Quote du jour

"When the Republican governor of the reddest state in the union is promoting bicycling as a preferred mode of transportation, you know people are paying attention to the price signals."---Keith Batholomew, U. of U., on the State of Utah's bike-to-work program, in Jim Carey's "The Real Question: Should Oil Be Cheap?" Business Week, August 4, 2008, pp. 54--59.

The true cost of energy

The loss of rescue workers at the Utah mine reminds me that energy costs more than just money. So many people have died for it, in digging coal, soldiering for oil, or even choosing to pedal instead of drive. Hydroelectric dams have altered the temperature of SC rivers so that native fish can't thrive. France gets 76 percent of its electricity from nuclear reactors. China is building new reactors to meet the evergrowing demand for cheap goods. But energy is not cheap if you count the human cost. That's why it bugs me when people leave their SUVs idling at Starbucks. This country needs to learn to appreciate (value) energy, and rethink its insane energy/transportation policies.