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Well... Let's See about that... Oh wait, I'm having trouble finding support for him. Oh wait, I found this Wikipedia page So, the police and firefighters unions. That's it.

The biggest surprise was how BAD the original fuel consumption on the Prius was before the modification. 40-45mpg? That's the same as a typical small car would get - and the Prius *is* a small car.

Wow, how many facts can you get wrong in such a short space? First of all, the Prius is significantly larger than a typical compact car (I have an 05 Prius, by the way) - it's closer to a midsize - it comfortably seats 5, plus it's a hatchback, giving it decent storage space. Second, check out the U.S. department of energy's page on fuel efficiency. The Prius has better mileage than EVERY other car listed except for one two-seater from Honda. Third, of course the average driver doesn't practically get the 51-60 MPG claimed. I get 45 MPG actual, just like most Prius owners. But guess what? No other car gets as good gas mileage as the EPA claims either. So either compare EPA numbers from the Prius and some other car, or compare actual mileage by the same driver under the same conditions. Otherwise it's not a fair comparison.

So why pay so much money for all this technology which amounts to a car that's LESS fuel efficient than a lot of normal petrol cars at half the price which can easily get 65+mpg?

The only thing you could be possibly talking about is diesel. Yes, it's true that diesel engines canget you greater fuel efficiency, and they're widely available in other countries, but it's a mistake to believe that it's better for the environment. Diesel exhaust contains 20-100 times more particles than gasoline exhaust. Until diesel can match or improve on the current emissions standards in the U.S., we won't be switching to diesel for ordinary passenger vehicles - that would be a huge step backwards in air quality, even if it did reduce fuel consumption by a small amount.

I also think you're confusing UK gallons with US gallons. Pick one, and then get your numbers straight.

The Prius was featured on the BBC's Top Gear program recently here in the UK and the general gist of the review as far as I remember was "why on earth are all the stupid celebrities and Americans spending a fortune buying these cars from the Japanese which are WORSE for the environment than a normal petrol car at HALF the price?". ..and I don't even think the review took into account the enormous additional environmental damage and costs of disposing of the car at each end of it's lifetime (mainly due to the batteries).

Sounds pretty biased to me. The Prius has been winning "car of the year" all around the world. It costs about $3000 more than a typical car in the same class with the same features. In the next few years, as new hybrids are introduced in other classes, you'll be able to purchase a hybrid version of any class of car you want.

If you want to save the environment, buy a small/light car with a small engine (sub 1.2L) and drive it sensibly.

What is it about hybrid technology that you don't like? Don't you realize that there's no reason you couldn't have a hybrid diesel, or a hybrid small/light car, too? Hybrid technology currently costs an extra $3000 or so, but that will only go down over time. Think of the other benefits of hybrid technology: continuously-variable transmission. The ability for your engine to turn off when it's not needed, and quick-start in a fraction of a second when it's needed. Regenerative braking.

A flyer circulating around our Boston Public Library...

Is Big Brother Watching?

The union believes that the library is using
video surveillance to watch patrons and employees
in areas of the library.

The library will neither confirm nor deny
this.

The union is working with our legal department
to explore our options of recourse that you
and the patrons you serve may be illegally
videotaped.

Please Post

Boston Public Library Employees Local No. 1526
http://www.afscmecouncil93.org

logo http://www.afscme.org/images/2001s.jpg
American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO
http://www.afscme.org

American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations
http://aflcio.org

8 Beacon Street Boston Massachusetts 02108
Telephone 617 536 5400 ext 2311 Fax 617 262 5554

allied label http://www.alliedlabel.org/images/label.gif
ALLIED PRINTING TRADES COUNCIL 73
UNION LABEL
BOSTON MASS
http://www.alliedlabel.org

See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Federation_o f_Labor-Congress_of_Industrial_Organizations

Collaborative WebLog
A guide to problematical library use
http://GuideToProblematicalLibraryUse.WebLogs.com/ faq
http://GuideToProblematicalLibraryUse.WebLogs.us
http://GuideToProblematicalLibraryUse.blog-city.co m

A flyer circulating around our Boston Public Library...

Is Big Brother Watching?

The union believes that the library is using
video surveillance to watch patrons and employees
in areas of the library.

The library will neither confirm nor deny
this.

The union is working with our legal department
to explore our options of recourse that you
and the patrons you serve may be illegally
videotaped.

Please Post

Boston Public Library Employees Local No. 1526
http://www.afscmecouncil93.org

logo http://www.afscme.org/images/2001s.jpg
American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO
http://www.afscme.org

American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations
http://aflcio.org

8 Beacon Street Boston Massachusetts 02108
Telephone 617 536 5400 ext 2311 Fax 617 262 5554

allied label http://www.alliedlabel.org/images/label.gif
ALLIED PRINTING TRADES COUNCIL 73
UNION LABEL
BOSTON MASS
http://www.alliedlabel.org

See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Federation_o f_Labor-Congress_of_Industrial_Organizations

Collaborative WebLog
A guide to problematical library use
http://GuideToProblematicalLibraryUse.WebLogs.com/ faq
http://GuideToProblematicalLibraryUse.WebLogs.us
http://GuideToProblematicalLibraryUse.blog-city.co m

corporate run prisons already are a growth industry. Think RoboCop, it's comming!

I know, I shouldn't feed the trolls. But some people seriously have that sort of knee-jerk reaction: That is, they see someone say "it's a gay disease", and they throw up their arms and declare the person a bigot. Unfortunately, it's the way things are.

If you had looked at the statistics on the page I linked, you'd notice that, through June 2001, in the U.S., of the total 807074 people reported with AIDS or HIV, 368971 of those likely were exposed under the category "men who have sex with men". That's 45%. A quarter of that were exposed through heterosexual contact.

Now, as to the credibility of those statistics, on the same page:

These HIV figures include only those states with confidential HIV reporting
Source: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

If you don't inject drugs and aren't a gay male, AIDS likely shouldn't be as big a worry as, say, hepatitis might be.

No offense, but the term ignorant comes to mind when I read your comment. Just so you know, there are plenty of references to my "Completely Untrue Statement". Seriously, if you want to whine about your tax dollars, find out how much of them go to subsidize big oil and then wonder why people think and say negative things about the Loner Star State.