Index 
Email to Sun Times: Television's Influence
Human Rights (Freedom and Security): For Penny (never delivered), another RAP member of the community college, who noted I was a hard taskmaster for observing that people will suffer as climate changes but proposing doing nothing about it, a quote from Wikipedia, “Corporate Average Fuel Economy” and a comment. “However, associated costs, such as increased deaths, may be more than offset by savings on a global scale, because increased CAFE standards (EPA's mileage requirements and penalties) reduce reliance on increasingly expensive and unreliable sources of imported petroleum and lower the probability of global climate change by reducing US emissions of carbon dioxide” Death: Increased deaths are assumed to be a result of less safe, smaller cars needed to meet CAFE standards, though I think smaller cars may actually be safer because the entire fleet momentum decreases as average car size shrinks, less energy, less injury; sure some in small cars will get slammed really hard, but if my Explorer met a Mack truck, I would get smashed today. Also, smaller cars are easier and quicker to control, less mass to accelerate, so "almost" accidents may be less common with smaller cars. The quote seems to indicate that some taskmasters are more severe it seems than I, who only observe; taskmasters willing to actually pursue increased deaths for national security and CO2-reduction objectives, and heaven knows how many more causes. War: Penny, it’s all done for the good and may save more lives or at least more American lives (or at least more polar bears) than not pursuing policies known to kill people. The killing of course, even in war, is regrettably an unfortunate by-product of nobler objectives. Now, if we all could just agree with me about what those nobler objectives are!!! But I just observe and point out, Penny, and often sigh. |