Let's get off the gas and get on the juice.
— Gov. Mike Easley, announcing the creation of a transportation center at N.C. State that would work on lighter, more efficient batteries for plug-in hybrid cars, at the Emerging Issues Forum on Feb. 12, 2008.
Comments
Re: Easley's plug-in plug
February 13, 2008 - 3:09am — McCollieI'm OK with battery powered plastic cars -- for those that want to get out on our highways in them. However, for the time being I am going to stick to 4,200 pounds of full perimeter steel framed automobile. It is not that I do no support alternatives, it is just that I would also like to see some alternatives to the automobile. In this country we kill over 40,000 motorist per year, maim several times that number and cause several hundred billion dollars in in losses on our highways (and perhaps you thought that the war in Iraq was bad...).
While on the subject of alternatives, did the Governor mention passenger rail as part of our transportation mix? Ten to twelve years ago North Carolina was one of the emerging national leaders in state supported passenger rail initiatives. Unfortunately we don't have any more trains now than we had then -- in spite of several years of record increases in state and national ridership -- ditto for gas prices -- and commendable state investment in stations, track upgrades, operational safety measures and equipment acquisition ( www.bytrain.org ).
I wonder if the Governor's embrace of battery powered cars is really a subtle embrace of the highway industry? Instead of making speeches perhaps the Governor should be listening to them ( http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/index.php?s=speeches&item=89 ).
Auld Sodger