Wrightsfd’s Recent Comments

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  It makes me proud to have someone like Durbin be my representative in the Senate. Illinois' other senator may be pretty much powerless, but Durbin is high ranking and an all around great guy. With our last senator going to the White House it is good to know we still have some pull on Capitol Hill. Thanks Senator Durbin.On Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) posted 2 days ago 1 Response

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  Anti-idle technologies like the original Insight are in place in many cars throughout the world (mostly Europe). Here in the USA certain Chevy pickup trucks have this, all full-hybrids have this, and others are on their way. These systems don't work when the temperature is cold, most hybrids (the Prius for example) run constantly to keep the heat going inside the vehicle and get significantly less fuel mileage in winter. This type of technology will eventually become standard in all cars if WE request it from the manufacturers. I should now mention that I am a bus driver. I work for a high profile limousine and bus service in Chicago and I am very often sitting for hours at a time and generally have the bus turned off. Knowing my co-workers like I do I know that they often idle for long periods of time because they do not feel like turning a vehicle off in hot or cold weather, also the lights and systems inside the party busses do not work without the engine running. Lastly we drivers like to listen to the radio and even watch TV or videos when we sit (often for 3 or 4 hours at a time) and many vehicles do not allow this unless they are running. In Chicago a diesel vehicle must be turned off unless loading or unloading however gasoline powered vehicles are not regulated by our local police. Diesel vehicles use very little fuel while idling, even the 12.7 liter motor-coaches, but are annoying to smell and hear so I suspect the anti-idle laws are more for the comfort of the passers by than for fuel economy. I'm working on greening our fleet but I'm a peon and the powers that be at my company think absolutely nothing of anything remotely "green" and they will be hard to change but I applaud KEW100 for their efforts. My opinion is that better timing of traffic lights and roads that are properly constructed from the beginning will result in a much greater savings of fuel. For example, my 14 mile late night commute home usually takes 35 minutes, not because of traffic congestion, but because I sit (often the only car) at red light after red light after red light.On Ask Umbra on anti-idling campaigns posted 1 month, 3 weeks ago 15 Responses

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  HawaiiFalvo; It is still necessary in many areas to drive a car, Wisconsin especially. If everyone lived in cities with good public transportation or things nearby there would be nobody to grow the crops or manufacture the products you use daily like toilet paper, kitchenware, and chairs. These things generally don't come from cities and people HAVE to drove to get to work in rural areas, biking is not an option for many of them, period. Idealism is great, but solves nothing. Sarah: You live in Madison, which is the number one most bicycle friendly city in the midwest so I hope you use your bike to get around most of the time. As far as putting environmental plates on your car please use discretion as I see many folks putting eco plates on Hummers who just don't understand. If you drove a big Jeep Cherokee or some other SUV I hope you just keep the plate you have and feel confident that the message your plate sends is much quieter than the message your vehicle sends. If you are a more typical Madisonite driving a 30 year old veggie oil Mercedes then your plate needs to go!On Ask Umbra on license plates posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago 6 Responses

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  I have to say that I clicked on the link just to see the boobies. If I were at work I would not have done so and the banner on the page I was looking at was pretty revealing for work too. Maybe next time however Grist could stick with the eco-formula and not show us boobies stuffed with silicone!On Ask Umbra on eco-undies posted 5 months, 3 weeks ago 14 Responses

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  Glad you got the new site up.  I love change.  Unfortunately your new sight is disorganized and the color scheme is fugly.  I'll still keep reading it however.

  On Welcome to the new Grist! posted 7 months, 3 weeks ago 106 Responses