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Days 46 - 47
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Last day in Georgia and then on to the last state Florida. Georgia has been interesting, but it's been hard to be enthusiastic about the riding in western part of the state especially today. Mostly because the weather has been so HOT that it sucks the life out of you. By 10AM it's over 90 and by mid-afternoon it's 100. By my calculations, we have not had a day when the temp was not at least 90 since North Dakota. That's 22 straight days.
The scenery has been quite lovely when I finally pick my head up to look, except for today, which was boring, hilly and hot.
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Common sights in western Georgia: a church every 1/2 mile and lots of Confederate flags... does anyone see the irony in this? Lots of big trucks whizzing by with long logs.
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Confederate flag |
Big logging trucks
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KUDZU, the fastest growing, most aggressive vine on earth. If you move too slow it will grow over you.
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John, moving slow, tries to extract bike from Kudzu |
Not much else to say. My brain has been fried by the heat so all I care about is food and a cold beer.
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Blog on Energy
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Some thoughts on the energy crisis as I ride through the plains of Canada and the US and see the vast resources that these two enormous countries posses. I have seen fertile fields almost without end, oil, natural gas and lots of coal, all being harvested from the ground with little apparent effect on the environment. Giant coal fired electric generators are right next to the coal strip mines. Wind generators whirring away in the constant wind. I've read that the US has enough coal to last 300 years. I ride beside miles and miles of little used railroad tracks.
All this convinces me there is no energy crisis, just a stupidity crisis. Our government and industry leaders have let us down. Sorry to say that Jimmy Carter was the last president who wanted to address the problem seriously. Since then we have had a string of increasingly moronic leaders culminating in the stellar ' W '. I certainly don't have answers as I pedal along, but I do have some questions:
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1. Why not take all the money and resources that we send to the Middle East in a futile effort to stabilize our oil supply and spend it on developing clean energy from coal?
We certainly would have a better handle on the pollution and carbon emission problem if we do this at home. (Ever see a picture of Kuwait oil fields burning check out the video... we can't control the loonies in control of the oil. Look at the pollution in China just in time for the Olympics.) We can find the answers and the rest of the world will follow. We can sell them the coal and the technology.
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Coal power plant |
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2. Do you think that Exxon, Chevron and the other big oil companies could use some of the obscene, tens of billions of profit and develop clean renewable energy? Mark my words, we will live to see the day that these companies go broke like GM and Ford, and for the same reason: arrogant disregard for what the public needs and failure to the public good. My only regret is that the slimy bastards that run these corporations will probably not be around to take the blame.
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Wind mills |
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3. Why not push for better hybrid and electric cars? There are power lines along every highway in America. Why not have charging stations along the road that take credit cards or ATM card? Plug in, swipe your card and charge up. Call it "charge-charge." You'd be paying Con-Ed or PSE&G instead of Exxon. Check out the recent awakening of oilman T. Boone Pickens and the ideas of Israeli, Shai Agassi.
4. Can we forget about grain for ethanol? The US and Canada can feed the world with no problem. It seems a shame to use this great resource to make cars go and let people starve because the price of bread is too high.
5. Can we use the trains for God sake? They are the most efficient way to move stuff. We used to have a system that was the best in the world. Now we convert old R.R. beds to bike paths. I like to bike on paths too, but come on!
6. Can't wind, as a source of power be practical if we put in the effort? Ditto for solar, wave and water. I know "it's not cost efficient". Well, neither was your first cell phone, microwave oven, or even the first auto, but people demanded them and all of a sudden they are cheap, reliable and common. After this trip, don't tell me there is not enough wind!
7. Can we get serious about teaching our kids some real science? Stop the all inclusive, everybody's right, don't hurt anybody's feelings bullshit. Yes, the theory of evolution can't be positively proven, but neither can the theory of gravity. Don't see too many fundamentalists jumping off their roofs. If you don't start teaching serious science in the lower grades you loose the student forever. We don't complete with the rest of the world because we don't try. The answers to these energy problems will be solved by the biologist, the chemist, the physicist, and the engineer, not by the lawyer and the MBA, so let's get busy making more scientists and pay them like an MBA. And pay teachers what their worth. Part of solving the crisis is rewarding the right priorities. Who wants to teach, build, repair, grow, or help when all the $$ goes to the suits who push papers, advise, market, or sell someone else's stuff. Paraphrasing Thessalonians 3:10 "If you don't do something useful, you don't eat."
Thanks for listening. Love to hear your thoughts when I get back.
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Days 48 - 49
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Florida, the sunshine state greeted us with the biggest thunderstorms yet. Surprisingly, this was a welcome relief as they hit just as I rode into Perry. Marjie kept saying, "I hear thunder. Get in the RV". So I rode the last few miles with the lightening and downpour. One should always listen to the RV captain.
Our RV site was underwater, but the manager was able to find another, which after another hour of torrential rain was underwater too. We were off eating pork BBQ so we didn't care.
We've had a change of plans and decided to move on down to Crystal River instead of taking the day off and going to Ocala. This means we'll take a day off in Longboat Key and stay in our condo. It will seem like a palace after 50 days in this van. |
John makes it to Florida...
and the truck didn't run him over |
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I'm amazed at how much cooler and dryer it seems. AND best tail winds since Saskatchewan.
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Rory's favorite position - outside with his laptop |
Rory and Kathy will leave us tomorrow after Longboat and dinner with our friend Ester Wilson. They have been a pleasure to have with us, and Marjie has enjoyed Kathie as a co-pilot. Much singing, dancing, and planning going on in there while I'm riding.
Kathie is always trying to stuff food down me, but I must admit that her prepared lunches are good. "Want another peach?"
Rory goes ahead and scouts out the next stop and the best place to eat. No weight loss for the last few days. So far his advice has been spot on. He told us that the place in Moore Haven was iffy. "Let me put it this way... You don't want to be there". So we'll find another option.
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This dog doesn't care.
He's just trying to hold on |
This guys off to Alaska!
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Day 51 - 55 >>> |
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