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Toyota Gives Green Light to Solar Powered Prius in 2009 Posted by Nicole Hughes on July 7, 2008 at 1:37 pm

It’s official: Toyota will offer a solar panel-powered Prius in 2009. In these days of high fuel prices and environmental concerns, this silver lining in the cloud of car-created CO2 is long overdue. According to Gizmodo, the solar panels will be offered on the next generation of the high-end Prius hybrid model. Interestingly enough, the panels will even power the air conditioning. Toyota will be the first major automaker to go solar with their vehicles.

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CATEGORIES:  Environment, Ethics


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Posted by Steven Mento on July 7, 2008 at 2:56 pm

Why should we be interested in Alternative Energy?
To protect the world from oil dominance, their wars and environmental destruction.
The BMW Hydrogen 7 is the world’s first production-ready hydrogen vehicle. Will it go the way of the electric car that was killed by Detroit on the 70’s? The answer lies with politicians, oil companies and other world leaders. At the Boston Tea Party the political answer was in the hands of the people throwing barrels of tea overboard (would now that they be barrels of oil).
If democracy were a little more virile the answer might lie in the hands of the people - and if the American people were less polarized into so-called left ‘pro-government’ and right ‘free market’ mindsets, we might stop political bickering, band together and find political solutions squarely in the middle, understanding that absolute power in either direction corrupts ‘absolutely’. A totally free market without regulations (we are dangerously close to this now) gives unlimited power for corporations to monopolize an industry (oil), buy off the government, defeat alternatives or competition and endanger the consumer.
A government controlled system crushes initiative and innovation, and oppresses the people for the sake of the state. We have seen the abysmal failures of Marxism and other totalitarianism. Somewhere between the elements of socialism and free enterprise, both of which exist in our society, there needs to be a strengthening of the checks and balance or some cognitive recognition when the direction of the dollar is ‘to hell in a handbasket’ that we need an alternative route out now, not when we run out of oil. Unfortunately, that would be too late, and we will be inextricably bound in that hot unfortunate place.

We need a hybrid car which uses hydrogen fuel cells instead of gasoline. Since both technologies are currently being used in commercial cars, I just don’t get why they aren’t being combined. There is also a car in production right now that is 100% electric,
goes 225 miles on one charge and from 0-60 in 3.8 seconds. It’s called the Tesla, but it costs $100,000 dollars.
The auto industry could mass produce something like this for a fraction of the cost, but we need to insist that the next administration in Washington have the independence from oil lobbyists to push oil companies out of the way for this to happen. This way we could get some energy independence without a heavy cost to the environment.

The largest threat to our national security is oil; it has infiltrated our country by thwarting other technologies, empowering rogue oil nations and attracting their terrorists, and by corrupting Washington’s proclaimed goal of representing the American people.

Exxon-Mobil, Shell, and BP have been waiting over 30 years to take the oil in Iraq, which has the second largest store of underground oil in the world alongside along with Iran.
The oil fields are now being drilled, so in that sense it is ‘mission accomplished’.

If we spent 200 billion$ (many would call that 1/10 of what the Iraq war has actually cost the US) on fuel cells they’d be out there, and we wouldn’t need to deal with these guys at all.

Steve Mento

233 Meadow Ridge Rd.

Galloway, NJ 08205

609-271-1953

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Posted by Steven Mento on July 7, 2008 at 2:57 pm

Bravo for the Toyota Prius Solar!

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Posted by lora on July 7, 2008 at 3:31 pm

Steven, my sentiments, exactly!
The middle is the best place to be. There are good ideas from the right and the left that can work together to give us a true and fair democracy.
We need leaders with guts that will get the villian businesses listed on the Multinational Monitor to stand down. They are the true terrorists in my poems!
We were working on a middle ground here in Canada but, lately, I think the creation of wealth allowed under pure unrestrained capitalism is just too much of a temptation.
After all, isn’t man on this planet to be the biggest Ape with the most money!
Take care.
Lora

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Posted by car lights on July 16, 2008 at 2:08 pm

appreciate this great innovation to save our dying world!

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Posted by Acai Berry Power on August 27, 2008 at 12:57 am

Nice bog you have here. I pretty much lurk the internet when I’m bored and read all I can about the organic lifestyle, but I really liked you view on things. I’ll bookmark the site and subscribe to the feed!

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Posted by Benjamin from California on November 25, 2008 at 5:16 pm

Great job Toyota! can’t wait to see it at the stores!

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Posted by Benjamin from California on November 25, 2008 at 5:18 pm

My Toyota Prius 2007 gets 53 MPG overall. I commonly drive the highway and the city.

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