Electric Vehicles:
Policy Concerns:
Electric vehicles need the help of policy and regulations if they are to be successful. Currently, both state and the federal governments have implemented some policies to help drive electric car technology. An example of this is the tax breaks some receive for owning an alternate fuel vehicle. However, the United States government is also very involved in the petroleum industry. As a result the price of oil remains artificially low and the prospect for clean air-alternate fuel vehicles even further down the road. Due to the fact that the oil industry can provide the politicians with more monetary influence, the government is still being slow on making the necessary policy adjustments that will allow this new technology to start.
One of the most major regulations is in California and is a mandate that ten percent of all new car sales in 2003 must be alternate fueled-zero emissions vehicles. However, as good as this seems it has been tried before to no result. The big car manufacturers got together and used their power to overcome this law and not create alternate fueled vehicles in the numbers that were asked by the board. Because of this the year the mandate would take effect has been pushed back over and over again. 2003 was the latest procrastination, and we will see how much happens now. There are in fact other policies that might have an effect.
The Clear Air Acts Amendment (CAAA) has setup a list of requirements for certain types of vehicles. These are guidelines initially setup in the 1970s by the Environmental Protection Agency. They have since been updated in 1990. They have said that a certain number of municipal fleets must be low-emission vehicles. However, these can still be run usually gas, they just must not pollute too much. The EPA has been working very hard to push vehicles that do not pollute. However, they are mostly interested in vehicles with low emissions instead of zero. Because of this the internal combustion engine has been able to keep up and reduce their emissions enough to remain legal. If the EPA wanted to really make ground they would need to pass policy that will create radical change due to a zero emission policy.
Another set of policy that was passed by the federal government is known as the Alternative Motor Fuels Act of 1988 (AMFA). This is a mandate that the Department of Energy create certain guidelines that consumers can use to accurately compare alternate fueled vehicles to gas powered vehicles.
Hamilton implored the newly formed 13 States of the United States of the need for a strong federal government; he feared the grave dangers awaiting this newly formed body of States. “A man must be far gone in Utopian speculations who can seriously doubt that, if these States should either be wholly disunited, or only united in partial confederacies, the subdivisions into which they might be thrown would have frequent and violent contests with each other. To presume a want of motives for such contests as an argument against their existence, would be to forget that men are ambitious, vindictive, and rapacious. To look for a continuation of harmony between a number of independent, unconnected sovereignties in the same neighborhood, would be to disregard the uniform course of human events, and to set at defiance the accumulated experience of ages “(Hamilton).
“What we need to do is really improve energy efficiency standards, develop in full scale renewable and alternative energy and use the one resource we have in abundance, our creativity.” (Lois Capps) There are many ways we can utilize our abundance of creativity. Some have yet to be discovered, but some are being sought out today. One of these is the rise of the electric car. Despite a rough start competing with petroleum cars, electric cars will see a spark in popularity in the automotive market within the next few years with new models being developed and more charge stations being installed world wide. With more efficient ways of harvesting energy, the electric car will see more practical use and make its way into the lives of the average
Tort reformers believe that courts must reduce the ability of defendants’ liability in order to avoid economic decline. In the years to come, the proposals likely to generate the biggest dispute include malpractice and class-action reform, limits on noneconomic and punitive damages, and a legislative solution to asbestos legation (Rushmann, 2006). There are many lawsuits. But the frivolous lawsuits should not be taken seriously and not cost our courts and citizens time and/or money.
Tort reform is very controversial issue. From the plaintiff’s perspective, tort reforms seems to take liability away from places such as insurance companies and hospitals which could at times leave the plaintiff without defense. From the defendant’s perspective, tort reform provides a defense from extremely large punitive damage awards. There seems to be no median between the two. Neither side will be satisfied. With the help of affiliations such as the American Tort Reform Association and Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, many businesses and corporations are working to change the current tort system to stop these high cash awards.
What Is Tort Reform, Anyway? A User-Friendly Guide. 31 Oct. 2003. Web. 28 May 2010. .
The 2006 documentary about Who Killed the Electric Car shows the determination of several California citizens whose willpower was to keep the electric car alive and running. The first existence of the electric car under General Motors (GM) dates back to 1996 when they launched the EV1 electric vehicle. And although several consumers took to this new form of transportation, a car that was powered by an electric motor in place of the basic gasoline engine, GM decided to take back its newest technology and removed all existing EV1’s from off of the streets. With several upset consumers who were concerned as to both what GM and the government were up to and how they could get their cars back. Overall, the fact behind why the electric car became such a superior commodity and then vanished was the question being asked. The electric vehicle was destroyed during 2004 and 2005 because a car of this statue was far ahead of its time and greater parts of consumers were not about “going green.” Today the electric car has begun to revive itself because of the existence of global warming, and the efficiency of the electric car is rising. In other words, the electric car has been brought back to life, and many automobile manufacturers are gaining interest.
William M. Landes and Richard A. Posner. The Economic Structure of Tort Law. Harvard University Press, 1987.
Director Mark Herman presents a narrative film that attests to the brutal, thought-provoking Nazi regime, in war-torn Europe. It is obvious that with Herman’s relatively clean representation of this era, he felt it was most important to resonate with the audience in a profound and philosophical manner rather than in a ruthlessness infuriating way. Despite scenes that are more graphic than others, the films objective was not to recap on the awful brutality that took place in camps such as the one in the movie. The audience’s focus was meant to be on the experience and life of a fun-loving German boy named Bruno. Surrounding this eight-year-old boy was conspicuous Nazi influences. Bruno is just an example of a young child among many others oblivious of buildings draped in flags, and Jewis...
As humans delve into the twenty-first century, scientific research continues at an exponentially increasing rate. While the work of researchers seems to affect people in positive ways, the common debate among the general population is whether or not there is a limit to how far scientists can take their research and impact the future of society. The changes that scientists induce upon society often escape foresight, such as diseases, dangerous paints, and other products that do not pass the test of time. One big issue that is fiercely debated is how to go about switching to alternative-fuel-source automobiles, given that the world’s supply of oil will run dry relatively soon. The electric car seems to be the best candidate as a replacement for the moment, but many people are still weary about completely discarding the trusty internal combustion engine for an invention barely as old as the people who will buy them. The electric fuel is promising, but it has not been around long enough to undergo the test of time needed for mass acceptance. Here the more direct question arises: is the electric car the solution to a more economically responsible car?
The future American commuter will undoubtedly have to transition from the use of fossil fuels to new alternatives due to the diminishing availability of the nation’s oil resources. How will America respond to this upcoming issue? It is difficult to predict which alternative fuel source America will ultimately choose, but with the premier of Nissan’s electric powered Leaf and other companies; such as Tesla Motors and Chevy, with their electric cars ready for market, the electric car may be winning the race to become the new standard for the gasoline alternative. Electric cars resolve long standing environmental issues, but it will need to maneuver around many roadblocks to become a marketable consideration for the general public. The cost of electric cars, currently on the market, makes them an impractical purchase for the average consumer. If cost is not the growing concern in today’s economy which prevents the consumer from considering this option; they may deny the technological advance due to battery storage capabilities and the inadequate infrastructure in place to refuel and provide for them.
The Automotive, or electric car industry particularly, comprises all those companies and activities involved in the manufacture of electric motor vehicles (EV), including most components, such as engines, bodies and rechargeable batteries or another energy storage device. The industry’s principal products are passenger automobiles. Despite the fact that the first electric cars were produced in 1880s , the advances in internal combustion engines, especially the electric starter, soon diminished the relative advantages of the electric car and became the dominant design in the market. Due to this the EV was almost a forgotten industry staying in the early stage of development, conforming to less than 1% of the automotive stock
Bruno is irritated and shocked when he’s told they’re moving from Berlin but being a very naive boy doesn’t understand why their family has to leave. The story follows on as Bruno sets out from his house in Auschwitz to explore and finds a boy the same age as him sitting on the ground, on the other side of a fence. His name is Shmuel, a Jewish boy held captive in a concentration camp, but Bruno believes the camp is just a farm. Their friendship cements but is separated by a barbed wire.
Globalization is the dominant force by which the world has become interconnected significantly as a result of extremely increased trade and decreased cultural differences. Globalization has made crucial changes in the production and trade of goods and services. The giant companies are now multinational corporations with subsidiaries in many countries. They are no longer national firms with their operations limited to the boundary of just one country. Such companies’ growth and operations are not constrained by any geographical, economical or cultural boundary. One of these multinational corporations is “Nestle”; that has gained world-class recognition in recent times. Nestle has made significant use of globalization in the last decade in the following manner-
From the 1990s, the reports that cover the compensation cases increased dramatically in the mass media (Almond, 2004). There is a view that a huge number of tort cases in the ‘compensation culture’ are unjustified and unfair. In the mid-1990s, the term ‘compensation culture’ first appeared in a famous British newspaper (Levin, 1993). Actually, this is an extreme view, which will be criticized in this paper. This essay emphasizes the compensation culture is a myth (Morris, 2007). There are three reasons: Firstly, the data of the tort claims declined in recent years. Secondly, some victims do not receive the compensation or enough compensation that they deserve. Thirdly, the mass media and public organizations created the ‘compensation
“The Open Fuel Standard Act of 2013 is a Fiscal Policy that if passed would require each fleet of a manufacturer of passenger automobiles (including light-duty motor vehicles) to comprise at least: (1) 30% qualified vehicles in model year 2016, and (2) 50% qualified vehicles in model year 2017 and each subsequent year.” (https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr2493#summary) A qualified vehicle would be one that operates on natural gas, hydrogen, biofuels, E85, M85 or electric drive vehicles. This would be a giant step in the right direction if this were to be passed into law and it would have a huge impact on all automakers, especially the truck market.