and she said.. "how you interpret the dream is probably more important than the dream itself"

G'damn I hope they pass this daylight savings bill. If you're out of the loop it looks likely that DST could be extended by as early as this fall from it's usual April-October spread to a wider March-November spread. I've been arguing for something like this for years, but then again a lot of that has to do with the fact that I live in a State that is piggybacking on our neighbour's timezone, leaving us with darkness at 4pm in winter.

The DST provision, along with the rest of the bill, is geared towards improving energy usage in the U.S. Nevertheless, they're still too chicken shit to touch on one important area: oil usage (vis-a-vis vehicle mileage):

Consumers could see more energy savings thanks to a proposal adopted by Congress on Tuesday calling for tougher appliance standards, voluntary efficiency improvements by industry, and extended daylight savings time

But lawmakers shied away from including controversial policies that would improve vehicle mileage or dramatically cut U.S. oil demand in order to reach a compromise on one of several pieces of a broad energy bill they are trying to iron out.

Personally, I am impressed with resources like fueleconomy.gov, a government website that let's consumers compare cars based on mileage, pollution, and other factors, but there is a problem here: What good does mileage-comparison shopping do when every car get's shitty mileage?

Okay okay, sour grapes. I called GM and Ford, ready to tear someone a new asshole, but I was quickly appeased - "We're working on it".

But what really gets my goat is that one of the best categories of high-mileage vehicles, that of the two-wheeled variety, is completely neglected. I'm not sure why, but motorcycle manufacturers never advertise mileage and, while they may mention it as a selling point to get you to sign on the dotted line, they are not designing their bikes for better fuel economy either. My 1998 Ducati 900CR - not particularly old nor poorly made - gets somewhere in the range of 45 miles to the gallon. This despite the fact that it is somewhere in the range of 14% of the weight of my last vehicle, a 1993 Honda Prelude weighing in somewhere north of 2900lbs. The prelude, in contrast, got 32 miles to the gallon on one particularly good road-trip, and averaged 26. Certainly nothing special for a small four-banger like that, but then again it's a weight-to-mpg ratio of 111, whereas the bike eeks out a paltry 9.

45mpg, however, is pretty good at the end of the day; it could just be better. Meanwhile, the government is not requiring these companies to publish mileage ratings, are not encouraging the use of these vehicles in high-congestion areas such as big cities - something that could reduce both traffic and parking issues - and the media makes them sound unsafe. Take a trip to Rome or Hong Kong and you will learn a thing or two about what is possible with two-wheeled transportation. Unfortunately, here in the U.S. the proliferation of shows like American Chopper have resulted in just more "weekend warriors" - crowds of big-bore low-mpg harleys rumbling around one day a week and otherwise sitting unused in a garage. Bravo, America. Bravo.

Finally, despite the (meagre?) rash of media attention for electric and hybrid vehicles, we never hear about hybrid bikes. For years now I've been following the progress of a prototype hybrid from a small electric-motor company in Pennsylavania called eCycle. With promises like 80+mph capabilities and miles per gallon somewhere up above 100 who wouldn't want one of these things? Unfortunately I still haven't seen a finished prototype. Here's to hoping, a pastime I am sure everyone who reads this blog knows is not my favourite.

Oh and hey, look, even the Canadians are on the DST-extending bandwagon. But it's just cause Canadian business leaders fear major economic disruption if [Canada] does not fall in line..