Faster Cars and Smellier Air

Picking up a thread from a few weeks ago, what would be a good way to conserve energy? Here’s a suggestion that I don’t remember reading elsewhere:

At work, don’t just focus on your own work space. Focus on your whole work place!

• If your workplace uses a lot of plastic forks & knives, contribute metal cutlery. It isn’t that expensive, but can significantly cut down on waste.
• Turn off lights in meeting rooms when you go home. You’d be surprised how many lights get left on needlessly!
• Turn off unused printers on your way out. Even in sleep mode, laser printers and photocopiers consume prodigious amounts of electricity.

I used to be a big fan of the Washington Metro Rail System. Years of delays, crowding, appalling customer service, and even accidents changed that. Certainly, inadequate funding has been at least as much to blame as mismanagement.

Luckily, there have been recent indications that things may be on the mend. These include ground breaking on the Dulles line, the installation of a new, platform-level public address system that riders can actually hear, and the successful handling of huge-gantic Inaugural crowds. So I’ll try and mute my grumbling about the 50 minutes I spent on the phone the other day (hopefully) transferring the balance from my dysfunctional SmarTrip card.

Here’s one Metro-related item that I will not attempt to mute my grumbling about: I hate this Chevron ad!

I am generally skeptical of conspiracy theories. I’m inclined to think that GM & company were just stupid rather than that they “killed” the electric car. But I’ll be danged if this sign doesn’t look like it actually seeks to discourage readers from buying a hybrid electric car. The guy is holding his head in despair! Oh, hybrid cars are manifestly inferior and weak. But I will at least consider getting one.

That’s ridiculous. Hybrid cars are awesome! They look great, get great gas mileage, perform awesome, run quietly. Oh yeah, and they won’t mortgage the next generation’s inheritance.