new dog old trick

Mythbusting E85 Fuel

Link: One Hand Clapping - Blog Archive - Mythbusting E85.

Nice post by Donald Sensing regarding the likelihood (his take - not very) that the E85 ethanol/gasoline mix will replace pure gasoline as a transportation fuel.  I've been reading a bit about alternative energy sources for transportation and other uses recently.  I'm not an expert but Sensing's arguments make sense in the context of what I have read.

One thing you figure out very quickly is that a lot of the material about how one fuel or another is going to replace gasoline is actually only thinly disguised advocacy (or attack) material funded by one of the industrial parties to either the current system or the new system they are trying to achieve in the future.  Hydrogen good or bad?  Electrical cars - good or bad?  Different types of hybrids - good or bad?  Ethanol - good or bad?  All good questions but you need to be very careful of the sources for the information behind what you read and understand their agenda. 

For me, ethanol just doesn't seem to make sense as a short or long-term fix.  Hydrogen also seems to have too many problems, many related to totally replacing our current infrastructure and also the need for additional technological breakthroughs, to be anything but a very long-term solution.  In the shorter term, improved hybrid systems of various sorts seem promising.  In the short to mid-term, it's entirely possible that a new generation of electric car technology will provide a solution to gasoline - but not without raising equally challenging issues regarding the source of the electricity. 

If you don't believe in the short term potential of electric cars - and who wouldn't have doubts if all you've read about is the aborted GM EV1 effort - just read a couple of the articles on the Tesla Roadster...0-60 mph in 4 seconds, a torque curve you won't believe, a range of 250 miles on a charge and fuel economy equivalent to something like 135 mpg, all on a platform derived from the Lotus Elise. 

Kelo: public use, property rights, and taking

I have made it a policy to stay away from posting about political issues and opinions.  I don't plan on changing that policy, but after a weekend of stewing over the ruling by the SCOTUS in the Kelo case, I just have to vent a little. 

I find the Kelo ruling both inexplicable given the plain language of the fifth amendment to the Constitution and highly troubling given the potential impact that giving the green light to property seizures by developer-dominated local governments.  I acknowledge the point made by a number of commentators that this ruling is not a dramatic departure from the overall trend that has developed over the past few decades.  However, I'm very concerned that this is a very public signal that the bar is permanently lowered in regards to the level of justification required for local governments to take property from almost anyone they chose for almost any reason they chose.  We may have been on this slippery slope for a long time but the supremes have all too formally signalled open season.

I'm an optimist regarding the resiliency and strength of our system but there have been a combination of legislative, executive, and judicial branch actions (or in some cases, inactions) over the past year or so that have combined to leave me a little worried.  We have gone through these cycles of extreme partisanship, feckless pandering (by both parties), and judicial cluelessness before in our history - but rarely have all three branches been in a down cycle at the same time.  Time will pull us through this cycle as the public converges on greater consensus on some of the issues that separate us and as a few public officials realize that we're looking for them to step forward and lead - I just hope that we don't do too much damage to the system in the meantime. 

Anyway, enough of that.  For more on the Kelo ruling and on opinion regarding what it means, go check out this summary and collection of links on Instapundit, this opinion by Stephen Bainbridge, the collection of Kelo links on the truth laid bear, or do a search of Kelo on technorati. 

As to what we should do about all of this, Jeff Cornwall has some thoughts about taking action at the local level.  I agree with Jeff that the decisions regarding takings of specific properties are always local (city, village, county, etc.) decisions.  So a grassroots effort is required to offset the impact of Kelo.  However, I wouldn't go so far as to suggest that we should not try to get this dangerous precedent reversed or constrained at the national level.  I think we should be pushing in parallel at both levels. 

For an example of one grassroots effort, check out Bill Hobbs' weblog (just scroll down).  Bill emailed all six announced candidates for the U.S. senate seat in Tennessee asking them their positions on Kelo.  So far, three of the six have replied and Bill has posted their responses.  Good work Bill!

Bush's immigration proposal

ProfessorBainbridge.com: Bush's immigration proposal. The Prof has a positive take on Pres. Bush's immigration reform proposal. I'm still making up my mind on this one but am leaning in the Prof's direction. Lileks has a similar take in today's post on The Bleat. But boy are people going bat-s**t about the proposal. Some of the radio talk shows yesterday afternoon were going nuts even though it was pretty clear that most people didn't understand all the details of the proposal. At least it's a real proposal on the table for a serious issue - this is one of those areas where the complainers need to come to the table armed with a counter-proposal rather than just bitching. But that would be too much to ask, I guess.