RealName said:

"The sad fact is that if nothing else, the transportation 'picture' of America is going to have to start to look a LOT more third world, with more buses, scooters, rickshaws and other high mileage lightweight vehicles in the road just to compensate for the price of gas."

That's funny, I figured we'd start looking a lot more like Europe. You know, where GDP/CO2 emissions are 80% higher than the US. You know, like the UK, where gas is more expensive, cars are smaller, roads are narrower, and fatalities per 100k miles are lower. Or Germany, where gas is more expensive, cars are smaller, there are no speed limits in many places, and fatalities are comparable to the US (depends on the metric you use- by some they're higher, some they're lower). And in pretty much all oAnd most of these countries have nice, convenient high-speed rail (which unfortunately is a pipe-dream in the US).

I don't buy the 'expensive gas will make us third world and kill us all' argument at all. It's a load of crap.

High gas prices are regressive, especially for the rural poor (working poor in urban areas with decent mass transit are another matter). But there are policy solutions for that (think 'feebate' or similar).

It is possible to lower consumption and prices, and it's possible to do it without direct rationing, but does require indirect rationing. Like much higher CAFE standards without loopholes.

I don't pretend to know the best solutions. But I do know that those who argue that the health of our country depends on the profligate consumption of cheap fossil fuel don't have much imagination.

I've driven from Paris to Strasbourg, and Strasbourg to Arles. Pretty much all farmland (and vineyards), plus the occasional PSA factory.

Biofuels have all sorts of pros and cons, but here's the thing: In both Europe and the U.S., we waste a lot of money propping up agricultural systems that have lots of overcapacity. It is also apparently a political impossibility to change the situation. So what's so wrong about having US and European farmers grow something we can actually use more of (i.e. fuel)? It seems like a win-win to me- less waste on agricultural subsidies and less reliance on fossil fuel (via biodiesel and cellulosic ethanol- corn sucks). And don't forget pelletized grass for stationary applications- with no energy-intensive conversion step, the energy balance is insane!

I am worried that expansive production of biofuels could threaten habitat and wildlife, on both the new and old worlds. But I don't accept those concerns as a deal-killer for biofuels, as some would have it.

BTW, I'd be happy to help with the French wine surplus, if I could get a barrel or two at a good price.

The Tour is an interesting mix of commercialism and grass-roots regional pride. For example, I am told that riders are often allowed to briefly ride ahead of the peloton when the race happens to pass through their home town. And it's a way for regions to express their pride- the Basques (non-ETA types, I hope) go nuts when the Tour occasionally crosses into Spain.

The good thing is most of the commercial concerns align more or less with the sporting ones. Sure, a long breakway gets the sponsor publicity, but the rider generally IS hoping for a win (and breaks do stay away, from time to time), and gets to publicize himself, as well. And the thing that generates the most publicity is winning, so that's certainly aligned with the racing aspect. I'd 'zip up' too even without a sponsor; I'd like the finish-line pictures to look nice.

Finally, the extraordinary thing about Floyd's ride last year wasn't that he soloed for a win; it was that the day after ostensibly blowing any hope of winning the Tour, he absolutely crushed the entire peloton solo and gained all the time back that he had lost (somewhere in the range of 8 minutes, which is a HUGE amount in the TdF).

I witnessed in person the prologue and final of last year's TdF, as well as the 2003 Alpe d'Huez (Lance's bad day) and Marseilles stages. It really is an amazing spectacle. Though I strongly oppose doping (and cheating generally), I can understand the motivations- the race is really, really tough.

Keith,

I love your strip; keep it up.

Kindly pony up a couple bucks, folks.