Warning

[dampscribbler]

I just heard on BBC news that Iran, the country which -- according to the New York Times -- has the second-largest oil reserves in the world ("The Breaking Point," by Peter Maas, NYTimes Magazine, August 21, 2005) , will stop producing gas-only-powered cars in the next two weeks, switching all production to hybrid dual-fuel vehicles essentially immediately.  (A closer reading of the article reveals that I misunderstood the BBC news item I heard on the radio.  My apologies for misrepresenting this.)

Clearly, this is a country that knows that it cannot keep up with it's population's need for gasoline.  We should take heed.  Whether Iran foresees running out of oil or simply being unable to extract it quickly enough to keep up with demand, their actions should be taken very seriously. 

Compare this to our government.  Last month, "The Senate approved an energy package last week that would require the U.S. vehicle fleet of passenger cars, sport utilities, pickups and vans to average 35 miles per gallon by 2020, a 10 mpg improvement over today's standards."    That's thirteen years away, or roughly 650 weeks from today.  

Comments

[hhw]

my car was still getting 40mpg on the highway when I sold it last year; it was a 1991 Nissan sedan. I guess it's hard to find sixteen-year-old efficiency these days.