Yellow Pages
This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages
industry. Much like newspapers, print Yellow Pages will continue to bleed dollars to their various digital counterparts, from Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs), to local search engines and combination search/listing services like Reach Local and Yodle Factors like an acceleration of the print 'fade rate' and the looming recession will contribute to the onslaught. One research firm predicts the falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10% this year -- much higher than the 2%-3% fade rate seen in past years.
Classified Ads
The Internet has made so many things obsolete that
newspaper classified ads might sound like just another trivial item on a
long list. But this is one of those harbingers of the future that could
signal the end of civilization as we know it. The argument is that if
newspaper classifieds are replaced by free online listings at sites like
Craigslist.org and Google Base, then newspapers are not far behind them.
Movie Rental Stores
While Netflix is looking up at the moment, Blockbuster
keeps closing store locations by the hundreds. It still has about 6,000
left across the world, but those keep dwindling and the stock is down
considerably in 2008, especially since the company gave up a quest of
Circuit City . Movie Gallery, which owned the Hollywood Video brand, closed up shop earlier this year. Countless small video chains and mom-and-pop stores have given up the ghost already.
Dial-up Internet Access
Dial-up connections have fallen from 40% in 2001 to 10% in
2008. The combination of an infrastructure to accommodate affordable high speed Internet connections and the disappearing home phone have all but pounded the final nail in the coffin of dial-up Internet access.
Phone Landlines
According to a survey from the National Center for Health
Statistics, at the end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only and,
of those homes that had landlines, one in eight only received calls on
their cells.
Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs
Maryland 's icon, the blue crab, has been fading away in
Chesapeake Bay . Last year Maryland saw the lowest harvest (22 million pounds) since 1945. Just four decades ago the bay produced 96 million pounds. The population is down 70% since 1990, when they first did a formal count. There are only about 120 million crabs in the bay and they think they need 200 million for a sustainable population. Overfishing, pollution, invasive species and so-called "climate change" get the blame.
VCRs
For the better part of three decades, the VCR was a
best-seller and staple in every American household until being completely decimated by the DVD, and now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). In fact, the only remnants of the VHS age at your local Wal-Mart or Radio Shack are blank VHS tapes these days. Pre-recorded VHS tapes are largely gone and VHS decks are practically nowhere to be found. They served us so well.
Ash Trees
In the late 1990s, a pretty, irridescent green species of
beetle, now known as the emerald ash borer, hitched a ride to North
America with ash wood products imported from eastern Asia. In less than a decade, its larvae have killed millions of trees in the midwest, and continue to spread. They've killed more than 30 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of millions more lost in Ohio and Indiana . More than 7.5 billion ash trees are currently at risk.
Ham Radio
Amateur radio operators enjoy personal (and often worldwide)
wireless communications with each other and are able to support their
communities with emergency and disaster communications if necessary, while increasing their personal knowledge of electronics and radio theory. However, proliferation of the Internet and its popularity among youth has caused the decline of amateur radio. In the past five years alone, the number of people holding active ham radio licenses in the USA has dropped by 50,000, even though Morse Code is no longer a requirement.
The Swimming Hole
Thanks to our litigious society, swimming holes are becoming
a thing of the past. '20/20' reports that swimming hole owners, like
Robert Every in High Falls, N.Y., are shutting them down out of worry that if someone gets hurt they'll sue. And that's exactly what happened in Seattle . The city of Bellingham was sued by Katie Hofstetter who was paralyzed in a fall at a popular swimming hole Whatcom Falls Park. As injuries occur and lawsuits follow, expect more swimming holes to post 'Keep out!' signs.
Answering Machines
The increasing disappearance of answering machines is
directly tied to No 20 our list -- the decline of landlines. According to
USA Today, the number of homes that only use cell phones jumped 159% between 2004 and 2007. It has been particularly bad in New York; since 2000, landline usage has dropped 55%. It's logical that as cell phones rise, many of them replacing traditional landlines, that there will be fewer answering machines.
Cameras That Use Film
It doesn't require a statistician to prove the rapid
disappearance of the film camera in America. Just look to companies like Nikon, the professional's choice for quality camera equipment. In 2006, it announced that it would stop making film cameras, pointing to the shrinking market -- only 3% of its sales in 2005, compared to 75% of sales from digital cameras and equipment.
Incandescent Bulbs
Before a few years ago, the standard 60-watt (or, yikes,
100-watt) bulb was the mainstay of every U.S. home. With the green
movement and all-things-sustainable-energy crowd, the Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb (CFL) is largely replacing the older, Edison-era incandescent bulb. The EPA reports that 2007 sales for Energy Star CFLs nearly doubled from 2006, and these sales accounted for approximately 20 percent of the U.S.light bulb market. And according to USA Today, a new energy bill plans to phase out incandescent bulbs in the next four to 12 years.
Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys
BowlingBalls.US claims there are still 60 million Americans
who bowl at least once a year, but many are not bowling in stand-alone
bowling alleys. Today most new bowling alleys are part of facilities for
all types or recreation including laser tag, go-karts, bumper cars, video game arcades, climbing walls and glow miniature golf. Bowling lanes also have been added to many non-traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and resorts, and gambling casinos.
The Milkman
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1950,
over half of the milk delivered was to the home in quart bottles, by 1963, it was about a third and by 2001, it represented only 0.4% percent. Nowadays most milk is sold through supermarkets in gallon jugs. The steady decline in home-delivered milk is blamed, of course, on the rise of the supermarket, better home refrigeration and longer-lasting milk. Although some milkmen still make the rounds in pockets of the U.S., they are certainly a dying breed.
Hand-Written Letters
In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183
billion e-mails were sent each day. Two million each second. By November of 2007, an estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world's population had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text messages were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially since then. So where amongst this gorge of gabble is there room for the elegant, polite hand-written letter?
Wild Horses
It is estimated that 100 years ago, as many as two million
horses were roaming free within the United States. In 2001, National
Geographic News estimated that the wild horse population had decreased to about 50,000 head. Currently, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory board states that there are 32,000 free roaming horses in ten Western states, with half of them residing in Nevada . The Bureau of Land Management is seeking to reduce the total number of free range horses to 27,000, possibly by selective euthanasia.
Personal Checks
According to an American Bankers Assoc. report, a net 23% of
consumers plan to decrease their use of checks over the next two years,
while a net 14% plan to increase their use of PIN debit. Bill payment
remains the last stronghold of paper-based payments -- for the time being. Checks continue to be the most commonly used bill payment method, with 71% of consumers paying at least one recurring bill per month by writing a check. However, on a bill-by-bill basis, checks account for only 49% of consumers' recurring bill payments (down from 72% in 2001 and 60% in 2003).
Drive-in Theaters
During the peak in 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-in
theaters in this country, but in 2007 only 405 drive-ins were still
operating. Exactly zero new drive-ins have been built since 2005. Only one reopened in 2005 and five reopened in 2006, so there isn't much of a
movement toward reviving the closed ones.
Mumps & Measles
Despite what's been in the news lately, the measles and
mumps actually, truly are disappearing from the United States. In 1964, 212,000 cases of mumps were reported in the U.S. By 1983, this figure had dropped to 3,000, thanks to a vigorous vaccination program. Prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine, approximately half a million cases of measles were reported in the U.S. annually, resulting in 450 deaths. In 2005, only 66 cases were recorded.
Honey Bees
Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing America is so
dire; plummeting so enormously; and so necessary to the survival of our food supply as the honey bee. Very scary. 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' or CCD, has spread throughout the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, wiping out 50% to 90% of the colonies of many beekeepers -- and along with it, their livelihood.
News Magazines and TV News
While the TV evening newscasts haven't gone anywhere over
the last several decades, their audiences have. In 1984, in a story about thediminishing returns of the evening news, the New York Times reported that all three network evening-news programs combined had only 40.9 millionviewers. Fast forward to 2008, and what they have today is half that.
Analog TV
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 85% of
homes in the U.S. get their television programming through cable or
satellite providers. For the remaining 15% -- or 13 million individuals --
who are using rabbit ears or a large outdoor antenna to get their local
stations, change is in the air. If you are one of these people you'll need
to get a new TV or a converter box in order to get the new stations which will only be broadcast in digital.
The Family Farm
Since the 1930s, the number of family farms has been
declining rapidly. According to the USDA, 5.3 million farms dotted the
nation in 1950, but this number had declined to 2.1 million by the 2003
farm census (data from the 2007 census hasn't yet been published). Ninety-one percent of the U.S.farms are small family farms.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Cave House for sale in Missouri (Photos)
Live in your own CAVE HOUSE!
Mr. Sleeper has posted his beautiful home on Ebay, and also was interviewed on Fox News Channel concerning the sell of his own. His 'balloon note' for his mortgage is about to expire. Due to the economy, the banks will not extend the credit line, although financially he is able to make the payments.
Take a look at his auction on Ebay or his own personal website filled with photos of this wonderful home in Missouri.
$300,000
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Story of Soldier & Iraqi girl (Photo)
It's a tough, but heart-warming story...
John Gebhardt's wife, Mindy, said that this little girl's entire family was executed. The insurgents intended to execute the little girl also, and shot her in the head...but they failed to kill her.
She was cared for in John's hospital and is healing up, but continues to cry and moan.
The nurses said John is the only one who seems to calm her down, so John has spent the last four nights holding her while they both slept in that chair.
The girl is coming along with her healing. He is a real Star of the war, and represents what the Western world is trying to do.
This, my friends, is worth sharing with the WORLD! Go for it!!
You'll never see things like this in the news. The public needs to see pictures like this and needs to realize that we're making a difference. Even if it is just one little girl at a time.
We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust our sails...
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
We are ALL Socialists Now.....
...Bye, Bye, Ms. American Pie. Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry & good ol' boys drinking wiskey and wine, singing, 'this will be the day that I die...this will be the day that I die' COME ON & SING ALONG EVERYBODY!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
FIREPROOF the Movie
My husband and I watched FireProof tonight, and we enjoyed it greatly. This movie showcases a typical married couple, long after the honeymoon stage is over. Fireproof gives insight on how each party is feeling about themselves, each other, and the destruction that only silence can bring. I recommend this movie to any couple going through rough times, as well as newlyweds in hopes to gain the knowledge of what this movie will bring.
LOVE DARE is an excellent tool for any marriage.
Check out the first few days of Love Dare:
http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/lovedare/book.html#moreinfo
Friday, February 6, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
PAY BY FINGERPRINT
A supermarket has given its customers the choice of paying by fingerprint at a store in the state of Washington--and has found them surprisingly willing to use the biometric system.
U.S. chain Thriftway introduced the system, which uses technology from Pay By Touch, in its store in the Seattle area in 2002. It said it now sees thousands of transactions a month using the payment method.
Once people have enrolled in the Pay By Touch system, they have their fingerprint scanned as verification of identity at the checkout. They then choose which credit card they want to pay the bill with, having already registered the credit cards with the store.
Thriftway President Paul Kapioski said rather than shying away from the technology because of concerns about protecting their privacy, customer demand ensured that the biometric payment system made it past the pilot stage.
The fingerprint payment system was initially scheduled for a 60-day trial, but "people were quick to warm up to it...after 60 days, we made it part of our payment package," he said at the Retail Fraud Conference in London on Tuesday.
"We found people came to the store because of this--lots of senior citizens felt more secure not carrying money to the store," Kapioski said. "The major concern is 'biometric, fingerprint, what's it going to be used for?'...Once (customers) understood what it was used for, it became a nonissue," he added.
Kapioski added that one man even drove 400 miles to use the technology.
The main business driver for biometrics, he said, was cost; it enables the retailer to shave cents off the average cost of an electronic payment transaction. With the biometric system, customers are encouraged to use their debit card, which cost the company almost half as much as the same payment by credit card, for example.
Fraudulent transactions have dropped dramatically due to the system, which now makes up 30 percent of Thriftway's electronic payments, Kapioski said.
"During the last two, two-and-a-half years...there's not been a single fraudulent transaction on this system," he said.
Biometrics is not the only new retail technology to have raised concerns over protection of customers' privacy. Radio frequency identification systems, which place tracking microchips on merchandise, have been criticized for potentially creating an electronic trail of customers' whereabouts and shopping habits that police forces and marketers, for example, could follow.
John Davison, a research director at analyst firm Gartner, said customers were generally willing to accept technologies such as RFID if the benefits of such technology could be "sold" to them.
"Will customers object to RFID? Yes, if you don't sell it to them," he said. "Over two-thirds of customers will accept RFID, if you sell them the basic utilities."
However, he added that certain areas of retail were still technology-wary. "The nearer you get RFID to the payment process, consumers get less keen. When you start linking...to their personal information, they're even less keen."
Jo Best of Silicon.com reported from London.
U.S. chain Thriftway introduced the system, which uses technology from Pay By Touch, in its store in the Seattle area in 2002. It said it now sees thousands of transactions a month using the payment method.
Once people have enrolled in the Pay By Touch system, they have their fingerprint scanned as verification of identity at the checkout. They then choose which credit card they want to pay the bill with, having already registered the credit cards with the store.
Thriftway President Paul Kapioski said rather than shying away from the technology because of concerns about protecting their privacy, customer demand ensured that the biometric payment system made it past the pilot stage.
The fingerprint payment system was initially scheduled for a 60-day trial, but "people were quick to warm up to it...after 60 days, we made it part of our payment package," he said at the Retail Fraud Conference in London on Tuesday.
"We found people came to the store because of this--lots of senior citizens felt more secure not carrying money to the store," Kapioski said. "The major concern is 'biometric, fingerprint, what's it going to be used for?'...Once (customers) understood what it was used for, it became a nonissue," he added.
Kapioski added that one man even drove 400 miles to use the technology.
The main business driver for biometrics, he said, was cost; it enables the retailer to shave cents off the average cost of an electronic payment transaction. With the biometric system, customers are encouraged to use their debit card, which cost the company almost half as much as the same payment by credit card, for example.
Fraudulent transactions have dropped dramatically due to the system, which now makes up 30 percent of Thriftway's electronic payments, Kapioski said.
"During the last two, two-and-a-half years...there's not been a single fraudulent transaction on this system," he said.
Biometrics is not the only new retail technology to have raised concerns over protection of customers' privacy. Radio frequency identification systems, which place tracking microchips on merchandise, have been criticized for potentially creating an electronic trail of customers' whereabouts and shopping habits that police forces and marketers, for example, could follow.
John Davison, a research director at analyst firm Gartner, said customers were generally willing to accept technologies such as RFID if the benefits of such technology could be "sold" to them.
"Will customers object to RFID? Yes, if you don't sell it to them," he said. "Over two-thirds of customers will accept RFID, if you sell them the basic utilities."
However, he added that certain areas of retail were still technology-wary. "The nearer you get RFID to the payment process, consumers get less keen. When you start linking...to their personal information, they're even less keen."
Jo Best of Silicon.com reported from London.
Obama's GLOBAL POVERTY ACT (NEW TAX ON USA)
Senate Bill 2433....It's Already Started
>
> IT'S ALREADY STARTED FOLKS...BE AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON!
>
> http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-s2433/text
>
> SENATE BILL S. 2433
>
> According to David Bossie, President of the group 'Citizens United for American Sovereignty based out of Merrifield , Virginia , web site:http://www.citizensunited.org/
>
> The above mentioned Senate Bill (S. 2433) is a piece of legislation in the works that all Americans need to know about...and know now! This Bill, sponsored by none other than our "President " former Sen. Barrack Obama, with the backing of now V/P Joe Biden on the Foreign Relations Committee, and liberal democrats in Congress, is nothing short of a massive giveaway of American wealth around the world, and a betrayal of the public trust, because, if passed, this bill would give over many aspects of our sovereignty to the United Nations.
>
> The noble sounding name of this bill, "The Global Poverty Act" is actually a Global Tax, payable to the United Nations, that will be required of all American taxpayers. If passed in the Senate, the House has already passed it, this bill would require the U.S. to increase our foreign aid by $65 BILLION per year, or $845 BILLION over the next 13 years! That's on top of the billions of dollars in foreign aid that we already pay out! In addition to the economic burdens this potential law would place on our precarious economy, the bill, if passed in the Senate, would also endanger our constitutionally protected rights and freedoms by obligating us to meet certain United Nations mandates. According to Senator Obama, we should establish these United Nations' goals as benchmarks for U. S. spending. What are they?
>
> The creation of a U.N. International Criminal Court having power to try and convict American citizens and soldiers without any protection from the U.S. Constitution.
>
> A standing United Nations Army forcing U.S. soldiers to serve under U.N. command. A Gun Ban on all small arms and light weapons...which would repeal our Second Amendment right to bear arms.
> The ratification of the " Kyoto " global warming treaty and numerous other anti-American measures.
>
> Recently, the Senate Subcommittee on Foreign Relations (where Sen. Joe Biden was) approved this plan by a voice vote without any discussion! Why all the secrecy? If Senators Obama and Biden are so proud of this legislation, then why don't they bring it out into the light of day and let the American people have a look at it instead of hiding it behind closed doors and sneaking it through Congress for late night votes? It may be only a matter of time before this dangerous legislation reaches a floor vote in the full body of the Senate.
>
> Please write or call, email your representatives, the White House, the media, or anyone you think will listen, and express your opinions regarding this Global Tax giveaway and betrayal of the American people at a time when our nation and our people are already heavily burdened with the threats of our freedom and economic prosperity.
>
> IT'S ALREADY STARTED FOLKS...BE AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON!
>
> http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-s2433/text
>
> SENATE BILL S. 2433
>
> According to David Bossie, President of the group 'Citizens United for American Sovereignty based out of Merrifield , Virginia , web site:http://www.citizensunited.org/
>
> The above mentioned Senate Bill (S. 2433) is a piece of legislation in the works that all Americans need to know about...and know now! This Bill, sponsored by none other than our "President " former Sen. Barrack Obama, with the backing of now V/P Joe Biden on the Foreign Relations Committee, and liberal democrats in Congress, is nothing short of a massive giveaway of American wealth around the world, and a betrayal of the public trust, because, if passed, this bill would give over many aspects of our sovereignty to the United Nations.
>
> The noble sounding name of this bill, "The Global Poverty Act" is actually a Global Tax, payable to the United Nations, that will be required of all American taxpayers. If passed in the Senate, the House has already passed it, this bill would require the U.S. to increase our foreign aid by $65 BILLION per year, or $845 BILLION over the next 13 years! That's on top of the billions of dollars in foreign aid that we already pay out! In addition to the economic burdens this potential law would place on our precarious economy, the bill, if passed in the Senate, would also endanger our constitutionally protected rights and freedoms by obligating us to meet certain United Nations mandates. According to Senator Obama, we should establish these United Nations' goals as benchmarks for U. S. spending. What are they?
>
> The creation of a U.N. International Criminal Court having power to try and convict American citizens and soldiers without any protection from the U.S. Constitution.
>
> A standing United Nations Army forcing U.S. soldiers to serve under U.N. command. A Gun Ban on all small arms and light weapons...which would repeal our Second Amendment right to bear arms.
> The ratification of the " Kyoto " global warming treaty and numerous other anti-American measures.
>
> Recently, the Senate Subcommittee on Foreign Relations (where Sen. Joe Biden was) approved this plan by a voice vote without any discussion! Why all the secrecy? If Senators Obama and Biden are so proud of this legislation, then why don't they bring it out into the light of day and let the American people have a look at it instead of hiding it behind closed doors and sneaking it through Congress for late night votes? It may be only a matter of time before this dangerous legislation reaches a floor vote in the full body of the Senate.
>
> Please write or call, email your representatives, the White House, the media, or anyone you think will listen, and express your opinions regarding this Global Tax giveaway and betrayal of the American people at a time when our nation and our people are already heavily burdened with the threats of our freedom and economic prosperity.
BIG BROTHER TECHNOLOGIES
Tuesday January 27, 2009
Obama's 'Green New Deal' to Include Smart Grid
Categories: At Home, Computing, Future Tech, News and Events, Politics
Tags: data centers, IT, Obama, politics, smart grid
Author: Steven Volynets
We already know that the $825 billion economic stimulus package is sure to pack some serious battery research funding for cleaner, petrol-free transport. But what other clean-tech gems will the so-called "Green New Deal" have in store for us?
Concealed in the $6 billion broadband allocation for digitalizing the healthcare system, the bill is said to include funding for the "smart grid" -- a system for producing, transmitting and delivering electrical power along with relevant metadata such as sourcing, consumption patterns and cost.
"That's great news for companies that provide the software, servers, and data centers that host and store that information," says BusinessWeek; companies like Google and GE, as well manufacturers of smart meters and similar equipment. On track to build the world's most efficient datacenter, IBM is guaranteed a piece of the action as well.
http://www.goodcleantech.com/2009/01/obamas_green_new_deal_to_inclu.php
Want to learn about smart grid? Visit:
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2009/tc20090122_745205.htm
*****Not sure about you, but I don't want the government (in the end) to dictate when I should do a load of laundry or if I want my house to grow icicles on the inside,that I'm not allowed. As long as I PAY MY BILLS, there should be no question.
Do I feel that our national/regional power grids should be upgraded? YES, they should be. But that can happen without the watchful eye of our soon to be 'Big Brother' government.*****
Kulongoski to pursue mileage tax
By Hasso Hering
Albany Democrat-Herald
A year ago, the Oregon Department of Transportation announced it had demonstrated that a new way to pay for roads — via a mileage tax and satellite technology — could work.
Now Gov. Ted Kulongoski says he’d like the legislature to take the next step.
As part of a transportation-related bill he has filed for the 2009 legislative session, the governor says he plans to recommend “a path to transition away from the gas tax as the central funding source for transportation.”
What that means is explained on the governor’s website:
“As Oregonians drive less and demand more fuel-efficient vehicles, it is increasingly important that the state find a new way, other than the gas tax, to finance our transportation system.”
According to the policies he has outlined online, Kulongoski proposes to continue the work of the special task force that came up with and tested the idea of a mileage tax to replace the gas tax.
The governor wants the task force “to partner with auto manufacturers to refine technology that would enable Oregonians to pay for the transportation system based on how many miles they drive.”
The online outline adds: “The governor is committed to ensuring that rural Oregon is not adversely affected and that privacy concerns are addressed.”
When the task force’s study and test were in the news in 2006 and 2007, critics worried that the technology could be used to track where vehicles go, not just how far they travel, and that this information would somehow be stored by the government.
In more than one interview with the Democrat-Herald and others, James Whitty, the ODOT official in charge of the project, tried to assure the public that tracking people’s travels was not in the plans.
The task force’s final report came out in November 2007. It was based largely on a field test in which about 300 motorists in the Portland area and two service stations took part over
10 months, ending in March 2007.
A GPS-based system kept track of the in-state mileage driven by the volunteers. When they bought fuel, a device in their vehicles was read, and they paid 1.2 cents a mile and got a refund of the state gas tax of 24 cents a gallon.
The final report detailed the technical aspects of the program. It also stressed the issue of privacy.
“The concept requires no transmission of vehicle travel locations, either in real time or of travel history,” the report said. “Accordingly, no travel location points are stored within the vehicle or transmitted elsewhere. Thus there can be no ‘tracking’ of vehicle movements.”
Also, the report said, under the Oregon concept of the program, “ODOT would have no involvement in developing the on-vehicle devices, installing them in vehicles, maintaining them or having any other access to them except, perhaps, in situations involving tampering or similar fee evasion activities.”
Equipment for the Oregon test was developed at Oregon State University.
Whitty said last year it might take about $20 million to establish that the mileage tax is commercially viable. Eventually, GPS devices would have to start being built into cars, and fueling stations would have to be similarly equipped.
The gas tax would stay in force — Kulongoski has proposed that it be raised 2 cents — for vehicles not equipped to pay the mileage tax.
http://www.dhonline.com/articles/2008/12/28/news/local/1aaa02_road.txt
*****I LOVE how they throw out there that 'no, this isn't Big Brother!'*****
The final report detailed the technical aspects of the program. It also stressed the issue of privacy.
“The concept requires no transmission of vehicle travel locations, either in real time or of travel history,” the report said. “Accordingly, no travel location points are stored within the vehicle or transmitted elsewhere. Thus there can be no ‘tracking’ of vehicle movements.”
Obama's 'Green New Deal' to Include Smart Grid
Categories: At Home, Computing, Future Tech, News and Events, Politics
Tags: data centers, IT, Obama, politics, smart grid
Author: Steven Volynets
We already know that the $825 billion economic stimulus package is sure to pack some serious battery research funding for cleaner, petrol-free transport. But what other clean-tech gems will the so-called "Green New Deal" have in store for us?
Concealed in the $6 billion broadband allocation for digitalizing the healthcare system, the bill is said to include funding for the "smart grid" -- a system for producing, transmitting and delivering electrical power along with relevant metadata such as sourcing, consumption patterns and cost.
"That's great news for companies that provide the software, servers, and data centers that host and store that information," says BusinessWeek; companies like Google and GE, as well manufacturers of smart meters and similar equipment. On track to build the world's most efficient datacenter, IBM is guaranteed a piece of the action as well.
http://www.goodcleantech.com/2009/01/obamas_green_new_deal_to_inclu.php
Want to learn about smart grid? Visit:
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2009/tc20090122_745205.htm
*****Not sure about you, but I don't want the government (in the end) to dictate when I should do a load of laundry or if I want my house to grow icicles on the inside,that I'm not allowed. As long as I PAY MY BILLS, there should be no question.
Do I feel that our national/regional power grids should be upgraded? YES, they should be. But that can happen without the watchful eye of our soon to be 'Big Brother' government.*****
Kulongoski to pursue mileage tax
By Hasso Hering
Albany Democrat-Herald
A year ago, the Oregon Department of Transportation announced it had demonstrated that a new way to pay for roads — via a mileage tax and satellite technology — could work.
Now Gov. Ted Kulongoski says he’d like the legislature to take the next step.
As part of a transportation-related bill he has filed for the 2009 legislative session, the governor says he plans to recommend “a path to transition away from the gas tax as the central funding source for transportation.”
What that means is explained on the governor’s website:
“As Oregonians drive less and demand more fuel-efficient vehicles, it is increasingly important that the state find a new way, other than the gas tax, to finance our transportation system.”
According to the policies he has outlined online, Kulongoski proposes to continue the work of the special task force that came up with and tested the idea of a mileage tax to replace the gas tax.
The governor wants the task force “to partner with auto manufacturers to refine technology that would enable Oregonians to pay for the transportation system based on how many miles they drive.”
The online outline adds: “The governor is committed to ensuring that rural Oregon is not adversely affected and that privacy concerns are addressed.”
When the task force’s study and test were in the news in 2006 and 2007, critics worried that the technology could be used to track where vehicles go, not just how far they travel, and that this information would somehow be stored by the government.
In more than one interview with the Democrat-Herald and others, James Whitty, the ODOT official in charge of the project, tried to assure the public that tracking people’s travels was not in the plans.
The task force’s final report came out in November 2007. It was based largely on a field test in which about 300 motorists in the Portland area and two service stations took part over
10 months, ending in March 2007.
A GPS-based system kept track of the in-state mileage driven by the volunteers. When they bought fuel, a device in their vehicles was read, and they paid 1.2 cents a mile and got a refund of the state gas tax of 24 cents a gallon.
The final report detailed the technical aspects of the program. It also stressed the issue of privacy.
“The concept requires no transmission of vehicle travel locations, either in real time or of travel history,” the report said. “Accordingly, no travel location points are stored within the vehicle or transmitted elsewhere. Thus there can be no ‘tracking’ of vehicle movements.”
Also, the report said, under the Oregon concept of the program, “ODOT would have no involvement in developing the on-vehicle devices, installing them in vehicles, maintaining them or having any other access to them except, perhaps, in situations involving tampering or similar fee evasion activities.”
Equipment for the Oregon test was developed at Oregon State University.
Whitty said last year it might take about $20 million to establish that the mileage tax is commercially viable. Eventually, GPS devices would have to start being built into cars, and fueling stations would have to be similarly equipped.
The gas tax would stay in force — Kulongoski has proposed that it be raised 2 cents — for vehicles not equipped to pay the mileage tax.
http://www.dhonline.com/articles/2008/12/28/news/local/1aaa02_road.txt
*****I LOVE how they throw out there that 'no, this isn't Big Brother!'*****
The final report detailed the technical aspects of the program. It also stressed the issue of privacy.
“The concept requires no transmission of vehicle travel locations, either in real time or of travel history,” the report said. “Accordingly, no travel location points are stored within the vehicle or transmitted elsewhere. Thus there can be no ‘tracking’ of vehicle movements.”
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