Electric vehicles for the US Postal Service

USPS and coronavirus: A no-brainer stimulus idea is to electrify mail trucks - Vox

Electric vehicles for the US Postal Service would reduce noise, air, and carbon pollution in every community.

I can't help thinking this isn't a bad idea.  Seems to me like it is at least worth a look at.  If the USPS needs an upgrade anyway, why not do something that would be good for the economy and the environment at the same time?

Anyhow… it's worth a look.

"The boxy, whiny postal truck that is so familiar to Americans, with the driver on the right next to a loud sliding door, is called a Grumman Long Life Vehicle (LLV). As of 2018, the US Postal Service owns and operates 229,000 total vehicles, more than 141,000 of which are LLVs."

"They get about 10 miles per gallon, are too small for many modern e-commerce packages…"

"The LLVs’ lifespan was meant to be about 24 years; they average 28 years old, with many over 30. They are so old that the USPS often has difficulty finding mechanics who can work on them."

"In short, the USPS has a giant fleet of aging, energy-intensive, carbon-intensive, expensive-to-maintain vehicles that are long overdue for an upgrade."

"On a full life-cycle basis, electric vehicles are absolutely a better value.

An electric motor converts electricity into motion more efficiently (around 90-95 percent) than an internal combustion engine (ICE) converts gasoline or diesel (40-45 percent at the high end, much lower in average use)."

"Consequently, electricity is a cheaper vehicle fuel than gasoline or diesel. “On a national average,” says the Department of Energy, “it costs less than half as much to travel the same distance in an EV than a conventional vehicle.” A wholesale shift to electricity would save the USPS hundreds of millions of dollars in fuel costs a year."

Just something to think about

𝕵𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖎

Guess I just can't stand it anymore.  Might as well just say what I've been thinking - minus the bad words.

It's hard to believe The things this man does.

When was the last time that a president personally signed your check from the IRS?  Or pretended to.  The checks "…will still be signed by an official with the Bureau of Fiscal Service"  This is not his money.  It was authorized by congress, which is their job.  But he wants you to think it came from him personally.

This is just one more example of his "L’état, c’est moi" philosophy.  And then there's this one…

"When somebody’s president of the United States, the authority is total." 

I believe one of the governors pointed out that we don't have a king.

(George Washington was actually offered this at one point and refused.  Bless him.)

Under this president, personal loyalty to himself, trumps loyalty to the constitution.  He feels personally free to use the influence of the office to promote himself, and his "brand".  The daily press briefings begin to resemble campaign rallies.

He is a salesman, and it shows.  I suppose most politicians are salesmen.  But this is so blatant it boggles the mind.

There is one thing that seems to escape him, and his cult followers.  Despite being legally elected under the constitution, he is in reality, a minority president.  He did loose the popular vote, no matter how hard he tries to deny it.  Maybe he should remember this. 

𝕵𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖎

The Blame Game: What is the point?

Whelp… 

With things as they are these days with this COVID-19 and all, I've been mostly staying home.  Did have to go over to the bank for some business though. Traffic is down quite a bit around here.  The grocery store is pretty picked over.  Fortunately there is still plenty of toilet paper* at the house.

No confirmed cases in this county yet, but that will change soon enough I'm sure.

I'm not particularly afraid of catching this stuff, even if being over 60.  I think anyone who expects not to be exposed eventually, is deluding themselves.

However, this does not justify a cavalier attitude at all.   Something like this was bound to happen sooner or later.   We do what we can, after that, it's not really in our control - is it?

However it really does show how much we are connected to each other, even internationally.  One would think that Climate Change would have already done this, but Politics…

The US and China are probably the two biggest international players these days.  It is a bit disheartening to see them blaming each other for this pandemic.  We might never know exactly how it started.  Viruses mutate, apparently.

But…Why do we even need someone to blame?

Maybe Mother Nature is trying to slap some sense into us.

𝕵𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖎

*And on the subject of Toilet Paper…  

Passing the Torch

Hi there folks.

It's been years, hasn't it, since that slack ass Fuzz has bothered to post anything here.  Well, hopefully that will change.  The Fuzz has been going though a lot of changes in the last few years, both personal, and in his political thinking.  You could say that he is no longer the man that he was.
But that is not necessarily a bad thing.  When one no longer changes, they're dead.  We grow even as we age, and The Fuzz is no exception.  And one change is that The Fuzz is no longer going to be actively involved in Fuzzy Thinking.  So the plan is to turn Fuzzy Thinking over to Jandi.  The Fuzz is satisfied that her thinking is sufficiently fuzzy to be up to the task.  The Fuzz would like to thank all his nonexistent followers for their loyalty over the years.  And so the torch is passed.

Hey there Y'all, Jandi here.

I appreciate The Fuzz's trust in me to carry on what tradition there is here at Fuzzy Thinking.  While there may be some consistency, particularly with environmental concerns, there may be more radical changes on some other subjects.  But we will try to be consistent with The Fuzz's current thinking, which has changed (as has been pointed out) despite him not being directly involved.  Frankly, it is a terrifying thought to follow in the steps of such an intellectual giant, but also a great honor.

Respectfully,
𝕵𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖎

Waste Heat to Power

This one is kinda interesting;
From NPR:

A Lot Of Heat Is Wasted, So Why Not Convert It Into Power?

"One factor working in Scullin's favor: There's plenty of waste heat out there to be harvested. "We waste heat because of the laws of thermodynamics," he says.

i

Those laws state that it's impossible to use the energy in fuel to power a car or generate electricity without some of that energy going to waste.

"Thermoelectrics haven't attracted much attention in the alternative-energy world, but Scullin seems to be drawn to areas others have overlooked."

Are These People For Real?

From the BBC...http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32716749

"North Korea's Defence Minister Hyon Yong-chol has been executed for showing disloyalty to leader Kim Jong-un, South Korea's spy agency has told parliament.

MPs were told Mr Hyon was killed on 30 April by anti-aircraft fire in front of an audience of hundreds, the Yonhap news agency reports.

It said Mr Hyon had fallen asleep during an event attended by Kim Jong-un and had not carried out instructions.

South Korea said a senior military officer was also killed.

The news comes weeks after the reported execution of 15 senior officials."

I mean,

"anti-aircraft fire"?

"

Do They Really Have a Choice?

"Netanyahu says Israel won't cede land to Palestinians in current Middle East climate"

"JERUSALEM –  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel will not cede any territory due to the current climate in the Middle East."

The world might just as well face reality here.