Philosophy
An Op-Ed Contributor, Ruth Y. Goldway, to the New York Times this morning has offered a proposal for the U.S. Government to pave the way for "going green" by converting all postal vehicles to electric power. Sounds like a good idea and might in part be feasible save for the thought of regions of the country where temperatures do effect electric vehicle performance...storage batteries function less when it is cold. Nevertheless, the comments do have merit in warmer climate areas. Eat your heart out Fergus Falls.
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S energy plan calls for putting one million electric plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015. This ambitious goal could be accomplished more quickly if we invested in converting the largest civilian fleet in the United States — the 219,000 vehicles owned by the United States Postal Service — to electricity.
The House's stimulus bill would allot about $28 billion for efficient and alternative energy programs, while the Senate version calls for $40 billion. When government agencies dole out the money, some of it should go to helping the Postal Service go green.
Converting just its 142,000 standard delivery trucks would reduce gasoline consumption by up to 68 million gallons a year and save the Postal Service millions of dollars. Delivery vehicles could be powered by electricity from solar panels installed on the roofs of mail sorting centers and local post offices — a self-sufficient system. You could plug in your own electric car there while you drop off parcels and buy stamps.
Green jobs — outfitting buildings, converting trucks — would be created in neighborhoods nationwide. No earmarks or questionable contracts would be involved — just a trusted independent agency spending money efficiently to conserve natural resources.
The Postal Service has already made its own efforts to reduce consumption — by providing fully recyclable packaging, investing in paperless data tracking and initiating a "mail back" program to recycle small electronics. It would like to do more, but with declining mail volume and revenue, it cannot go green on its own.
So why not spread the stimulus to every community in the country by investing in the Postal Service? With part of the alternative energy stimulus, neighborhood post offices could become local green hubs, thousands of electric-powered delivery trucks could take to the road, and we could all share, in a tangible way, in the president’s energy plan.
[Ruth Y. Goldway is a member of the United States Postal Regulatory Commission.]
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Philosophy
Mr. Zip...going "green"?
An Op-Ed Contributor, Ruth Y. Goldway, to the New York Times this morning has offered a proposal for the U.S. Government to pave the way for "going green" by converting all postal vehicles to electric power. Sounds like a good idea and might in part be feasible save for the thought of regions of the country where temperatures do effect electric vehicle performance...storage batteries function less when it is cold. Nevertheless, the comments do have merit in warmer climate areas. Eat your heart out Fergus Falls.
"Plugging in the Postal Service"
by
Ruth Y. Goldway
February 10th, 2009
New York Times
by
Ruth Y. Goldway
February 10th, 2009
New York Times
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S energy plan calls for putting one million electric plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015. This ambitious goal could be accomplished more quickly if we invested in converting the largest civilian fleet in the United States — the 219,000 vehicles owned by the United States Postal Service — to electricity.
The House's stimulus bill would allot about $28 billion for efficient and alternative energy programs, while the Senate version calls for $40 billion. When government agencies dole out the money, some of it should go to helping the Postal Service go green.
Converting just its 142,000 standard delivery trucks would reduce gasoline consumption by up to 68 million gallons a year and save the Postal Service millions of dollars. Delivery vehicles could be powered by electricity from solar panels installed on the roofs of mail sorting centers and local post offices — a self-sufficient system. You could plug in your own electric car there while you drop off parcels and buy stamps.
Green jobs — outfitting buildings, converting trucks — would be created in neighborhoods nationwide. No earmarks or questionable contracts would be involved — just a trusted independent agency spending money efficiently to conserve natural resources.
The Postal Service has already made its own efforts to reduce consumption — by providing fully recyclable packaging, investing in paperless data tracking and initiating a "mail back" program to recycle small electronics. It would like to do more, but with declining mail volume and revenue, it cannot go green on its own.
So why not spread the stimulus to every community in the country by investing in the Postal Service? With part of the alternative energy stimulus, neighborhood post offices could become local green hubs, thousands of electric-powered delivery trucks could take to the road, and we could all share, in a tangible way, in the president’s energy plan.
[Ruth Y. Goldway is a member of the United States Postal Regulatory Commission.]
- "miracle On 34th Street"...bad Logic?
Miracle on 34th Street Bad logic, but a great story...Santa's authenticity is in doubt and winds up in a New York court. How do you prove with authority, accepted by all, of Santa's genuine status? The sharp attorney has the idea of making an...
- And They "put Up A Parking Lot"...classic Us Post Offices Up For Sale
An interior view of the post office in Modesto, California, showing New Deal-sponsored murals by Ray Boynton and local artists; the post office has now closed and is for sale. Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell It is a shame that the old post offices...
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Delivery truck in 1931. "Postmaster says days are numbered for Saturday mail delivery" by Carly Mallenbaum July 20th, 2011 USA TODAY Falling mail volume and soaring red ink may soon doom Saturday mail delivery and prompt three-day-a-week delivery within...
- Electric Vehicles...i Think Not
The article suggests that electric vehicles are the wave of the future. Granted, better batteries will be developed but it will not have that great of an impact with the general public. Just consider the number of people that do not have access to an...
- "carrot And Stick"...for Energy Alternatives?
The "carrot and stick" methodology has often served global commerce good...money rules. "McCain offers prize for cutting-edge battery" In Fresno, he says he would award $300 million to whoever developed a new device that could efficiently power cars....