All,
Mike Valenti was on a rant again last night.
If you listen to Detroit Sports Radio, you've heard Mike Valenti on 97.1 The Ticket and you have heard him go on a rant. He is famous for it and I rarely agree with him. His favorite target is Michigan -- Michigan fans, Michigan football, Michigan basketball, Jim Harbaugh, cheating, you name it. Trust me. I hate what the guy says. It's as if he is trying to push my buttons to get me to call in. Reaction radio. Makes me so angry most days.
But this was different.
"Did you see the news story today? This BP exec who is now facing 5 years in jail and millions in fines because he was listening to his wife's conversation (in his own home) and investing based on what she is talking about?" Husband of BP worker pleads guilty in insider trading case after listening to wife's work calls, feds say
He is not excusing insider trading. He is attacking blatant hypocrisy by politicians.
"So he's facing 5 years of jail for doing that but members of Congress can brazenly go out -- and both sides of the aisle, don't play that game with me -- and routinely beat the brakes off the market. Not just by a percent or two. We're talking some of these cats with 50-, 60-, 80- 100 percent gains! They sit on some of these boards. They make policy. They have all the insider trades.
"So what, Nancy Pelosi gets to do whatever she wants to do and just have old Pauly boy (husband Paul Pelosi) do the investment? And there's nothing that happens?"
And then Byron McCormick sends me this story about Department of Treasury Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Senior Adviser to the President John Podesta attacking President Biden for backing hydrogen development because some of the sources (gasp!) are not absolutely pure.
Criticism of clean hydrogen tax credit builds
Oh really? Are they going after EVs and the source of electricity too? Are they going after companies that make these behemoths like the HUMMER GMC EV -- pulling that much lithium out of the ground to move an 8,000- pound vehicle, because, you know, I need a vehicle that big to go pick up my groceries.
Hypocrisy. In the government ranks. That's the only explanation that comes to mind. Do Yellen and Podesta own stock in Tesla or worse, CATL, the leading Chinese battery manufacturer or something? One can only wonder. What other conclusion can you reach? It's not based on science. And don't accuse me of siding with the Republicans. This is a Democratic Congressman going after leaders in his own party.
Do people realize that hydrogen and electricity come from the exact same sources? Wind, solar, geothermal, wave action. And if you want to be pragmatic, biogas, ethanol, natural gas and even nuclear.
We are not going to get to a carbon neutral world if we make good the enemy of perfect.
Here's a fact. Nearly 80 percent of the electricity flowing into Teslas nationwide comes from petroleum, coal, natural gas or nuclear, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Should we stop all EV production now? NO! That's crazy. What rationally-minded person would make that argument? In time, let's hope the renewable pie gets bigger. For both hydrogen and EVs.
Why then do we tolerate it when people make "red herring" arguments against hydrogen? Because they are coming out of the woodwork to make these arguments. Why? What threat does hydrogen pose?
I don't think it's hydrogen per se. It's the oil companies. I get it. I don't trust them either. But you have to be either terribly naive or a fool to think we can have an energy future that cuts out BP, Shell, ExxonMobil and the rest. If the world ultimately makes hydrogen and electricity from renewable sources, what's the harm in that? I say let's make a market for both so the oil companies want to jump in with both feet -- for the profit potential.
Here's an idea: what if we did both? EVs and fuel cells. Fuel cells for heavy duty trucks, trains, planes and maybe ships Where diesel is currently used. And EVs for the smaller things. The smaller, the better. Support all renewables. Support cars and trucks that don't pollute, for sure, but even those that pollute less than the vehicles they replace. Call a fuel cell a refillable hydrogen battery, because that is what it is.
EV purists are coming unhinged at a Washington Post story published yesterday. GreenerCars, a nonprofit organization, named the Toyota Prius Prime as the most efficient vehicle. Not a Tesla. A Toyota hybrid.
If you try to imagine a “green” car, an electric vehicle is probably the first thing that comes to mind. A silent motor with tons of torque; no fumes, gasoline smells, or air pollution belching from an exhaust pipe. Last year, U.S. consumers had over 50 EV models to choose from, up from about 30 the year before.
But a new report from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy suggests that the “greenest” car in America may not be fully electric. The nonprofit group, which has rated the pollution from vehicles for decades, says the winning car this year is the Toyota Prius Prime SE, a plug-in hybrid that can go 44 miles on electricity before switching to hybrid.
“It’s the shape of the body, the technology within it, and the overall weight,” said Peter Huether, senior research associate for transportation at ACEEE. “And all different types of Priuses are very efficient.”
It’s not the first time that a plug-in vehicle has topped the GreenerCars list; the Prius Prime also won out in 2020 and 2022. But with more and more electric vehicles on the market, the staying power of the plug-in hybrid is surprising.
The analysis shows that simply running on electricity is not enough to guarantee that a car is “green” — its weight, battery size and overall efficiency matter, too. While a gigantic electric truck weighing thousands of pounds might be better than a gas truck of the same size, both will be outmatched by a smaller, efficient gas vehicle. And the more huge vehicles there are on the road, the harder it will be for the United States to meet its goal of zeroing out emissions by 2050.
The GreenerCars report analyzes 1,200 cars available in 2024, assessing both the carbon dioxide emissions of the vehicle while it’s on the road and the emissions of manufacturing the car and battery. It also assesses the impact of pollutants beyond carbon dioxide, including nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and particulate matter — all of which can harm human health.
Combining these factors, the authors gave each car a “green score” ranging from 0 to 100. The Toyota Prius Prime received a score of 71, followed by several all-electric cars such as the Nissan Leaf and Mini Cooper SE with scores in the high 60s. The Toyota RAV4 Prime, a plug-in hybrid SUV with 42 miles in range, got a score of 64. One gas hybrid, the Hyundai Elantra Blue, made the list as well — thanks to an efficient design and good mileage.
It comes down to this. Is it more important to me to affirm my political view -- I am right, Dammit! -- or to protect the environment?
I write this only a day after it reached 72 degrees in Michigan in February. Doesn't seem normal to me.
The world needs both hydrogen/fuel cells and EVs. Pure and simple. Now. Not five or 10 years from now. And, in my book, you are not being intellectually honest if you claim to be a fan of only one renewable path
I can only hope enough rational people are listening as the icebergs melt and the oceans rise. Otherwise we risk having our precious political principles drown right along with us.
And now for the rest of the news.
Scott