Cascadia | Page 40 | Discovery Institute

^{Editorial Desk
May 12, 2007
Cascadia}

Plug-in Cars Are Close; Let’s Address The Obstacles

_{Editorial Desk
May 12, 2007
Cascadia}

This article, published by HeraldNet, mentions the Cascadia Center of Discovery Institute: A conference in Redmond last week, sponsored by the Seattle-based Discovery Institute’s Cascade (sic) Center, attracted more than 300 enthusiasts. The rest of the article can be found here.

^{The Spokesman Review
May 9, 2007
Cascadia}

Fueling Inertia

_{The Spokesman Review
May 9, 2007
Cascadia}

Today's battery technology would allow drivers to travel 20 to 30 miles before burning any fuel, if they could plug in their cars overnight. That would cover many people's daily commutes. But because it is uncertain how long the batteries would last under those conditions, the government has insisted on long-term warranties. In turn, auto companies point to that obstacle in explaining why PHEVs are taking so long to produce....Car companies and politicians like to hide behind public opinion when it comes to justifying inaction. They note that the public wants a car that can zoom up to 120 miles per hour (even though that's illegal) and deliver power on demand...Would a maximum of 90 mph be acceptable if it were coupled with 80 to 100 mpg? If so, tell your automaker. Tell Congress. Read More ›

^{David Brewster
May 9, 2007
Cascadia}

Could Plug-in Cars End The Age Of Oil?

_{David Brewster
May 9, 2007
Cascadia}

....The wonky term for them is Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles....The key is two-way electricity. These cars recharge their batteries at times when our power plants are off-peak, especially at night, or when clean but intermittent sources of new power (solar, wind, tidal) are making electricity and need some place to store it for peak demands. Car owners may pay more for these new vehicles, but they actually make some money by selling some power back to the utilities during their times of high demand. That's a pretty fine trifecta. You win the war on terror, avoid catastrophic climate change, and reward a nation addicted to autos with rebates that never stop giving....I sensed at this remarkable burst of brainpower and political optimism about solving big problems something of that good old Boeing spirit in the region. Engineers with sliderules in their pockets, tackling great big integrated problems. If there were ghosts of WPPSS's amateur nuke-builders walking around the halls, so too there were ex-Microsoft entrepreneurs with a dauntingly brilliant grasp of the whole network of interconnected forces, virtually vibrating with a desire to "deploy." So maybe we can't build a monorail. That doesn't mean we can't end the age of oil. Read More ›

^{Hal Bernton
May 8, 2007
Cascadia}

Fans Of Plug-in Cars Build Their Power Base

_{Hal Bernton
May 8, 2007
Cascadia}

Sometime in the future, your car may make your round-trip commute with electricity generated from rooftop solar cells. When you want to venture east of the Cascades for a weekend winery tour, an internal-combustion engine powered by biofuels would kick into action. This vision has helped propel plug-in hybrid cars from a footnote in automotive technology into a serious alternative that car manufacturers are working to bring to market within the next five to 10 years. Meanwhile, a grass-roots network of plug-in converts professors, students, garage mechanics and others is already fashioning the first generation of these vehicles in hopes of prodding the industry into faster action. They say these cars can get more than 100 miles per gallon for some travel. Read More ›

^{Robert McClure
May 7, 2007
Cascadia}

Visions Of A Northwest Hybrid Car Future Abound

_{Robert McClure
May 7, 2007
Cascadia}

Imagine at first hundreds of Northwesterners -- but later thousands, and ultimately tens of thousands or even millions -- plugging in their electric hybrid cars every night. Then they all commute the next day without dipping into their fuel tanks. Imagine that the other cars on the road, still using fuel systems more like today's, get around on the byproducts of cow poop or wheat stubble. Imagine further that this new fleet of cars carries devices to signal the traffic-light system, reducing congestion by half at rush hour. And imagine these same devices prevent cars from running into one another no matter what their idiot drivers do. The same devices could offer drivers a choice between the fastest route, the cheapest route (because many roads will have tolls) and the "greenest" route. These were some of the visions that emerged Monday at a broad-ranging conference of Seattle-area businesspeople, utility executives, public officials, environmentalists and others titled "Jump Start to a Secure, Clean Energy Future" at Microsoft Corp.'s Redmond campus. Read More ›

^{Tom Till
April 15, 2007
Cascadia}

State Transport System Needs Accountability, Investment

_{Tom Till
April 15, 2007
Cascadia}

If “transportation futures” for Central Puget Sound were sold like stock, the market for recent years could be called a rollercoaster. And with a $16 billion regional transportation tax vote for roads and transit facing us in November, we’re about to plunge down its scariest dip. The upside of the market featured state leadership in raising taxes to begin addressing Read More ›

^{Miro Cernetig
April 14, 2007
Cascadia}

Cascadia: More Than A Dream

_{Miro Cernetig
April 14, 2007
Cascadia}

This article, published by the Vancouver Sun, provides an in-depth look at the Cascadia region, and quotes Bruce Agnew, Co-director of Discovery Institute’s Cascadia Center For Regional Development: I think at long last the idea of Cascadia is beginning to get some real traction,” said Bruce Agnew, who heads the Cascadia Center For Regional Development, a Seattle-based think-tank that counts Read More ›

^{Tom Till
March 20, 2007
Cascadia}

Amtrak Deal A Key Link In Burgeoning Cascadia Travel

_{Tom Till
March 20, 2007
Cascadia}

Transport Minister Kevin Falcon’s March 1 announcement that British Columbia will provide the last required block of funding for a new rail siding that will allow a second daily Amtrak passenger train round-trip between Seattle and Vancouver is great news indeed. The agreement represents a truly pan-Cascadia effort that brought together divergent public and private entities sharing an overarching commonality: Read More ›

^{Glenn Pascall
March 18, 2007
Cascadia}

Bored By All Those Viaduct Choices? Think Again

_{Glenn Pascall
March 18, 2007
Cascadia}

This article, published by The Puget Sound Business Journal, mentions Discovery Institute Fellow Bruce Agnew: Members of the dialogue include Bruce Agnew, director of the Cascadia Center; John Wilson, a principal at the Gallatin Group; and Gary Lawrence, a principal at Arup consultants. The rest of the article can be found here.

^{James F. Vesely
March 4, 2007
Cascadia}

Toot, Toot, The Region Goes To B.C., Too

_{James F. Vesely
March 4, 2007
Cascadia}

This article, published by The Seattle Times, quotes Discovery Institute Fellow Bruce Agnew: “Look ahead, and maybe we will see the opportunity for Canadian trains to come to Seattle,” Agnew said, “like the Whistler Mountaineer or the Canadian Rocky Mountain passenger train.” The rest of the article can be found here.