California High Speed Rail

I've seen a lot of articles about high speed rail in California, and how the expected cost has exploded. Conservatives can't grasp why anyone would assume this could get any passengers.  It's slower than air travel (LA to SF), and will cost more.  Why would anyone go by rail?

Let's explore...

Q: Does Congress have power to regulate interstate commerce?
A: Well, yeah, that is in the Consitution, but...

Q: Okay, so then who has power to regulate intrastate commerce?
A: The states!  That's well established in the 10'th amendment.

Q: And do the states have the power to regulate commerce in the name of environmental protection?
A: I didn't think so, but California seems to have gotten away with that.

Q: And is air travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco intrastate commerce?
A: I don't think I like where this is going, but yes.

Q: So, you concede that the states could limit or ban such commerce in the public interest?
A: WTF!  You have got to be kidding me!

Electric Cars

Hey, if you want to go green, how about buying a new Tesla?
It's all electric.
It does 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds.
Gets 220 miles on a single charge.
"Fuel" costs are under 2 cents per mile.

They're taking reservations now, and the first production models are delivering.

Cost? Oh, the base price is $109,000, and delivery is in 12 months. If you want to lock in an earlier delivery date, that can be done for an additional $55,000. Full payment being due 3 months before they deliver your car.

New Energy Sources

I've heard quite a lot lately in the news about "why don't energy companies invest in technologies like solar, or wind?" Even so, progress is being made.

In Massachusetts, the Patrick administration's Commonwealth Solar rebate program, implemented in January, is part of a push to increase the amount of solar energy used from 4 megawatts to 250 megawatts over the next decade. (By comparison, the Pilgrim nuclear plant has a generating capacity of nearly 700 megawatts.) A novel program included in the state's new energy bill would allow utilities to own solar panels for the first time.

Uh, whoops. Wait a minute. Did you say the electric company was prevented by law from owning solar panels? So what was supposed to be their interest in seeing solar technology prosper?

It makes me wonder what other dumb laws like this exist. Probably designed to 'level the playing field', but in fact preventing those with capital from using it.

I'd love to hear an oil company exec actually say "Senator, we are pursuing all alternative forms of energy. We look forward to a day when the use of oil is banned. And when it does, with the technologies we will own, you can bet your booties we'll jack the price sky high."

Hat tip to Ace of Spades.

I sneer at $4 gas

Yeah, because it only hits me a few bucks at a time, spread out over the entire year.

But, this house gets hot water for taps and baseboard heat from a fuel oil fired boiler. Fuel oil prices are about 20 cents per gallon higher than last year, and to get a discount price I have to pay in a lump sum for the year up front. That'll be around $3500 - 4000. I'm not sneering at that.

Renewable energy, but not very reliable

Windmills sound great, but not so good in practice at times.

A drop in wind generation late on Tuesday, coupled with colder weather,
triggered an electric emergency that caused the Texas grid operator to cut
service to some large customers, the grid agency said on Wednesday.
Electric
Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said a decline in wind energy production in
west Texas occurred at the same time evening electric demand was building as
colder temperatures moved into the state.
The grid operator went directly to
the second stage of an emergency plan at 6:41 PM CST (0041 GMT), ERCOT said in a
statement.