Until his retirement, Rick Sikes managed the fleet of cars and trucks operating in the city of Santa Monica, CA, a municipality generally known for its progressive stance with respect to environmental stewardship. He worked hard to integrate alternative-fueled vehicles of all types: electric, yes, but also an interesting array of hydrogen, natural gas, even propane.
I interviewed Rick as the basis for a chapter of my first book, “Renewable Energy–Facts and Fantasies,” as an example of what forward-thinking cities are capable of when it comes to phasing out petroleum. I conducted the talk on a walking tour of his facility, which features huge tanks of different types of fuel, during which I asked, jokingly, “Am I in any danger here this afternoon?”
Taking me seriously, Rick replied that gas-powered vehicles are far more likely to catch fire than EVs and the rest. In fact, there are so many of them each day that most of them don’t even make the local news.
Here we are 15 years later, and now we’re starting see the propaganda that falsely claims that EVs are extremely likely to burst into flames, an assertion refuted in this recent article in AutoBlog.
What kind of people are the celebrities in music and digital media as a whole? Not an easy question to answer.
Obviously, they’re talented. Most are well educated and many have the good looks that come from good genetics.
And yes, most of these people have the intelligence to see that Donald Trump is a criminal sociopath on target to destroy the U.S. while enriching himself beyond measure.
For every Jon Voight (see left) that are perhaps 1000 Robert Deniros, Bruce Springteens, and Leonardo Dicaprios.
But why are there any Jon Voights at all? The answer is unclear.
I once met a Princeton grad to whom I explained that a guy from my prep school in Philadelphia went to Princeton, and now is all over social media shouting, “Close the Borders!” and “English Only!”
My new acquaintance laughed hysterically, and said with a smile, “Yes, we have grads like this, perhaps one in a few thousand. What a waste of hundreds of thousands of dollars. You can get that level of education by dropping out of high school and driving a truck.”
At left we see an example of a phenomenon that seems to be happening with increasing frequency: a life-long Republican saying “enough” and refusing vote for the current version of the GOP.
I applaud people who have both:
a) the intelligence to see where a party has crossed a moral line, and is now operating as a criminal enterprise.
b) the inner courage to do this, as it is hard for most people to admit they were wrong after a lifetime of kneejerk reactions, especially on a topic of such importance.
Someone commented on the meme here: “Don’t forget your jihadi prayer group meeting.”
-
Climate Change1 year ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Greenhouse Gases2 years ago嘉宾来稿：满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Greenhouse Gases1 year ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Climate Change2 years ago嘉宾来稿：满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Renewable Energy1 year agoSending Progressive Philanthropist George Soros to Prison?
-
Climate Change2 years ago
Bill Discounting Climate Change in Florida’s Energy Policy Awaits DeSantis’ Approval
-
Greenhouse Gases1 year ago
嘉宾来稿：探究火山喷发如何影响气候预测
-
Climate Change2 years agoAnalysis: China’s CO2 falls 1% in Q2 2024 in first quarterly drop since Covid-19