It Couldn’t Be Done, by Edgar Albert Guest
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it!
Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it;”
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure,
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.
Rachel Maddow, D.Phil
MSNBC Broadcast Journalist
Dr. Maddow,
Thank you for your contributions to the world of journalism. While so many of your colleagues are challenged to stay inside the lines of your profession's proverbial ethics, your smiling face appears on my screens delivering a "better reality". Your recent series of broadcasts regarding our nation's history and heritage are indeed inspiring, however, they do not reflect an understanding of current resource availability. To better convey my point (in your own style) I will share the following quotes from the movie, "Six Days Seven Nights"...
Robin: Aren't you one of those guys?
Quinn: What guys?
Robin: Those guy guys, you know, those guys with skills.
Quinn: Skills?
Robin: Yeah. You send them into the wilderness with a pocket knife and a Q-tip and they build you a shopping mall. You can't do that?
Repinned from Funny Things by Nancy Roycraft
]]>Even if we use your number of 2.8 miles/kwh, the Nissan still costs 4 cents/mile @12 cents/kwh. Or 1/2 the cost of a Jaguar @ the national B100 average of $4.20/gallon.
Response...
With respect, please take the time and make the effort to understand the world around you. Today, the average kwh rate in CA is about $.24 rather than your suggested $.12kwh. Many areas of CA are now peaking at $.38kwh. This is the result of clean air legislation and increased renewable energy sources. Should the rest of the country opt for the same level of clean air legislation, the kwh price in many parts of the country would rise to 3-4x this cost - over $1kwh - due to the lower number of photons and greater amounts of rain, hail, snow, ice, humidity, tornadoes, hurricanes, ..., in those areas. A more viable alternative is the proverbial National Smart Grid where solar and wind power are long hauled from their optimum generation sources to other parts of the nation. Though this plan, by all estimates, will require a double digit $T something commitment (in the range of $12T-$25T by most reports) - to power the states that need the energy. This also results in something close to $1/kwh.
]]>PENN & TELLER & H2O
I love cycling. Year after year I have put more miles on my bike for transportation than on my ICE vehicle. However, cycling is not a solution to our petroleum problem. Actually, for most individuals, it is exactly the wrong direction based on the required energy conversion - particularly when factoring in emission levels.
]]>Petroleum is a finite resource. Focusing our resources to double or even triple the Miles Per Petroleum Gallon (MPPG) for vehicles is wrong headed in that this direction only delays the depletion of this finite resource. The correct focus is sustainability. We must migrate to sustainable fuels as soon as possible to reduce the impact the end of the petroleum era will have on our economy and on all our lives.
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National Conservation Organizer
Sierra Club, Green Transportation
e: [email protected]
w: sierraclub.org/transportation
RE: Invitation to participate in your Transportation Activists Blog
Dear Rachel,
Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to your Transportation Activists Blog. Working together we can move this nation into more environmentally friendly solutions while still supporting our economy and way of life.
]]>"There are no secrets to success"
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U.S. EPA
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
2000 Traverwood Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48105-2195
Thank you so much for your politically correct reply. There is a level of awareness in the letter that suggests the author has some engineering credentials and the experience to apply the knowledge. Also, I will share that I spent a great deal of time in Ann Arbor years ago - I have fond memories of good times and wonderful people. ]]>
Jean Giono, the author of the short story upon which the movie is based, wrote the story after American editors in 1953 asked him to write a few pages about an unforgettable character. They intended him to write about a real unforgettable character, but he created the fictional Elezeard Bouffier. When the editors objected that no Bouffier had died in Banon, he donated the story to all humanity. It was soon after published by Vogue in 1954. Many people have assumed that Bouffier is a real person.
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