February, 2000
As oil and gas prices soar, no one states the obvious alternatives. Carlucci contacts CNN:
" Oh Dear!! Petrol prices in the US 'soar' to 1.50 dollars a gallon - still
less than a THIRD of the price in most of Europe(5.50 here in UK)! All the
more conspicuous - yet sadly predictable - therefore is the failure/refusal
of the mainstream news media to provide any serious discussion of
sustainable and renewable alternatives to oil - especially alarming is its
silence on petrol-free, emission-free alternatives to the almighty Internal
Combustion Engine!! At what price-levels will the American public at last
wake up and force the government, 'special interests' AND carmakers to stop
the endless procrastination and actually get affordable electric,
fossil-free vehicles into car-showrooms?
When indeed will the US media start to show anything like as much
concern for the wider 'HEALTH' of our PLANET as they do for PERSONAL HEALTH
and the latest pharmaceutical research or breakthrough??
EVUK footnote:
CNN - Larry King guests (like vice-president Al Gore) back calls to phase out the Internal Combustion Engine by 2010.
In the past year, two of Larry's guests - in separate live interviews broadcast all round the planet - have backed calls from US Democrats and pressure groups to phase out the Internal Combustion Engine by 2010 ( sure, we'd prefer 2002 - but UK politicians won't utter this 'phase out' phrase at all - with or without a time-frame...).
First 'ICE'-breaking guest was the illustrious Dick Morris - Bill Clinton's Arkansas advisor for 19 years. Mr. Morris told Larry that one issue which had received an overwhelming people's vote through his interactive online-voting website "VOTE.COM" concerned the fate of the crank&piston...a large majority voting to kill it off(...and replace it) within 10 years. Yippee.
Now...can we please have a vote on this issue on the recently inaugurated VOTE.CO.UK? Highly unlikely.
Note: Bill Morris has also launched a book to accompany his website called, appropriately, "VOTE.COM : How Big Money Lobbyists and the Media are Losing their Influence and Giving Back Power to the People." Here's hoping.
The other Larry King guest to back Al Gore's proposal to eliminate the ICE by 2010 was proactive CYNIC SUPREMO Bill Maher, comedy stand-up and host of subversive(no - really! ) US TV show "POLITICALLY INCORRECT". Bill is a frequent, free-speaking breath of fresh air on Larry's worldwide-syndicated show - his constant battle-cry to the American people:
"BE MORE CYNICAL!!!".
( Constructively, proactively cynical of course.)
Now - when will Britain's oh-so-fearless and generally yank-bashing, stand-ups and satirists dare to touch this topic??
Like Jay Leno in the States, even Britain's most outspoken comics and media pundits seem conspicuously keen to scapegoat all the eco-guilt and blame onto SUV drivers and 4x4, all-terrain softie supermarket 'survivalists'....When will our satirists here in the UK actually dare to target the Infernal Combustion Engine itself - and on Primetime TV?? Anyway - hats off to Bill Maher for not sitting on the fence on this one.....
And now tireless campaigner Doug Korthof of earthlink.net adds his insights: See Oil and Electricity Don't Mix
