment PLUS they do have agendas, there's lots of advertising money flowing in so it dictates how they shape information and people will propagate these messages, believe it or not.

2001 Prius Photos       2005 Prius Photos
'97 Prius Simulation Prius inner workings

Couldn't be more true. Popular news media outlets are far from truth. We're told whatever story will get us to watch/read, in a manner that will keep us watching/reading.

As for Bush, let's not pretend that our energy crisis is all his fault. Granted, his attitute toward energy conservation is miserable, but he's not the only politician who's been bought out by oil companies. Thay all have - Republicans and Democrats alike. Gore would have been no different. I also don't recall in Clinton's 8 years that he did anything noteworthy on this issue. At least tax breaks for hybrid purchases have come under Bush's watch. Not that it saves him, but at least it's something. But if you think that another president would be any different on energy, you're dreaming. They've all been bought.

*** Retired after 65,000 outstanding miles ***