Anne Kyle, CanWest News Service
Published: Saturday, July 29, 2006
REGINA - Kyle MacDonald has enjoyed more than his 15 minutes of fame as the Canadian Internet blogger bartering a red paper-clip for a house in Kipling, Sask.
He's now successfully parlayed his adventure into a book deal with Random House and a movie deal with DreamWorks.
"I'm pretty excited about this,'' said MacDonald Friday in a telephone interview from....Montreal.
"I was sitting in front of the computer with a paper-clip and that is all there was.
"Now, I am sitting down with some of the biggest producers in Hollywood and the largest publishers in the world."
MacDonald's blog about his desire to trade a paper-clip for something of equal or greater value, eventually trading up for a house, captured the imagination of people worldwide.
He said he was approached by about 40 book publishers and 50 production companies who were interested in his story.
The negotiations with Random House and DreamWorks went on for the past couple of months.
"I have to have the first draft of my story done in three months," said MacDonald, who's in the process of packing up in preparation for his move to Kipling, located 150 kilometres east of Regina where he plans on hosting the largest housewarming party Saskatchewan has ever seen.
MacDonald's new home community, which is named after the British author and poet Rudyard Kipling, is home to award-winning romance novelist Mary Balogh. It seems like the ideal place to crank out his life's story, which is scheduled to hit store shelves next summer.
During the next three weeks, MacDonald said he'll also be jetting to New York, Los Angeles and Vancouver making a number of guest appearances on talk shows and meeting with DreamWorks producers.
"I've had a lot of invites (for media interviews) and I'm just saying 'yes' to all of them so I can say the words 'Kipling and Saskatchewan' as many times as possible, because it is good fun," he said.
The book, to be published in four languages, will contain new material about his bartering experience, which began July 12, 2005, when he, his mother and girlfriend Dominique Dupuis stood in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven in Vancouver, where he traded a red paper-clip for a fish-shaped ballpoint pen.
The project and his Internet blog, One Red Paperclip, took off. Before he knew it, MacDonald traded the pen for a doorknob and then a Coleman stove, power generator, beer keg and neon Budweiser sign, snowmobile, and a trip to Yahk, B.C.
His aim was to trade up to something of almost no value and within a year parlay it into a house.
With six months to go, MacDonald found himself the proud owner of an aging cube van. He quickly traded in the van for a recording contract, which became his bargaining chip for a year's free lodging in a Phoenix bungalow. Next, he acquired an afternoon with rock icon Alice Cooper. He sealed his next swap with actor/director and snow globe collector Corbin Bernsen with a Kiss -- that is, a Kiss snow globe.
Armed with a role in Bernsen's upcoming movie, MacDonald landed his house when Kipling's community development officer saw an opportunity to get some free publicity for his community.
In exchange for the house, the town of Kipling will raffle off the movie role by throwing a giant casting call-cum-Labour Day street party with Bernsen as the honoured guest.
The Edmonton Journal 2006
Monday, July 31, 2006
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Man survives run-in with falling dog in Poland
Wed Jul 26, 10:15 AM ET
WARSAW (Reuters) - A man was bruised but alive on Wednesday after a Saint Bernard dog thrown out a two-story window landed on him as he was walking down the street in the southern-Polish city of Sosnowiec.
The 50-kg (110-pound) dog was pushed out of the window by its drunken owner on Monday, police said.
"The dog had a soft landing because it fell on a man," said police spokesman Grzegorz Wierzbicki. "The dog escaped with just a few scratches."
"The man was also more in a psychological state of shock than physically hurt," Wierzbicki added.
The one-year-old dog, named Oskar, was placed in an animal shelter while police investigate its owners for animal abuse.
Woman to be formerly known as Prince's wife
Wednesday, July 26, 2006; Posted: 9:40 p.m. EDT (01:40 GMT)
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Veteran funk rocker Prince and his second wife are ending their marriage, People magazine reported Wednesday.
The celebrity magazine cited Prince's lawyer, Alan Eidsness, as saying a sealed divorce action was filed on May 24 at Hennepin County District Court in the Prince's home state of Minnesota.
The 48-year-old singer (born Prince Rogers Nelson) and 29-year-old Manuela Testolini were married in a Jehovah's Witness ceremony in Hawaii on December 31, 2001.
The Toronto native used to work at Prince's charitable foundation. The couple had no children together.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, famed for such genre-bending tunes as "Let's Go Crazy" and "1999," was briefly married to backup singer and dancer Mayte Garcia in the mid-1990s.
Their union was later annulled. They had a child who died shortly after birth.
The publicist for Prince's record label was not immediately available to comment.
Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Prince performs at Bryant Park
in New York City last month.
in New York City last month.
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Veteran funk rocker Prince and his second wife are ending their marriage, People magazine reported Wednesday.
The celebrity magazine cited Prince's lawyer, Alan Eidsness, as saying a sealed divorce action was filed on May 24 at Hennepin County District Court in the Prince's home state of Minnesota.
The 48-year-old singer (born Prince Rogers Nelson) and 29-year-old Manuela Testolini were married in a Jehovah's Witness ceremony in Hawaii on December 31, 2001.
The Toronto native used to work at Prince's charitable foundation. The couple had no children together.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, famed for such genre-bending tunes as "Let's Go Crazy" and "1999," was briefly married to backup singer and dancer Mayte Garcia in the mid-1990s.
Their union was later annulled. They had a child who died shortly after birth.
The publicist for Prince's record label was not immediately available to comment.
Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
China activist 'beat himself up'
Chinese investigators say activist Fu Xiancai, who was paralysed after a severe beating, inflicted the blows himself, according to a rights body.
Mr Fu, who campaigned for people displaced by the.... Three Gorges Dam, was beaten up returning home after he was summoned by police in Hubei province.
The June beating was so severe he is not expected to walk again, according to Human Rights in China (HRIC).
But an official investigation has ruled the attack was fabricated.
Officials told Mr Fu's son, Fu Bing, that investigators had failed to find anyone else's footprints at the scene of the attack, and had concluded that he must have hit himself.
The blow to the back of his neck was so severe that three of his vertebrae were broken, HRIC said.
HRIC said it was strongly concerned about the independence of the investigation, which was carried out by the same public security bureau that had a record of harassing Mr Fu.
Mr Fu has highlighted the plight of people moved to make way for the Three Gorges dam.
He had been subject to a series of threats, attacks and harassment in the past year, the group said.
China says the dam, which will be the world's largest hydro-electric project, will provide electricity for its booming economy and help control flooding on the Yangtze River.
But it comes at the expense of villagers, who in many cases have been resettled on inferior land and been deprived of compensation by corrupt local officials, the rights group said.
Mr Fu, who campaigned for people displaced by the.... Three Gorges Dam, was beaten up returning home after he was summoned by police in Hubei province.
The June beating was so severe he is not expected to walk again, according to Human Rights in China (HRIC).
But an official investigation has ruled the attack was fabricated.
Officials told Mr Fu's son, Fu Bing, that investigators had failed to find anyone else's footprints at the scene of the attack, and had concluded that he must have hit himself.
The blow to the back of his neck was so severe that three of his vertebrae were broken, HRIC said.
HRIC said it was strongly concerned about the independence of the investigation, which was carried out by the same public security bureau that had a record of harassing Mr Fu.
Mr Fu has highlighted the plight of people moved to make way for the Three Gorges dam.
He had been subject to a series of threats, attacks and harassment in the past year, the group said.
China says the dam, which will be the world's largest hydro-electric project, will provide electricity for its booming economy and help control flooding on the Yangtze River.
But it comes at the expense of villagers, who in many cases have been resettled on inferior land and been deprived of compensation by corrupt local officials, the rights group said.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Tech Support Bloopers
This ought to make you feel better about your computer skills! If you skip any, you have to read the last one! Unbelievable.
=================================
Tech support: What kind of computer do you have?
Female customer: A white one...
===============
Customer: Hi, this is Celine. I can't get my diskette out.
Tech support: Have you tried pushing the Button?
Customer: Yes, sure, it's really.... stuck.
Tech support: That doesn't sound good; I'll make a note.
Customer: No, wait a minute... I hadn't inserted it yet... it's still on my desk... sorry....
===============
Tech support: Click on the 'my computer' icon on to the left of the screen.
Customer: Your left or my left?
===============
Tech support: Good day. How may I help you?
Male customer: Hello... I can't print.
Tech support: Would you click on "start" for me and...
Customer: Listen pal; don't start getting technical on me! I'm not Bill Gates.
===============
Customer: Hi, good afternoon, this is Martha, I can't print. Every time I try, it says 'Can't find printer'. I've even lifted the printer and placed it in front of the monitor, but the computer still says he can't find it...
===============
Customer: I have problems printing in red...
Tech support: Do you have a color printer?
Customer: Aaaah....................thank you.
===============
Tech support: What's on your monitor now, ma'am?
Customer: A teddy bear my boyfriend bought for me at the 7-11.
===============
Customer: My keyboard is not working anymore.
Tech support: Are you sure it's plugged into the computer?
Customer: No. I can't get behind the computer.
Tech support: Pick up your keyboard and walk 10 paces back
Customer:! OK
Tech support: Did the keyboard come with you?
Customer: Yes
Tech support: That means the keyboard is not plugged in. Is there another keyboard?
Customer: Yes, there's another one here. Ah...that one does work...
===============
Tech support: Your password is the small letter "a" as in apple, a capital letter V as in Victor, the number 7.
Customer: Is that 7 in capital letters?
===============
Customer: can't get on the Internet.
Tech support: Are you sure you used the right password?
Customer: Yes, I'm sure. I saw my colleague do it.
Tech support: Can you tell me what the password was?
Customer: Five stars.
===============
Tech support: What anti-virus program do you use?
Customer: Netscape.
Tech support: That's not an anti-virus program.
Customer: Oh, sorry...Internet Explorer.
===============
Customer: I have a huge problem. A friend has placed a screen saver on my computer, but every time I move the mouse, it disappears.
===============
Tech support: How may I help you?
Customer: I'm writing my first e-mail.
Tech support: OK, and what seems to be the problem?
Customer: Well, I have the letter 'a' in the address, but how do I get the circle around it?
===============
A woman customer called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer.
Tech support: Are you running it under windows?
Customer: "No, my desk is next to the door, but that is a good point. The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window, and his printer is working fine."
===============
And last but not least...
Tech support: "Okay Bob, let's press the control and escape keys at the same time. That brings up a task list in the middle of the screen. Now type the letter "P" to bring up the Program Manager"
Customer: I don't have a P.
Tech support: On your keyboard, Bob.
Customer: What do you mean?
Tech support: "P".....on your keyboard, Bob.
Customer: I'M NOT GOING TO DO THAT!
=================================
Tech support: What kind of computer do you have?
Female customer: A white one...
===============
Customer: Hi, this is Celine. I can't get my diskette out.
Tech support: Have you tried pushing the Button?
Customer: Yes, sure, it's really.... stuck.
Tech support: That doesn't sound good; I'll make a note.
Customer: No, wait a minute... I hadn't inserted it yet... it's still on my desk... sorry....
===============
Tech support: Click on the 'my computer' icon on to the left of the screen.
Customer: Your left or my left?
===============
Tech support: Good day. How may I help you?
Male customer: Hello... I can't print.
Tech support: Would you click on "start" for me and...
Customer: Listen pal; don't start getting technical on me! I'm not Bill Gates.
===============
Customer: Hi, good afternoon, this is Martha, I can't print. Every time I try, it says 'Can't find printer'. I've even lifted the printer and placed it in front of the monitor, but the computer still says he can't find it...
===============
Customer: I have problems printing in red...
Tech support: Do you have a color printer?
Customer: Aaaah....................thank you.
===============
Tech support: What's on your monitor now, ma'am?
Customer: A teddy bear my boyfriend bought for me at the 7-11.
===============
Customer: My keyboard is not working anymore.
Tech support: Are you sure it's plugged into the computer?
Customer: No. I can't get behind the computer.
Tech support: Pick up your keyboard and walk 10 paces back
Customer:! OK
Tech support: Did the keyboard come with you?
Customer: Yes
Tech support: That means the keyboard is not plugged in. Is there another keyboard?
Customer: Yes, there's another one here. Ah...that one does work...
===============
Tech support: Your password is the small letter "a" as in apple, a capital letter V as in Victor, the number 7.
Customer: Is that 7 in capital letters?
===============
Customer: can't get on the Internet.
Tech support: Are you sure you used the right password?
Customer: Yes, I'm sure. I saw my colleague do it.
Tech support: Can you tell me what the password was?
Customer: Five stars.
===============
Tech support: What anti-virus program do you use?
Customer: Netscape.
Tech support: That's not an anti-virus program.
Customer: Oh, sorry...Internet Explorer.
===============
Customer: I have a huge problem. A friend has placed a screen saver on my computer, but every time I move the mouse, it disappears.
===============
Tech support: How may I help you?
Customer: I'm writing my first e-mail.
Tech support: OK, and what seems to be the problem?
Customer: Well, I have the letter 'a' in the address, but how do I get the circle around it?
===============
A woman customer called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer.
Tech support: Are you running it under windows?
Customer: "No, my desk is next to the door, but that is a good point. The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window, and his printer is working fine."
===============
And last but not least...
Tech support: "Okay Bob, let's press the control and escape keys at the same time. That brings up a task list in the middle of the screen. Now type the letter "P" to bring up the Program Manager"
Customer: I don't have a P.
Tech support: On your keyboard, Bob.
Customer: What do you mean?
Tech support: "P".....on your keyboard, Bob.
Customer: I'M NOT GOING TO DO THAT!
I knew it, I knew it!
Fatherhood boosts male brains
FATHERHOOD could be good for your brain, at least if you're a monkey.
It's already known that male primates, including men, experience dramatic hormone changes when they become fathers. Yevgenia Kozorovitskiy and her colleagues from Princeton University realised that certain.... parts of the brain contain receptors for these hormones. So they studied the brain structure of common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) that had become fathers. The species is rare among mammals in that fathers share in caring for their offspring.
In both first-time and experienced fathers with dependent offspring, the team found structural changes in the prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain important for planning and memory. In these areas the neurons showed signs of enhancement, with a greater number of connections. They also had more receptor sites for the hormone vasopressin. The number decreases as the infants age, dropping back to normal as the young become independent.
"Fatherhood produces changes in very high-cognitive-level areas," said Kozorovitskiy at a meeting of the Forum of European Neurosciences in Vienna, Austria, last week. The nerve enhancements may reflect changes in the reward system, she suggests, encouraging the father to bond and care for the infant. It could be the neural basis of parenting, she says.
From issue 2561 of New Scientist magazine, 25 July 2006, page 23
FATHERHOOD could be good for your brain, at least if you're a monkey.
It's already known that male primates, including men, experience dramatic hormone changes when they become fathers. Yevgenia Kozorovitskiy and her colleagues from Princeton University realised that certain.... parts of the brain contain receptors for these hormones. So they studied the brain structure of common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) that had become fathers. The species is rare among mammals in that fathers share in caring for their offspring.
In both first-time and experienced fathers with dependent offspring, the team found structural changes in the prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain important for planning and memory. In these areas the neurons showed signs of enhancement, with a greater number of connections. They also had more receptor sites for the hormone vasopressin. The number decreases as the infants age, dropping back to normal as the young become independent.
"Fatherhood produces changes in very high-cognitive-level areas," said Kozorovitskiy at a meeting of the Forum of European Neurosciences in Vienna, Austria, last week. The nerve enhancements may reflect changes in the reward system, she suggests, encouraging the father to bond and care for the infant. It could be the neural basis of parenting, she says.
From issue 2561 of New Scientist magazine, 25 July 2006, page 23
Dick Cheney as Vincent Vega!
This short--titled "Dick Fiction"--puts Dick Cheney in the Vincent Vega role as he shoots Harry Whittington in the face. It's awesome. Other Republicans fill out the cast.
"Dick Cheney will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those that attempt to poison and destroy his Republican brothers."
Click here to see movie
"Dick Cheney will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those that attempt to poison and destroy his Republican brothers."
Click here to see movie
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Who killed my electric car?
By Alexandra Paul
Special to CNN
Tuesday, July 25, 2006; Posted: 11:24 a.m. EDT (15:24 GMT)
Editor's note: Alexandra Paul is an actress best known for her four years starring in the television series "Baywatch". She has been driving electric vehicles since 1990 and is a founding member of Plug in America. Paul can be seen in the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" in theaters this summer.
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- I drive an electric car. Not a hybrid -- a gasoline-powered car that gets some help from an electric motor -- but a full electric vehicle. I plug it in at night and can drive 100 miles the next day and go faster than 80 mph on the highway.
So don't think "golf cart"; these cars have power and pick-up.
While you won't see many electric cars on the road, they've been around longer than you might think.
In 1900, electric cars outsold both.... gasoline and steam vehicles because electric cars didn't have the vibration, noise and dirtiness associated with gas vehicles. But soon afterward -- with the discovery of Texas crude oil that reduced the price of gasoline, the invention of the electric starter in 1912 that eliminated the need for a hand crank, and the mass production of internal combustion engine vehicles by Henry Ford -- the electric vehicle went the way of the horse and buggy.
The energy crisis in the 1960s and 1970s revived interest briefly. There was another push in 1990, when General Motors Corp. unveiled the (ineptly named) Impact, a sporty, aerodynamic electric car prototype.
In 1998 the California Air Resources Board decided that if a car company could make such a car, it should, and mandated that 2 percent of vehicles sold in the state in 1998 must be emission-free, with that number rising to 10 percent by 2003.
Since California is a huge market, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Chrysler, Ford and GM started building electric vehicles -- about 5,000 were manufactured. But by 2005 the mandate had been eviscerated because of pressure from those same car companies, and 4,000 perfectly good electric vehicles were crushed.
But did car companies really want electric cars to succeed? The success of electric vehicles would have threatened the status quo and core business models of two of the world's biggest industries -- oil and automobile. It is more expedient for these companies to give lip service to hydrogen in an attempt to appear "green." But hydrogen is a technology that experts say is decades away.
Because the small print in California's mandate allowed for car companies to manufacture only as many cars as there was interest in them, the game became to pretend there was no interest. Virtually no advertising money was spent to let you know electric cars existed, and even if you did find out about them salespeople actively dissuaded you from getting one.
As with any new technology, an electric vehicle was more expensive than its gas counterpart. Also, the limited range scared off customers, even though the average American drives only 34 miles a day and every electric car could go at least twice that far on a full charge.
These cars had great potential, but no media covered their subsequent crushing. It is only with the release this summer of the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" that the full story comes out. This film chronicles the rise and fall of the General Motors EV1, an electric car I leased on the day it was released in 1996. Zero to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds, a top speed of 140 mph and a range of 120 miles. GM discontinued this car just a few years later. No car company today makes a mass-production electric vehicle.
My current electric vehicle, a Toyota RAV4 EV, also was discontinued a few years ago. This car costs me the equivalent of 60 cents a gallon to run. I never need to get a tune-up, change spark plugs or add water to the batteries or oil to the motor. The only maintenance for the first 150,000 miles is to rotate my tires. This car is quiet, fast and emission free. I plug it in every night at home, and it charges on off-peak energy.
Even if it were getting power solely from electricity derived from coal -- a common criticism of electric cars -- my vehicle uses 50 percent less carbon dioxide than a 24 mpg gas car (for a summary of more than 30 studies on the emissions of electric cars, hybrids and plug in hybrids, go to www.sherryboschert.com/FAQ.html). When I have to get new batteries, which I expect I'll will be when my car is 10 years old, the old ones will be over 90 percent recyclable.
The concern I hear most often about electric vehicles is their range. Well, at 100 miles per charge, my electric vehicle fulfills 98 percent of my driving needs, and I live in a city where everything seems to be 40 minutes away.
When I want to go further, I borrow my husband Ian's Toyota Prius. I don't like driving it. Am I supposed to be amazed when a car gets 43 miles per gallon? The average fuel economy mandate for cars in 1985: 27.5 mpg. For 2006: 27.5 mpg. No wonder our expectations are so low. Progress in fuel efficiency has been glacial compared to improvements in computers and cell phones.
There is a solution: The plug-in hybrid. This vehicle will run on pure electric power for up to 60 miles, and then automatically switch to gas (or a biofuel) if you drive farther. Because around 85 percent of Americans travel less than 50 miles a day, this means that most people who charge their cars at home each night would hardly ever dip into their car's gasoline tank.
The infrastructure to charge is already in place (electric outlets are everywhere), and the technology (batteries) has been tested in the field and greatly improved upon for over 15 years. National security experts, including former CIA Director James Woolsey, are advocates for these vehicles because they say these vehicles can help break our dependence on foreign oil. Environmentalists support them because plugging in means getting an average of more than 100 mpg. Consumers like them because they will be saving thousands of dollars in gasoline costs.
Once you have known the quiet smooth speed and the clean efficiency of an electric vehicle, you will never think "golf cart" again.
Special to CNN
Tuesday, July 25, 2006; Posted: 11:24 a.m. EDT (15:24 GMT)
Editor's note: Alexandra Paul is an actress best known for her four years starring in the television series "Baywatch". She has been driving electric vehicles since 1990 and is a founding member of Plug in America. Paul can be seen in the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" in theaters this summer.
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- I drive an electric car. Not a hybrid -- a gasoline-powered car that gets some help from an electric motor -- but a full electric vehicle. I plug it in at night and can drive 100 miles the next day and go faster than 80 mph on the highway.
So don't think "golf cart"; these cars have power and pick-up.
While you won't see many electric cars on the road, they've been around longer than you might think.
In 1900, electric cars outsold both.... gasoline and steam vehicles because electric cars didn't have the vibration, noise and dirtiness associated with gas vehicles. But soon afterward -- with the discovery of Texas crude oil that reduced the price of gasoline, the invention of the electric starter in 1912 that eliminated the need for a hand crank, and the mass production of internal combustion engine vehicles by Henry Ford -- the electric vehicle went the way of the horse and buggy.
The energy crisis in the 1960s and 1970s revived interest briefly. There was another push in 1990, when General Motors Corp. unveiled the (ineptly named) Impact, a sporty, aerodynamic electric car prototype.
In 1998 the California Air Resources Board decided that if a car company could make such a car, it should, and mandated that 2 percent of vehicles sold in the state in 1998 must be emission-free, with that number rising to 10 percent by 2003.
Since California is a huge market, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Chrysler, Ford and GM started building electric vehicles -- about 5,000 were manufactured. But by 2005 the mandate had been eviscerated because of pressure from those same car companies, and 4,000 perfectly good electric vehicles were crushed.
But did car companies really want electric cars to succeed? The success of electric vehicles would have threatened the status quo and core business models of two of the world's biggest industries -- oil and automobile. It is more expedient for these companies to give lip service to hydrogen in an attempt to appear "green." But hydrogen is a technology that experts say is decades away.
Because the small print in California's mandate allowed for car companies to manufacture only as many cars as there was interest in them, the game became to pretend there was no interest. Virtually no advertising money was spent to let you know electric cars existed, and even if you did find out about them salespeople actively dissuaded you from getting one.
As with any new technology, an electric vehicle was more expensive than its gas counterpart. Also, the limited range scared off customers, even though the average American drives only 34 miles a day and every electric car could go at least twice that far on a full charge.
These cars had great potential, but no media covered their subsequent crushing. It is only with the release this summer of the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" that the full story comes out. This film chronicles the rise and fall of the General Motors EV1, an electric car I leased on the day it was released in 1996. Zero to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds, a top speed of 140 mph and a range of 120 miles. GM discontinued this car just a few years later. No car company today makes a mass-production electric vehicle.
My current electric vehicle, a Toyota RAV4 EV, also was discontinued a few years ago. This car costs me the equivalent of 60 cents a gallon to run. I never need to get a tune-up, change spark plugs or add water to the batteries or oil to the motor. The only maintenance for the first 150,000 miles is to rotate my tires. This car is quiet, fast and emission free. I plug it in every night at home, and it charges on off-peak energy.
Even if it were getting power solely from electricity derived from coal -- a common criticism of electric cars -- my vehicle uses 50 percent less carbon dioxide than a 24 mpg gas car (for a summary of more than 30 studies on the emissions of electric cars, hybrids and plug in hybrids, go to www.sherryboschert.com/FAQ.html). When I have to get new batteries, which I expect I'll will be when my car is 10 years old, the old ones will be over 90 percent recyclable.
The concern I hear most often about electric vehicles is their range. Well, at 100 miles per charge, my electric vehicle fulfills 98 percent of my driving needs, and I live in a city where everything seems to be 40 minutes away.
When I want to go further, I borrow my husband Ian's Toyota Prius. I don't like driving it. Am I supposed to be amazed when a car gets 43 miles per gallon? The average fuel economy mandate for cars in 1985: 27.5 mpg. For 2006: 27.5 mpg. No wonder our expectations are so low. Progress in fuel efficiency has been glacial compared to improvements in computers and cell phones.
There is a solution: The plug-in hybrid. This vehicle will run on pure electric power for up to 60 miles, and then automatically switch to gas (or a biofuel) if you drive farther. Because around 85 percent of Americans travel less than 50 miles a day, this means that most people who charge their cars at home each night would hardly ever dip into their car's gasoline tank.
The infrastructure to charge is already in place (electric outlets are everywhere), and the technology (batteries) has been tested in the field and greatly improved upon for over 15 years. National security experts, including former CIA Director James Woolsey, are advocates for these vehicles because they say these vehicles can help break our dependence on foreign oil. Environmentalists support them because plugging in means getting an average of more than 100 mpg. Consumers like them because they will be saving thousands of dollars in gasoline costs.
Once you have known the quiet smooth speed and the clean efficiency of an electric vehicle, you will never think "golf cart" again.
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