Comments yoder has made

Market downturn and consumers waiting for the 2010 are both hitting Toyota hard.  Consumers had been hoping for a Prius PHEV but instead it looks like they are getting an EV mode for short distances.  Not the same thing, but at least Toyota seems to have thrown them a bone.

We'll keep our fingers crossed for the 2011 model.

I don't use sites like Grist to find out what any one person has to say, so the page real estate set aside for any one person is not used and is only in the way.  If I can't easily find information by topic, then I'm gone. 

The new site is much more usable for me 

I did not like the old site, and rarely visited.  The new site is much better and easier to navigate.

Wimp cars and steroids....

It's trash talk. It means nothing.  People who want something "on steroids" are not going to buy a Prius until it weighs 6000 lbs and gets 8 mpg.

The Prius is made to get great mileage.  Many people (including myself) like the way it looks.  I also like the way the Tesla looks, but the Tesla cannot carry 3' x 5' sheets of plywood, my toolboxes and a stack of 2x4's.On Toyota may develop "Prius on steroids" posted 1 year, 1 month ago 22 Responses

Slow news day?

Is this really a problem?  I can see that some time in the future this could actually become serious.  But so far it's happened, what, a few times somewhere in California and it's news?On Thieves targeting used cooking oil posted 1 year, 6 months ago 2 Responses

I just hope that someday...

history will show Kucinich as the hero that he is.On A look at Dennis Kucinich's environmental platform and record posted 2 years, 3 months ago 6 Responses

"an orgy of partisan insult-slinging"

I like that comment.  I don't agree with it, but I like it.

When you see two people in prison, one who tortured and killed a half a dozen people and one who smoked some pot and got caught, do you see them as equally bad?  Not everything in life can be balanced.  Mainstream media has been trying to do that for the past 6 years and has failed miserably.  Just because there are two sides to an issue does not mean they are equal.  Usually one side is more right than the other and one side is more wrong than the other.

The Republican party has been engaging in acts that are morally, ethically and legally reprehensible.  And for far too long there have been very few willing to point this out for fear of being labeled a "terrorist" or a "terrorist sympathizer".  That in and of itself makes me want to vomit on Cheney's shoes, but they used that fear as a tool and a reason to take away rights and freedoms that we "USED" to hold dear.  Now if it was the Democratic party doing this you would be able to take each and every one of my posts and replace Republican with Democratic, but it is not the Democratic party doing this.

The Democrats do desperately need to be belittled, ridiculed and yelled at, but for very different reasons, which are not being discussed here.

This orgy of partisan insult slinging is just fed up Americans telling the Republicans what they think of them.

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act!" -- George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair)

prevent accomplishment of the Dem Congress

This is not news.  They shriek about letting our mythical "free market" fix everything, then pass pro-monopoly, anti competitive legislation.  They shriek about how corrupt and ineffectual government is and then get elected and prove it.

Par for the course.

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act!" -- George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair)

Counterproductive, maybe...

I live in a small town in Minnesota whose downtown is being decimated by Wal-mart.  I refuse to step foot in the store myself and many times find myself driving 30 miles just to buy what I need "anywhere but Wal-mart".

I speak with my wallet and buy at small local stores whenever possible.  When it is not possible, then I buy at small "not so local" stores.  I may pay more, but I believe the "efficiency" that the major corporations crow about is destructive to local and rural economies.On The impossibility of a green Wal-Mart posted 2 years, 7 months ago 27 Responses

The legs are barefoot.

They are!  At first I also thought she was in high heels.

But yea, it is talking about a part of the male anatomy, but showing a female.  I'm so confused.On A batch of Grist Earth Day cards for your sending pleasure posted 2 years, 7 months ago 8 Responses

taxpayers and fuel

But as taxpayers we are now paying 400+ billion for a war in Iraq over control of oil.  I believe it was last year our Congress-critters gave the oil and coal industries an 18 billion dollar welfare check that was just one of many.  Oil and coal subsidies come in many...many forms and amount to many hundreds of billions.

We taxpayers are already getting bent over for oil and coal.  At least with the ethanol industry I can believe I'm being bent over for something that is not as polluting as oil or coal.

I'm not asking for ethanol to fix everything.  I'm just asking a question.  Can a limited use of ethanol or biodiesel in the transportation industry help slow our increased consumption of oil and can it also help to decrease our CO2 footprint?

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act!" -- George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair)

But what if...

Biofuels and ethanol are only used to replace the diesel and gasoline of the transportation industry?  Trains, trucks, buses, ships and the sort.

The knee jerk reaction that has somehow elevated ethanol to magic status is unrealistic, but if reasonable people can find a realistic use for ethanol in our transportation industry, could it work?  If not then, why not?

Personal automobiles aside, it seems that ethanol and biodiesel could at least help a little.

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act!" -- George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair)

Even now, discussions of sustainable living...

eventually degenerate to the point that I hear "But what about my rights?".  "I work hard for my money and you want to tell me I can't buy the car I want?"  "You want to tell me how to live my life?"

The culture of entitlement will fight any change or sacrifice to the bitter end.

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act!" -- George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair)

Step Back.

Very well said.  Thank you.

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act!" -- George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair)

Plum is correct...

Climate change skeptics have given up on debate and are pulling a Microsoft.  When you can't compete with a winning idea or concept, just throw as much FUD into the discussion as you can to confuse and generally piss off the masses.  If I can't win, then nobody can win.  I'll take my ball and go home, NYAH!!

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act!" -- George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair)

Gore bashing is fun and cathartic.

But not very helpful.  I like the guy because he is capable of putting coherent sentences together into coherent thoughts unlike the Pretender to the Throne.  I like the guy because he is putting his considerable political and social reputation behind a cause that I believe in.  I also like the fact that he has been working on environmental issues for decades.

Mr. Gore is helping the cause in ways that few others can.  He is helping the cause in ways that few others would even if they had his wealth, popularity and political pull.

He is not living off grid in a straw bale home, nor does he wear hemp clothing (in public).  He may be full of himself.  He may seem stuffy and uptight to some.  He certainly has been a lightning rod for those who hate the Green movement and despise the fact that Global Warming is getting so much attention.  But he is an intelligent, professional politician who knows how to use the political system to his (and the Green movement's) advantage.

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act!" -- George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair)

Farm Bill

If the bill makes it through without being compromised by amendments, then things could really change for the better.

Just a quick glimpse into my crystal ball and I'd have to say the chances of any meaningful changes making it through are slim.

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act!" -- George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair)