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A Rise in Road Roundabouts

Monday, December 1st, 2008

There was a lot more car traffic this Thanksgiving than usual. People opted to either drive to their destination or simply stay home. On the news I saw some of the awful traffic backups around the country. It made me wonder about using roundabouts more because they not only relieve traffic congestion, but save gas, and idle time, which conserves on the amount of emissions in the air.

Roundabouts are used in place of an intersection where cars enter a circle until they exit onto another street. Because there is no stopping there is less gas used to accelerate, and/or idle. Everyone moves along at a steady pace.

Michigan is in the process of redoing many of their roadways. We should be seeing more roundabouts. A new single lane roundabout in Northville was completed earlier this year, one of 17 roundabouts in Southeast Michigan. Ann Arbor may soon see a roundabout at US-23 and Geddes Rd.

Roundabouts in other areas of the country like Carmel, Indiana have reported a “78% drop in accidents involving injuries, not to mention a savings of some 24,000 gal. of gas per year per roundabout because of less car idling.” According to a Time Magazine article called “You Want a Revolution,” Carmel’s mayor Jim Brainard received a climate-protection award this year from the U.S. conference of Mayors. Brainard thinks, “As our population densities become more like Europe’s, roundabouts will become more popular.”

That same article stated that the U.S. has about 1000 roundabouts in 25 states. With a lot of U.S. roads getting a makeover, it seems that roundabouts should be a no brainer.
The only problem is the fear of change many drivers feel. Anybody that has encountered a multiple lane roundabout like those in Boston knows the fear I’m talking about.

A single lane roundabout isn’t too bad, but more than one lane and “Oh Boy!” I got into a multiple lane roundabout on Hilton Head Island, SC and past the street I was trying to exit onto more than once. So there is a knack for navigating a sophisticated roundabout.

But there is an up side for “roundabout fears.” A report claimed that because the roundabout is a fairly new concept in the U.S. and a little confusing, the trepidation at entering one actually slows drivers down, and calls for a more alert approach to navigation, certainly a good thing. No wonder there are less accidents. It’s also very hard to enter a circle and get out of that circle while talking on a cell phone. But I bet we see drivers try to do it anyway.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1838753,00.html

http://www.mlive.com/annarbornews/news/index.ssf/2008/11/traffic_roundabouts_planned_at.html

http://sustainablemanitowoc.blogspot.com/2008/09/roundabouts-help-save-drivers-time-and.html

Posted in CO2 Emissions, Conservation, Fuel Economy, Green Construction, Holidays, Methods for Lowering Energy Costs, Michigan/Great Lakes | No Comments »

Detroit Area Coca-Cola Trucks To Be Hybrid Electric

Monday, October 20th, 2008

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WXYZ news announced this morning that Detroit area Coca Cola trucks would soon be running on hybrid electric motors. The trucks were purchased earlier this year from Eaton Corp.

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Eaton is an impressive corporation as far as transportation and the environment. There website states: “We create innovations in hybrid power and low emission vehicles as a leading provider of diesel-electric hybrid power systems for truck and bus applications on three continents. Eaton is also developing hydraulic hybrid power systems technologies for use in refuse trucks, delivery vehicles, buses and other applications. Eaton has a hybrid truck drivetrain center outside of Kalamazoo and is a Cleveland-based Corp.

http://www.eaton.com/EatonCom/Markets/Truck/index.htm.

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Coca-Cola ordered 120 of the hybrid trucks, the largest North American commercial order from Eaton’s hybrid systems according to WWJ. Coke previewed these trucks when they purchased 20 of them last year. They evidently liked their performance.

The article below said that Coca-Cola did extensive tests and found that “Eaton�s hybrid-electric drivetrain equipped trucks decreased emissions by 32 percent and fuel consumption by up to 37 percent.” This kind of fuel savings could start a trend.

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http://www.wwj.com/Coke-to-Buy-Hybrid-Delivery-Trucks-From-

Eaton/1729913

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Posted in Alternative Energy Sources, Biodiesel, CO2 Emissions, Conservation, Diesel Fuel Pollution, Environmentalism, Fuel Economy, Green Products, Michigan Environmental News, Michigan Pollution, U.S. Automakers | 2 Comments »

Carpooling Saves Unbelievable Amount of Gas

Monday, July 21st, 2008

I heard these facts on the news this morning. Carpooling with just one extra person in each driver’s car would save the U.S. 32 millions gallons of gas per day.

Baby Boomers remember all the stuff from the 70’s. I don’t know why those same coping mechanisms aren’t automatically kicking in now anyway. It’s a no brainer. Can’t afford gas money and insurance, take on a rider. I picked my girlfriend up in Dearborn Hts. everyday from Flat Rock to travel to Farmington Hills.� She paid me gas money. Sharing the driving was not an option. She had an old station wagon with no heat. She actually drove it a short distance in the winter and had to scrape the inside of her windows! I had a old Ford Grenada with heat but no A/C.

The economy was horrible in 1974 too. There was a war, and an oil crunch. Unemployment lines were horrible. This is how we coped. Everyone seemed to have more than one job,�and�second hand furniture to include crates for end tables and the ever lovin tapestries on the walls, ceiling, as throws, and bedcovers. Being picky about a roomate wasn’t an option. It was about�survival.�So of�course we carpooled, usually in ratty can’t-believe-it’s-still-running cars. And vans, well they could really haul a bunch of people around.

Now it’s like pulling teeth to get people to carpool. People�comment that they love their cars. They really enjoy driving alone. I hope they like them well enough because if things get worse for the economy and housing, plenty of people will be calling his/her car�”Home” as many have admittedly done. �

Tags: Carpooling
Posted in CO2 Emissions, Conservation, Fuel Economy | 1 Comment »

Michigan’s Speed Limit May Be Lowered

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

Since we’re basically back to the drawing board relative to greatly lowering fossil fuel use in Michigan because of the Senate’s bad decision to cut mandates to business from our energy bills last week, Michigan has to look to other ways of cutting pollution from fossil fuel. So it’s already been suggested that our speed limit be lowered.

Personally, I don’t care if the speed limit is lower. I’ve lived through this before and it cut down road rage, traffic accidents, and therefore insurance premiums. If it’s posted 55mph, then we’ll go 70mph instead of 80mph and greater that I witness on the road all the time. Mind you, these speeders are generally juggling cell phones too.

Anyway, if the speed limit is lowered and we don’t like it, we only have ourselves to blame for not paying attention to what’s happening in our state congress relative to cutting pollution, helping the environment, creating more jobs, and enticing part of the Green Gold Rush to come to Michigan. It’s not happening for a reason. Pay attention and be pro-active in responding to our elected officials or we’re never going to turn around.

Posted in Conservation, Environmentalism, Fuel Economy, Michigan Energy Legislation, Michigan Environmental News, Michigan Environmental Policy, Michigan Pollution | 3 Comments »

Monroe Offers the Easiest Route for Car Shopping

Friday, May 30th, 2008

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I went car shopping today. I’m not going to give a report on all the makes and models because I was looking for kinda sporty cars and sedans that get 30 mpg or more. I’m not and never have been an aficionado of SUV’s. If I wanted a truck, I’d buy a truck. I have a problem with the idea of exiting from an SUV all dressed up in heels. Not going to happen, even if that sucker cost over $50,000. Besides that, I hate getting behind them where I’m at the mercy of their brake lights only. And the women that drive them…Omagawd. They’ve come right over in my lane more than once because they just can’t see, and are always, always on that cell phone. And I don’t have a small car. I have a tank of a Cadillac STS.

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I shopped in Monroe just to see and drive the cars. It’s a great place to look since just about all the dealerships are either on Monroe St. or Telegraph Rd. But it still took me 4 hours to browse through 4 dealerships. I went to the Toyota, Mazda, and VW dealership on the south end of town first. Check out the Eos VW. It looks like a little hardtop but with the flick of a switch, it’s a convertible. You have to watch this magic. It reminds me of a Lady Bug flicking its wings to take off when it transforms itself.� Ah the Germans are ingenious. As a hardtop it also sports a moon roof. When I drove this car, I swear I was in my old BMW. It hugs curves, zips around, is almost silent, and with the top down there isn’t a really big draft so you can actually hear the radio, and talk to one another. I made the comment that my old Beemer was manual, and guess what, with the flick of a switch on the automatic gearshift, it becomes a clutch free manual drive. One button puts the top up and down into the trunk, and one button makes all the windows go up and down at once if you like. What a great little car, RED of course.

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Next stop was the Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge dealership. I’ve been seeing an awful lot of Avengers and Chargers around that look downright sporty. They look so much alike that I went with the Avenger since it gets a little better gas mileage. It was black with the sports package. What a comfortable ride. The seats were the best on my back anyway. It had good pickup, and what I couldn’t cram in that huge trunk, especially when both back seats pull forward. It would be good for trips to Lowe’s or packing up for camping, fishing, sporting trips. And what a deal. You can pretty much get one of these with little to nothing down, and for only $200/mo. for a 3-year lease. No wonder I’m seeing so many of these. I think I’d take the red one.

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Groulx GMC, Pontiac, and Olds has more than a few choices also. The G8 has the look of a luxury sedan and sports car. There are two black ones sitting out front that I was immediately drawn to. What I ended up taking for a ride was another convertible, a white G6 Pontiac. It does pretty much what that little VW Eos did. With the flick of a switch the metamorphosis takes place from a hard top to a convertible. This car rode like my Cadillac and was fast. I took every car out on the expressway, and this one just floated. I’d have to say this was definitely a luxury convertible. Oh, and the one I test drove was discounted�a lot, as it was previously owned with only 1500 miles on it. If you’ve been holding back to get a convertible like this, better get down there for a great deal on this car.

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I continued on to Victory Honda where I planned on looking at an Accord Coupe but could not get past the 4-door sedan. They’ve redone these cars to look like they belong in the Mercedes class of cars. What a mighty fine looking luxury sedan in the mid-$20,000 range. The leather seats and appointments are beautiful, and the back seat could fit two 6 ft. tall people no problem.

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I had my 85-year-old mother in tow for this shopping spree. She was with me for the last 3 cars I bought sans my husband. Mind you this car only has 4 cylinders, (memories of my Beemer), but is really quick on the E-way. This car isn’t my Cadillac but it’s mighty close. The sales girl was showing me all the gizmos and a car has to go a long way to match what my 9 year-old STS has but this was close for half of what I paid for that Cad back in 99. And the safety features are phenomenal. There is a covering under the hood held in place by plastic tabs. If for some reason the engine starts on fire, the tabs melt, the covering comes down on the engine and smothers the fire. There is a breakaway engine mount so that if the car is hit head-on the engine drops and doesn’t end up in your lap. The front panels by the lights are super reinforced, and there are more airbags than I’ve ever seen on a car. Even the bumpers are 5 mph proof. If someone taps you, the bumpers crunch in but pop back out. Needless to say as we were driving along my mom looked over and said: “This is the car.”

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And this probably will be the car, but that is me. There are fine Chevy cars too, especially the new Malibu, which I looked at before. I’ve also perused the Ford stock of cars like Ford’s Fusion, and Ford’s Escape that gets absolutely great mileage for a great price on a fine looking SUV if that is your preference. I have two friends that bought the Ford Focus that absolutely love their cars too.

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If you’re tired of paying high gas prices, get out there and look around. The pickings are really, really great, and the deals are galore. The more cars I drove, the harder it was to make a choice. They all offered something I was looking for, and pretty much came with great stereo systems, MP3 and Bluetooth capabilities, nice interior appointments, sport’s packages with great looking wheels and trim, etc. The wheels and color can really make a car in my opinion. What a day. I’m bushed.�

Tags: Honda, Volkswagon
Posted in Chrysler, Conservation, Ford, Fuel Economy, GM, Monroe, Michigan, U.S. Automakers | 2 Comments »

Gasoline Saver and Fast Electric Prototype Car for the Near and Not So Near Future

Wednesday, March 26th, 2008

I saw the Mileage Master on GMA last week. It’s an invention by 69-year old Fred Crane. Of course it didn’t go into any explanation how the gizmo works because the patent is still pending. But if you install a Mileage Master (when they are available), you will be able to flip a switch at 35 mph and cut off fuel to half your cylinders. Crane says he gets 42 mpg on his current car, but the one he had before got a whopping 60-mpg.

Crane is feisty. He won’t sell out to the oil companies. He thinks, “They would just throw it away.” He also says that if you get 20 mpg and spend $100 per month, you could lower that bill to $35.00 with his gizmo. This should be on the market sooner than the prototype electric car. Now if a 69 year old man come up with this tinkering around, we have to wonder don’t we?

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4464201&page=1

Ian Wright is an entrepreneur that’s out to change the perception of electric cars, that they are slugs or as he called them in a GMA article “golf carts.” Well he’s built a $150,000 prototype that goes 170 mph, and is all electric. It looks like a little racecar. Sharp. But it won’t be a production car for 12 years.�But this�does go to show that electric cars may be a possibility after all. In everything I read I couldn’t find how they recharge these cars. The first link in the first paragraph also takes you to other prototypes like the T-Zero car.

Read about it and see it: http://www.wrightspeed.com/x1.html.
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Posted in Automobile, CO2 Emissions, Conservation, Environmentalism, Fuel Economy, Green Products, Industry, Racecar | No Comments »

The First Person I Know with a Prius

Tuesday, February 5th, 2008

My girlfriend just bought a Prius. A touring Prius, which is a little bigger and comparable to a four-door sedan. She and her husband went to the auto show in search of a true hybrid, and mulled over the idea of a Prius. He already has a little Ford Focus and loves it. She said she would have gladly bought American, but they didn’t have much. I told her American cars are soon to get their parts from all over the place, pretty much do already, and hopefully vice versa for the foreign cars. So the term American means the company, not where the labor, the parts, or the money comes from.

I don’t blame her for getting a Prius. Her 12-year-old Buick Roadmaster had seen its better days and had 108,000 miles on it. She wanted to be environmentally friendly this time around and cut her gas bill to nothing. She only uses the car to drive around Monroe, MI, and to and from work probably less than an 8-mile round trip everyday. If she takes the back roads, that Prius will only be using gas to keep the electric motor running.

We all packed in her new car Saturday night and went for a ride. I was in the front and have to say it felt like I was in a Jetson mobile. The windshield is long, and angled and so is the dashboard, so the digital readout is way in front of you. Very futuristic. It’s doesn’t have the walled in feeling of a regular dashboard. There is a small monitor in the middle of it that shows all type of functions. My friend’s husband left the screen on consumption. What shows is an animated picture of the underside of the car, the wheels turning, and arrows showing the direction the energy is going to and coming from. The Prius is supposed to switch from electric to a mix of electric and gas at 25 mph, and then to gasoline alone after 55 mph. On the highway, it gets 47 mpg on top of that.� Surprisingly her Prius didn’t do that. It didn’t use gas until 37 mph sometimes. That was an added bonus.

When we approached the railroad tracks, her husband shifted a gear on the console and didn’t bother to brake because that shift slowed the car down to a crawl instead. I guess slowing down is as bad as taking off as far as fuel consumption. The shift slows the car down gradually without a lot of friction.

Other things we found out: You don’t have to have your keys in hand to get in. Her Prius reads the key fob in her pocket as she walks up to the car and unlocks it. She only needs to step on the brake and push a button to start the car. When she’s backing up, the monitor shows her what’s behind and what she is approaching along with a back-up alarm.� And her Prius is really roomy inside, albeit another car where you feel like you’re sitting on the floor, but for now it feels solid. She is 5′8″ and sat quite comfortable stretched in the back seat.

Tech wise it has blue tooth so she can dock her phone. There is a place for an Ipod of course. Both the phone and music are voice activated and are shown on the monitor as well. There are 7 hidden speakers surrounding the interior. And the back seats fold down creating quite a large hatchback.

Oh, I forgot. Her Prius only holds 8 gallons of gas. She bought it Thursday, January 31, 2008 and filled it up, all 8 gallons. I’ll blog when she stops to get gas for her Prius again. It’ll probably make us sick.��

Posted in Automobile, CO2 Emissions, Conservation, Environmentalism, Ford, Fuel Economy, Global Warming, Green Products, Green Retailers, Industry, Pollution, Protesting Pollution | No Comments »

Speeders Highlight a Big Tail Chase

Thursday, January 31st, 2008

I was listening to Good Morning America this morning and it seems cities around the country are having a hard time controlling speeding drivers. Follow along here. Scottsdale, AZ was the first city to have speed enforcement cameras on one of its highways. Other cities are following suit. A county in Maryland that has speed cameras simply sends a citation to the speeder in the mail if they are clocked at more than 11 mph over the limit. Eleven miles over is a far cry from one driver that was caught doing 131 mph past a 65 mph sign. This camera system has its detractors that claim the cameras aren’t always accurate and they are limited. But the cameras work.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety knows that Americans speed and on all types of roads.� The speed cameras have got the 75 mph crowd way down from 15 percent to less than 2. That’s quite a drop.� But why do we speed? Because we can. And most of the time we do it around 20 percent over the limit. We should be asking why during this oil crunch and with CO2 emission overload hasn’t our federal government lowered the speed limit to 55 mph like it did in the 70’s?
The idea of speeding because we can is bolstered by our car industry. Don’t get me wrong; it’s sheer joy to hear pistons slamming while jumping out in front of the guy that wasn’t going to let me on the expressway. But that’s about it. Keep traveling too fast and get caught, not to mention burning way too much gas and emitting excessive CO2 in the process. We should wonder about the contradiction of producing speedy cars in a country of speed limits. It’s stupid irony.

Lowered speed limits and the introduction of ethanol pumps, something I have yet to see anywhere, were the combination of choice in the 70’s when gas was high. I don’t think ethanol is the best idea, it will burden the space for food crops and give us another empire that is corn rich, but among alternative choices, it has its place. So where are the ethanol pumps? Are they gone the way of a lower speed limit?

Some of the excuses look extremely flimsy for all the things we do and don’t. If we had ethanol pumps back in the 70’s, than we should most surely be able to get them out there now and fast. It isn’t like we don’t have the technology. Ditto for lowering the speed limit. As for car manufacturers, Daimler-Chrysler (at the time) had the technology to produce hydrogen buses for Iceland 5 years ago but “nada” for us now. Ford and GM are slow to present true hybrids and keep lobbying on fuel economy issues. They claim they need time to produce 40-mpg cars. But back in 1984, the Big 3 automakers produced a total of 35 cars that got 40 mpg or more.� GM had 19, Ford had 6, and Chrysler had 10 of those gas savers. I say drag out those engineering plans and slap a new, sleek, light weight body on those babies and get em out there! My girlfriend who is in the market for a hybrid came back from the auto show disappointed and a little unnerved by the propaganda she heard like, “this is a REAL car,” because it goes too fast for the speed limits and burns mega petro.

Have you followed the logic and gathered a clear idea that nothing adds up here? We chase our tail�backwards! The experience and technology is there, so we have to look to the reason it’s not happening. There is only one industry that benefits from speeders, inefficient fuel economy, and no alternative fuel sources readily available�OIL.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4221537

http://www.mpgomatic.com/2007/10/19/super-cheap-high-mpg-cars-1984/
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Posted in Alternative Energy, Alternative Energy Sources, Automobile, Bush Administration, CO2 Emissions, Chrysler, Conservation, Energy, Energy Costs, Environmental Legislation, Environmental Spin, Environmentalism, Ethanol, Ford, Fossil Fuel, Fuel Economy, GM, Global Warming Policy, Industry, Legislators, Methods for Lowering Energy Costs, Oil Industry, Oil Lobby, Politics, Pollution, The Denial Machine, U.S. Automakers, U.S. Dept. of Energy | No Comments »

EPA Blocks State’s Rights to Limit Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Friday, January 25th, 2008

Get a load of our democratic process with this latest veto out of Washington. The Bush EPA nixed California’s proposed emission standards for the state that targeted the trucking, shipping, cement, semiconductor and consumer product industries. Instead Bush signed into law a new energy bill that requires automakers to cut emissions by 25 percent by 2009 and by 40 percent by 2020. The EPA said this covers the issue of emissions, end of story. Was that apples to apples?

Sixteen other states have already approved emissions laws and were waiting for this waiver by the EPA too. The EPA is supposed to have sole authority to make pollution rules, but our Federal Clean Air Act allows states to create their own rules with an EPA-approved waiver. The waiver was nixed today. The Supreme Court just ruled in favor of 12 states that sued the same EPA for dragging their feet about CO2 emissions. The Supreme Court had to tell the EPA that greenhouse gases can be considered “air pollutants” under the Clean Air Act and they were in violation for not regulating them. And today the EPA blocked California and the other states from doing what should have been the EPA’s job and substituted with Bush’s flimsy energy bill.�

So the states go through a lot of effort for nothing. The emission laws were part of California’s “Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.” The NRDC and many public interest groups co-sponsored it. California committed to reducing overall global warming pollution by 30% by 2020. They figured on new technologies as well as pollution cutting strategies to meet these goals. They sought the help of E2, “a national network of business people who work with the NRDC to champion the economic benefits of good environmental policy” and “who built a solid case for the ways in which curbing global warming could actually benefit California’s economy” (Nature’s Voice Newsletter by the NRDC Jan/Feb 2008). Just what I thought. Green is good for the economy.

I was intrigued by E2 and read on that they argue, “that clean technologies would create jobs and attract new companies to the state…supported by the fact that clean tech now ranks third in venture capital investment in North America.” Told ya so Michigan. Clean technology isn’t likely to coexist alongside coalburners and refineries. They showed that California would save “barrels” of money by reducing dependence on fossil fuel. It also stated that it took 124 meetings at the state capital by E2 volunteer members to “present their business-based argument.” They worked hard to come up with legislation that protects the environment and creates economic opportunity. They believe global warming controls will spur economic prosperity. This was a great program, until the automobile lobby got involved. Yeah, another lobby.

According to our own Detroit News:

Using a one-page script and a list of auto facilities obtained from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group that represents automakers, staffers at the Department of Transportation called nearly every congressional member from Michigan and Ohio, urging them to oppose California’s request, according to records released this week by the House Oversight Committee. They also targeted other auto-heavy districts and governors in at least seven other states.
While federal law bars government officials from lobbying lawmakers on issues before Congress, there are no such restrictions on regulatory questions, such as the California waiver.

California filed a lawsuite challenging the EPA’s denial of the waiver. And there is a House Committee investigating the agency�s decision to deny it also. This is getting good.

Read more about E2: http://www.e2.org/jsp/main.jsp.

About the Supreme Courts decision: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june07/emissions_5-29.html.

The Detroit News article about the auto lobby: http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070705/AUTO01/707050350/1148.

Posted in Alternative Energy, Alternative Energy Sources, Automobile, Biodiesel, Bush Administration, CO2 Emissions, California, Cement, Clean Air Act, Conservation, E2, EPA, Energy, Energy Costs, Environment and Jobs, Environmental Capital, Environmental Legislation, Environmentalism, Ethanol, Federal Government, Financial, Fossil Fuel, Fuel Economy, Funding for Green Business, Green Investments, Industry, Legislators, Methods for Lowering Energy Costs, Michigan/Great Lakes, Morality, NRDC, Oil Industry, Organizations, Politics, Pollution, Refineries, State Gov't., The Detroit News, Transportation, U.S. Automakers | 4 Comments »

Savor the Dream Cruise

Monday, July 23rd, 2007

The Dream Cruise is around the corner again this year. I love old cars but when I think of all the CO2 that’s concentrated in one spot, Southeastern Michigan, from that parade, I cringe. That’s a lot of fumes because the cars are old and more than likely have no catalytic converter. I know people who’ve driven their cars in the cruise once, and never again. Many of those old cars do not have A/C for one thing. It’s hot! The other issue they said were the fumes, especially on hot humid days where the air kind of lingers. Don’t think it’s any big deal? A study was done on tollbooth workers at a busy highway. Blood and urine samples were taken from the toll booth workers, along with a control group. The toll workers had nearly twice the urine levels of 8-OHdG, a marker of DNA damage inflicted by free radicals. They also had higher levels of 1-OHP, a metabolic byproduct from inhaling exhaust fumes. Free radicals cause cell mutation and cancer. It’s not hard to believe. Inhaling exhaust fumes is a no muss, no fuss choice for suicide. I know a lot of people reading this will be up in arms, “Oh no, not our Dream Cruise.” But why do they have to be moving is what I want to know? I like being able to walk around and look at, and in, old classic cars thank you. The parade is basically for the car owners, not the observers.

I’ve sat through and been trapped in the Downriver Cruise. Let’s put it this way, we jury our art shows so that we don’t have too many of one type of artistry. That isn’t so with cruises. There may be 10-20 old 57 Chevy’s. I don’t need to see them in every color. See what I mean? Everyone from everywhere should not be invited. That might help alleviate the world’s largest old car traffic jam.� And that traffic jam is what causes many of those old muscle cars to overheat. One friend of ours was cruising his old vet. He made it about 4 miles and pulled over with an overheated engine�never again. There has got to be a better way.

The Pontiac Silverdome isn’t doing much these days and has a huge parking lot. Like I said, sitting for hours watching the cars go by is just that. You get all cars, any cars, and many repeats of the same model. Give me a classic car show any day, where I can walk around, look inside. If you think I’m a big party pooper for the Dream Cruise, think again.

The biggest racecar organization in the world, Formula One, wants to become high-tech pioneers for the environment. They’re proposing smaller engines, the use of bio-fuel, and restricting the use of wind tunnels. Formula One will introduce major rule changes by 2011 to promote fuel conservation. When I read this, I knew the Dream Cruise is more than likely on it’s last leg altogether, or at very least will be substantially downsized in the future. When the leaders in the racecar business go green, it’s a pretty good precursor to changes for other automobile extravaganzas. This also paints a dubious picture for classic car owners. What happens when we no longer have gas, as we know it, particularly high-octane gas?

For now, savor the Dream Cruise.� Embrace it, revel in it, take pictures, and buy memorabilia, because we just don’t know how long it will continue in the face of growing environmental problems that cannot be denied. Michigan is hurting economically and won’t do anything drastic yet because the Cruise brings money for many small business owners here. But, just watch the news about the weather on CNN tonight�fires, floods, volcanoes, and earthquakes worldwide. Our world and everything in it is important too. Without a world to live in, economics is for not.� To read about changes for Formula One: http://www.enn.com/todays-news/13181.

Posted in CO2 Emissions, Conservation, EPA, Environmentalism, Fuel Economy, Global Warming, Health, Michigan Pollution, Michigan/Great Lakes, Pollution, U.S. Automakers, Weather, Weather/Climate | 2 Comments »

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