climate change

in terms of a mode of transportation, i much like the subway and diesel trains of los angeles. the red line, blue line, gree nline, gold line, orange line, and metrolink run on time and on target. they are highly reliable reproducible forms of transportation. i know within a factor of 8 minutes when i’ll arrive at wardlow station in long beach, pasadena convention center, or los angeles convention center. how to get to the subway station is another matter. if the subway takes 20 minutes, getting to the subway station may take 60 to 80 minutes, which blows any advantage of the subway.

as much as i assumed by now i could easily buy a solar powered car (all electric) by 2005/2006, this dream of mine cannot be realized in the USA. in japan and in europe i could get something, but americans love their SUV’s and SUT’s. that’s all the big three auto makers offer in north america. so now i am considering a city car with these minimum features:

automatic transmission
air conditioning
driver and passenger front airbags
driver and front passenger seat-mounted side impact airbags
overhead front and rear side curtain airbags
driver knee airbag
electronic stability control
traction control (TRAC)
anti-lock brakes (ABS)
electronic brake-force distribution (EBD)
tire pressure monitor system
daytime running lights (DRL)
front seatbelt pretensioners with force limiters
driver and passenger 3-point seatbelts
anti-theft system with engine immobilizer
fuel economy above EPA 35 MPG
under 7 tons annual greenhouse gas emissions

the only cars that i know of the meet most of these requirements:

MINI cooper
scion xB
scion xA
scion xC
honda civic
toyota corolla
chevrolet cobalt
saturn ion
nissan sentra
honda insight
toyota prius
mazda 3

Dear Mayor Villariagosa,

I was in the audience of your recent mayoral Interfaith Prayer Service, followed by the official inauguration, an wish to celebrate and buttress your success and dreams for a new Los Angeles. In you speech you called out to all Angelenos:

“…join me in making L.A. the greenest big city in America.”

I agree.

I have been working in a think tank to tackle the challenges of reducing the effects of global climate change. Unfortunately, in the present economic and political model, there are no short term efforts to ameliorate the profound effects that climate change will bring to our region and our earth. Our singular rainy season, powerful hurricanes, and drought had all been predicted by climatologists some 15 years ago. I even wrote a position paper in the same timeframe on this very subject:

Global Climate Change

As a graduate of the High Temperature Gas Dynamics Laboratory at Stanford University, I left academia, with a Master of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering, well prepared for the challenges of the future. I authored a website, http://www.greenconcepts.com/ to explore residential energy and resource efficiency, because I felt that the biggest impact to the the world warming could be stymied by simple changes in homes and small businesses. Over the last ten years, I’ve come across many products that fit the mold to bring Los Angeles to a greener state of mind, however the Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) has not had the foresight to approve these products for use in the City of Los Angeles. My architect, plumber, electrical, and builder friends would like to use these products, but cannot legally do so. I hope your administration can convince the LADBS that these products have a proven record around the world, at least 30 years of usage, and are completely reliable. Forty-nine other states already recognize them for use in residential construction along with many local jurisdictions like the City of Burbank. Below is a list of contacts for said products:

Wirsbo AquaPEX
REHAU RAUPEX

This type of plumbing system allows for the safe and sanitary conveyance of potable water, is recognized by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), and all national model building codes. The high density polyethylene cross-linked (PEX) piping is inexpensive, nontoxic, easy to install, has an extended warranty from established manufacturers, and does not rust or break down in the presence of aggressive water, like competitor materials, i.e., copper tubing. For more information please consult:

Crosslinked Polyethylene (PEX) Tubing TN-17
The Society of the Plastics Industry 1998

NSF International Plastics Piping System Components Frequently Asked Questions

Copper Water Pipe Corrosion – Agressive Water
Ask the Builder by Tim Carter

Cordially,

Ismael Rosales
President
Green Building Concepts

E-Mail: ismaelr@greenconcepts.com
Website: http://www.greenconcepts.com/
Phone: 818-926-4051
Skype: ismaelro
AIM: ismaelro

for the longest time i’ve been waiting for a neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV). GM once had a vehicle called the EV1, but they never sold it (only leased), made around 1,000 units and then literally pulled the plug. GM, ford th!nk mobility, and bombardier all left the electric car market, because no one was buying. more to the point they were never offered for sale.

it was california’s great experiment in government regulation to require 10% of cars on the road to be zero emission vehicles. this challenge could only be met by electric cars or maybe hydrogen fuel cell cars. the big three north american automakers sued the CA air resource board, and they won. the decision was only the federal government could regulate emissions, via the CAFE standards, but ever since clinton and gore left office, the present administration has tied there own hands in regulating carbon emissions, or any emissions at all. we get blue sky iniatives that increase greehouse gas emissions, and hundreds of billions of dollars to fight a war in the persian gulf. still no NEV’s.

today, with finger sized MP3 players, GSM handsets, sub compact laptops, and other electronic devices, battery technology has made tremendous strides. the electric car should be on it’s third generation, but we are at an empty table with empty promises of hydrogen cars or fuel cell cars. the current president has called for intelligent design in the schools on par with evolutionary biology, and some pie in the sky fuel cell/hydrogen car technology. for eight years clinton and gore had the advanced car initiative, but then the current president canceled the program.

this type of research is not new. in 1981 during the “auto 2000” project, a 100 mpg diesel prototype was built, but never put into production. hell, nothing but gas guzzling trucks and vans have made it into the north american market. sure, manufacturers only give what customers demand, but the government could at least pretend to give a damn. we need at least 40 mpg cars, not 16 mpg. i’m looking into a NEV, perhaps coming to market in november 2005. what do you think?

miles automotive ZX40

do you like it?

i like planetary science, but the $330 million mission to make a crater on a comet may have gone too far. we are at war, and now we are making impacts on other celestial bodies? it rings odd to me.

the pictures from the JPL NASA website are breathtaking, but why call your mission after a movie that pretty much destroyed the earth? it’s all very puzzling. take a look at the next to last image of the interactive slideshow flash site, it’s the earth getting destroyed. are they preparing us for some future event?