65% Want a Public Health Care Option

A New York Times/CBS poll found that 65% of respondents want a public health care option, while only 26% opposed such a plan.

Canadian Health Care, Even With Queues, Bests U.S.

Opponents of overhauling U.S. health care argue that Canada shows what happens when government gets involved in medicine, saying the country is plagued by inferior treatment, rationing and months-long queues.

The allegations are wrong by almost every measure, according to research by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and other independent studies published during the past five years. While delays do occur for non-emergency procedures, data indicate that Canada’s system of universal health coverage provides care as good as in the U.S., at a cost 47 percent less for each person. read more

In Phoenix, Weekend Users Make Light Rail a Success

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The light rail here, which opened in December, has been a greater success than its proponents thought it would be, but not quite the way they envisioned. Unlike the rest of the country’s public transportation systems, which are used principally by commuters, the 20 miles of light rail here stretching from central Phoenix to Mesa and Tempe is used largely by people going to restaurants, bars, ball games and cultural events downtown.

The rail was projected to attract 26,000 riders per day, but the number is closer to 33,000, boosted in large part by weekend riders. Only 27 percent use the train for work, according to its operator, compared with 60 percent of other public transit users on average nationwide.

In some part thanks to the new system, downtown Phoenix appears to be one of the few bright spots in an otherwise economically pummeled city, which like the rest of Arizona has suffered under the crushing slide of the state’s economy. The state, for years almost totally dependent on growth, has one of the deepest budget deficits in the country. read more

VW L1 Hybrid

Though, it won't be available until 2013, the two-seater L1 -- which stands for its one-liter fuel capacity -- quickly become the talk of Frankfurt. The diesel-electric hybrid engine gets a whopping 157.8 miles per gallon and tops out at 100 miles per hour, according to CarConnection. The L1 also has an "impressive" driving range of 416 miles, which beats plug-in competitors.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/18/vw-l1-hybrid-most-efficie_n_291257.html

Our boys at 1.5 yrs old - all grown up

Blaze and Smokey (click image to view larger)

Study links 45,000 U.S. deaths to lack of insurance

WASHINGTON — Nearly 45,000 people die in the United States each year -- one every 12 minutes -- in large part because they lack health insurance and can not get good care, Harvard Medical School researchers found in an analysis released on Thursday.

"We're losing more Americans every day because of inaction ... than drunk driving and homicide combined," Dr. David Himmelstein, a co-author of the study and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard, said in an interview with Reuters.

Overall, researchers said American adults age 64 and younger who lack health insurance have a 40 percent higher risk of death than those who have coverage. read more

Tucson Electric Power plans vast solar power plants

click image to view larger: TEP's 4.6-megawatt photovoltaic plant near Springerville

Tucson Electric Power Co. is working to develop two new solar projects that would rank as the area's largest renewable energy plants, generating enough power to serve more than 6,000 homes.

TEP said today it has plans to finish construction on a 25-megawatt photovoltaic array and a 5-megawatt concentrating solar power plant by January 2012. A location for the array and solar power plant hasn't been determined, said Joe Salkowski, a TEP spokesman.

TEP has agreed to purchase power from both systems, which will be privately owned and operated. read more

Battery Swaps Announced for Electric Cars

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Better Place's software alerts drivers to a car battery's charge status and points them to battery charging spots and swapping stations in the company's network.

In conjunction with the launch, partner Renault is also expected to debut a concept car called Fluence ZE, a five-seat all-electric passenger car that will be able to operate at Better Place's battery-swapping stations. The two companies have committed to producing 100,000 of the sedans, which have a 100-mile-driving range, for Better Place customers in both Israel and Denmark by 2016. read more

Toyota: Electric cars 'too expensive' for mainstream

Toyota, the leader in hybrid cars, thinks that the high cost of the lithium ion batteries will keep electric cars from penetrating the mass market for another decade.

Over the past three years, Toyota secretly tested lithium ion batteries as a potential replacement for the nickel metal hydride batteries now used in the Prius, according to a Bloomberg report

In its tests, Toyota concluded that lithium ion batteries were safe and reliable, but the higher cost doesn't justify a complete shift over for Toyota's hybrids, executives said. As a result, the company will remain with nickel-based batteries for most of its hybrid cars, according to the report. read more

Secretary Robert Reich Explains the Public Option

Pirated Artist Orders Police Raid on Sony Music Office

A Sony Music office in Mexico has been raided after the label refused to hand over the recordings of one of Latin America’s biggest artists, Alejandro Fernández. Police took over 6,000 CDs that Sony refused to return, even though Fernández’ contract with the label had ended. read more

They Might Be Giants charges electric cars with our future happiness

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Universal Health Care Message to Americans From Canadian Doctors & Health Care Experts

Canadian Doctors for Medicare hosted a celebration of Medicare in Canada. The speakers included Roy Romanow, former Saskatchewan Premiere and Commissioner on Health Care in Canada. They tell Americans that Canadian universal health care works and encourage Americans to implement a single payer universal health care system. The video also features Dr. Steven Lewis a health policy and research consultant, Dr. Danielle Martin, Dr. Ryan Meili and Dr. Robert Woolard representing the Canadian Doctors for Medicare and Linda Silas President of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.