John Mellencamp; still fucking hot.
Fuck procrastination! I own that bitch. Now, maybe just go to bed and get rested for tomorrow's drive... We leave at 3-4 pm, and don't have to be in to work until then... will post more during the day as the house gets cleaned... errr... unless it's
sunny out.
Today you ask?.. Not really an eventful day. Drove down to the States and towed up a car though! It was awesome!... Wasn't sure if I could do it by myself, never mind all the paper work, but everything worked out really well... Hitched the fucker up, drove it 250 kms, dealt with customs... I love my job sometimes... just so much variety; not just a head space, but a hands on sort of thing that I don't think a lot of people get.
Also, Sarah posted
this on facebook. Looks fantastic... I mean, John Cougar Freakin' Mellencamp is gonna be there! I got a ticket, and will spend the weekend there. Which, is starting to look better and better since the southern US trip looks like it may be failing due to lack of commitment from peps. 1.5 weeks is hard to take off... Anyone else wanna come along? I think it would be great, and I really want to go still... Hopefully someone comes around.
Speaking of which, tomorrow (today - the 24th) is the official release of the Joel Plaskett Three CD. Will try to write something up for it in Chicago... Apparently he spent
two weeks in Poland in late 2008.
Ok, one last article touched before hitting the showers and going to bed:
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2009/03/30/090330taco_talk_owen"The United States didn’t ratify the Kyoto Protocol, but Canada did, and its experience is suggestive because its economy and per-capita oil consumption are similar to ours. Its Kyoto target is a six-per-cent reduction from 1990 levels. By 2006, however, despite the expenditure of billions of dollars on climate initiatives, its greenhouse-gas output had increased to a hundred and twenty-two per cent of the goal, and the environment minister described the Kyoto target as “impossible.”
...
Electric cars are not the panacea they are sometimes claimed to be, not only because the electricity they run on has to be generated somewhere but also because making driving less expensive does nothing to discourage people from sprawling across the face of the planet, promoting forms of development that are inherently and catastrophically wasteful."
Good article, written nicely, but just restating the obvious really and nothing shattering. Another reason I like propane and hate that it gets such a bad wrap from the media... It's the major by-product of gasoline production, and 9/10ths of it is simply released into the air (non-toxic fuel) because there isn't enough demand for it.
Now, obviously it isn't the be all and end all, but it can be (and is across Europe) a wonderful stepping stone. Purolator is now driving on a lot of propane, and that's where it generally has it's biggest impact; with larger trucks that haul all day. Sure you can scream at the SUV that burns 24 L/100km, but these larger transport trucks haul at 30+ L/100 km virtually 14 hours of the day! Nevermind the number of these trucks on the road daily. And furthermore, it saves money! That's where a reduction in emissions is really at.
So, yeah, coming full circle I suppose, the job is great, just need better focus on how to get this done. Hence Chicago.
There, the State government pays 80% of the conversion costs, AND rebates you 50 cents per gallon of propane purchased! It doesn't matter if you buy in bulk or at the pump either, and it's 100% of the propane you purchase as well. The scenario we're currently looking at down there is this; A conversion will cost an individual/company approximately $1000 after all taxes and rebates (depending who's buying ;).
Once driving on propane, if buying in bulk (for the School Bus Districts, which we're visiting this is totally viable), they're paying approximately 35 CENTS A GALLON for fuel (gasoline is currently around $2/gal.; diesel even more). Unbelievable, but true. Furthermore, the government rebates up to $3000 on a tank installation for bulk propane storage (typical costs run around $5000). Astronomical savings when looking just 500 buses. Never mind the pollution and reduction in direct exposure to children! Anyway, a
cost benefit analysis I made up which hopefully isn't too word heavy/think?
Wow, ok.. time for a shower and sleep. Ending that tangent suddenly got my eyes heavy.
Posts
