Here and There

I found that perusing this page was actually mildly entertaining.

Can anyone out there point me to studies done to determine how much gas is wasted and pollution emitted, in aggregate, from all the cars out there that needlessly idle?

Another concern I have is poorly designed traffic lights that lead to an abundance of cars stopping at many intervals of what should’ve been a simple drive. I see this in Texas a lot, with the green light on the street with no traffic for minutes on end, while the cars that are stopped by the red keep lining up.

But I see it here in San Francisco, too. On downtown’s one-way streets, especially.

This morning, I rode my bike to work a little earlier than normal, and noticed that the cars I was riding with were forced by red lights to stop at 11th, 10th, Ninth, Eighth, Seventh, and Sixth streets, before being granted a green light at Fifth. Seems very wasteful, in terms of energy and time, and all those unnecessary stops have got to be spewing an ungodly amount of emissions into the atmosphere.

Multiply all the stops at all the intersections of any given city by all the other towns across the country, and seems we’ve got a very fixable problem on our hands.

But I need data to back me up here. Anyone?

I brushed off your endorsement when I got wind of it early in the day. But damn you, you made me watch your speech.

And now I copy the embed code with wet eyes. Yes we can!

Do not give a misbehaving child what (s)he wants.

And with that implicit analogy, this blog now turns its full attention toward taking down John McCain. Reader submissions are accepted.

The aim will be to expose John McCain for what he is — an old-school politician, beholden to special interests with deep pockets who play by their own rules. The arguments about approach to government are tired, but must be hashed out. The real question is who these candidates are, what they represent, and how they will lead and represent the United States of America at home and to the world.

Given these tenets, the choice should be pretty clear, methinks.

Among noted economists, that is. Take the challenge. I dare you.

Though today is a good day, and I don’t totally feel like I need it:

I’m so with him on this, and think it’s remarkable that he’s the only candidate opposing it. My advice to him is to sharpen and simplify his attack on it, because this is one issue his opponents will throw in his face, calling him a tax-ready liberal. It’s actually a very conservative and fiscally responsible position to take (Obama’s), as well as being the most ecologically sound.

Bottom line: We need to drive less. The gas tax is meant as a disincentive to drive as much as we please, while also providing a steady revenue stream for road- and other transportation-related projects and maintenance.

The other senators should be honest. Stop pandering.