Laundry in Paola used to be covered in tiny black dots which I remember very well. Our cars used to be covered in said black dots as well as a myriad other objects which had the ill-fortune of being outdoors.

Most definitely it would NOT be nice. That would create new grounds for our liberal courts of laws (when dealing with the Mintoff clan) to claim a million euro more in compensation without any ghost of a chance for anyone else in Sliema – Bahar-ic-Caghaq being compensated on the same scale.

You see, even today’s Malta, all pigs are supposed to be equal but in practice, some pigs are more equal than others.

When I said transportation system, I didn’t differentiate between public and private. If one were to calculate the efficiency of an average car carrying one person, at rush hour, 28% maximum engine efficiency drops down to 2%.

Thus, 98% of the fuel used to get one person from A to B is effectively wasted.
(I’m quoting Fiat Advanced Design here, you can see where this could take us).

The electric car, even with a 100% efficient motor still carries unecessary weight, loses efficiency at the wheels, causes jams, takes up space, and spends 90% of its service life parked.

Cars have gained 20% of their weight in the last ten years, all of it down to safety systems. We build stronger engines to counteract the weight, then increase the weight to make them safer. The electric car will degenerate due the same.

The crux here is to remove the controls, by doing so, 60% of the weight can be done away with.

That’s why I said ‘removing people from behind the wheel’, to possess becomes to access.

Which is why automakers are seriously considering transportation as a service and not as an excuse to sell fictitious wants.

The day we’ll have a paradigm shift, where consumer needs are satisfied, read chic, cool and what have you, is the day we’ll give up our cars.

Renault are to date, the most advanced in the new language, the intention is to target the youth market, tackling the geeky aspect head on. 20 year olds create the trend, which then filters to their parents.

Imposition, well intentioned it may be, won’t work. Renault, owned by the state, is moving away from the Californian model, which still looks at the car as the basis of personal freedom anyway.

There’s a balance somewhere, but it’s not achieved by mentioning the latest controlled experiment in some closed track, even because the 400km range will surely go down to 60km as soon as the seven second 0 to 96km time claim is tested.

Yes there’s the new generation of fast recharging dual battery, but costs are still prohibitive.
Renault’s solution is to provide battery replacement stations, where filling up the fuel becomes a battery change.

The investment required to cover the cost of having an available battery is still a big question mark. The EU is watching closely.

Mercedes is trying to catch up with the Smart, and even though the Germans are concentrating on the fuel cell, the model is similar.

Again, Germany does everything possible to defend the interests of its auto industry.

On the negative side the Chevy Volt barely reached its sales target nor is the Nissan leaf selling well. Both suffer the same basic design flaw: They follow the Prius eco hollywood fashion accessory axiom, costing nearly twice as much as an ordinary car.

This is why I say ‘pontificating green rubbish is hateful’, it tends to be inaccurate for a reason; keep the lobby strong via the flower power polemic. Old hat.

Perhaps the LP true colours aren’t green after all but a hue that is getting more red as time passes:

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120413/local/korean-news-agecy.415311

Scary stuff especially in lieu of the recent global turn of events.

The Times states: “The agency said Dr Muscat was convinced that the Korean people would greet the centenary of the birth of President Kim Il Sung “with shining achievements in economic construction under the wise leadership of the dear respected Kim Jong Un”.”

Whereas one recognises diplomat-talk, I fear that Dr Muscat’s doctoral achievements aren’t worth a cent if he thinks that mass starvation are to be equated to “achievements in economic construction” and “wise leadership”.

Two points I would like to mention

“Replacing petrol powered cars with battery powered vehicles alone is NOT the solution, a comprehensive transportation system, removing people from behind the wheel of their vehicle, is.”

Not completely true – what is required is a country wide strategy that starts with weaning the market off fossil fuel into more renewable forms. One application of such a policy is to impose regulations that new buildings MUST have n% of their electricity generated through photovoltaic cells, be properly insulated and so on. Transport is simply an area of application.

“Government HAS been trying to encourage sales of electric vehicles. The problem, as is becoming amply clear everywhere, is charging times required.” Modern technology has increased the speed, lowered fuel consumption, extended distance and so on. I believe one care travels 80km without recharging, takes about 30 minutes to charge its batteries (modelled on mobile phone batteries) and clocks over 150 km/h.

Putting aside the fact that she is Mintoff’s daughter (ergo watch out), there are certain measures that the Maltese government has failed to take and the opposition has failed to identify and suggest. The essence of cleaner energy, sustainable consumption and shared responsibility between government and governed is not tantamount to pontificating green rubbish.

It is a reality that many, if not most, are ignoring and failing to address at the policy and at the operational level.

We’re all great with dishing out strategies and direction but, so far, I haven’t heard anything but people whining and politicians promising “l-ilma jizfen”.