OPINION: CROSS COUNTRY JANUARY 31, 2009, 12:04 A.M. ET California’s ‘Green Jobs’ Experiment Isn’t Going Well Article more in Opinion »Email Printer Friendly Share: Yahoo Buzz facebook MySpace LinkedIn Digg del.icio.us NewsVine StumbleUpon Mixx Text Size By STEPHEN MOORE Los Angeles Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was all smiles in 2006 when he signed into law the toughest anti-global-warming regulations of any state. Mr. Schwarzenegger and his green supporters boasted that the regulations would steer California into a prosperous era of green jobs, renewable energy, and technological leadership. Instead, since 2007 — in anticipation of the new mandates — California has led the nation in job losses. The regulations created a cap-and-trade system, similar to proposed federal global-warming measures, by limiting the CO2 that utilities, trucking companies and other businesses can emit, and imposed steep new taxes on companies that exceed the caps. Since energy is an input in everything that’s produced, this will raise the cost of production inside California’s borders. Now, as the Golden State prepares to implement this regulatory scheme, employers are howling. It’s become clear to nearly everyone that the plan’s backers have underestimated its negative impact and exaggerated the benefits. “We’ve been sold a false bill of goods,” is how Republican Assemblyman Roger Niello, who has been the GOP’s point man on environmental issues in the legislature, put it to me. The environmental plan was built on the notion that imposing some $23 billion of new taxes and fees on households (through higher electricity bills) and employers will cost the economy nothing, while also reducing greenhouse gases. Almost no one believes that anymore except for the five members of the California Air Resources Board (CARB). This is the state’s air-quality regulator, which voted unanimously in December to stick with the cap-and-trade system despite the recession. CARB justified its go-ahead by issuing what almost all experts agree is a rigged study on the economic impact of the cap-and-trade system. The study concludes that the plan “will not only significantly reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions, but will also have a net positive effect on California’s economic growth through 2020.” This finding elicited a chorus of hallelujahs from environmental groups. The state finally discovered a do-good policy that pays for itself. Californians can still scurry around in their cars, heat up their Jacuzzis, and help save the planet. But there was a problem. The CARB had commissioned five economists from around the country to critique this study. They panned it. Link To Yet Another Failure of California Feel Good Attempts .

AnimalCrackersLet me get this. Rid the world of Iran because they hate us and we hate them. Then what??? China, North Korea, or how about Texas eliminates New Mexico over water rights! Lets just blow the whole damm world up an end it all!!!Taking it too far Gramps, we’re just after the Terrorist Breeding grounds, although with our new President, you gotta better chance of winning the lottery than us really taking care of them > .>

Dude, STFU

F1_the marksmanToyota.LexusF1_the marksmanI think that it would hurt the model more than the brand. A while back I proposed the idea of a hybrid Challenger. Many people were cool with the idea (a shock to me actually) and to me, although it would damage the car’s reputation as a performance machine, what it did do for me was make the car appear to adapt to the changinc times. You could have your cake and pay less at the pump as well. Suddenly muscle cars would look like Mr. Clean, an image that certainly wouldnt hurt right now.Thats kind of like stereotyping….but with cars… A Hybrid muscle car would only gains benefits. Dont think i need to go over what they are.If it is, I humbly apologize, as that wasnt the intent. Let me restate- REAL muscle cars have always been BIG V8 monsters, and it would appear sacreligious to some if Chrysler were to turn the Challenger, the most accurate reproduction of the original muscle cars, into a hybrid. I see nothing but benefits as an 18-year old kid who knows some of the muscle cars, but wasnt around when they were doing their thing. Those that live and die by a 425-horse Challenger are those that im worried about/I see your point. But what if that same Challenger that was making that 425 hp was then replaced with a Hybrid model that was getting more MPG + making more power (output now around 500) while also being more efficient. Would you think those people would still find fault?

I just got notice of the 6th class action against my former employer that I am part of. To me this seems like a lot. Anyone else have other horror stories from their current or former employers? I’m not complaining because its like free money almost every year.

Sat, Jan 31, 2009, 9:50 am EST: Google is having a major problem right now - try running a Google search on anything - cars, Super Bowl, potato chips… every response is tagged with a “This site may harm your computer” notation, and if you click on any search result, you get a “Warning” page. Yep - google wants to replace all our desktop PCs with machines that store all our data on Google servers. Anyone want to speculate on who did this to Google?

Filed under: Hybrid , Chevrolet , Legislation and Policy , USA Click on the image above for a gallery of MetroKing’s new taxi The City of New York would like to improve the fuel mileage of its fleet of taxis , but the issue is proving more difficult than planned to implement. After the city announced plans to place fuel economy requirements on all taxis operating within its jurisdiction, a minor riot erupted among the drivers and at least one union sued to stop the law from taking place. Later, federal judge Paul Crotty ruled that the city must put the plan on hold . A new company called MetroKing has popped up with a potential resolution to the problem. Using a Chevy Colorado Chassis Cab as its foundation, the new wheelchair-accessible taxicab features a removable passenger compartment where the pickup bed would otherwise sit. MetroKing has been testing mild hybrid systems in the vehicle that would keep the engine from idling when the taxi isn’t moving. Early testing shows the potential for a 20 percent improvement in fuel mileage, which could possibly already be improved over the current fleet that’s made up mostly of V8-powered Ford Crown Victorias. Gallery: MetroKing taxi [Source: New York State Energy Research and Development Authority ] New MetroKing taxi could be equipped with hybrid power originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 16:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Emerging Technologies , AutoblogGreen Exclusive Click above for a high-res gallery of the RORMaxx The RORMaxx Formula AE student project got some attention when we first posted on it a few weeks ago. AutoblogGreen reader Jesse K. wanted to get some information directly from the horse’s mouth and contacted Rory Handel (one of the students involved) about the technical features of this wind-assisted car. Basically, the students don’t think they’ve rewritten the rules of physics here, as you can see in the email thread of Jesse and Rory’s conversation pasted after the jump. Rory gives us a little more detail on the “Air Flow Recovery” system. It’s not perpetual motion, just trying to snag some extra energy as the car moves down the street. In the computer models and in the lab, at least, the system works. Full details after the jump. If you missed the first post on the RORMaxx, click here . Gallery: RORMaxx Continue reading More details on the RORMaxx Formula AE wind-assisted car More details on the RORMaxx Formula AE wind-assisted car originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: MPG , Citroen Citroen is planning to follow other European automakers in launching a new eco-brand similar to BlueMotion and ecoNetic. In addition to the new branding, the French automaker will roll out fuel-saving features like automatic start stop across its entire model range over the next few years, including on the larger C5 and C6 models. The company will also increase availability of its EGS semi-automatic transmission as well as add manual transmissions to its larger engines. [Source: What Car? ] Citroen planning new eco-brand, start-stop across the board originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 11:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Popular Sciences 50 worst jobs in science. http://www.popsci.com/scitech/gallery/2009-01/worst-jobs-science