GoPo Government System Links

LINK #1

LINK #2

AP MACRO LINKS

Don't worry, have confidence and you will be fine, hopefully. ; )



REFFonomics. Very solid source

WIKINOMICS

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WELCOME TO MACRO

A couple of things I want you to try today.
#1 Attempt to download the readings. Let me know in class if it does not work.
Reading 1
Reading 2


Also respond to the article below regarding the development of "efficient" cars. Do you agree/disagree? Is it worth it? Respond by clicking on the comments link at the end of this reading. Hit the radio button for name/URL, enter your name, and then place your comments above.
Here is a problem for your students: Where is the most energy efficiency gained? Redesigning a car that got 40 mpg so it now gets 80 mpg, OR getting a vehicle that was at 10 mpg to get 15 mpg?

This is pertinent because we are head over heels in love with the Prius, a vehicle that is sold to people who would have been driving a car like mine (Saturn with 40+ mpg highway). That Toyota company should be bailed out by the Japanese government. And GM should be allowed to burn because they have made such horrible vehicles. And we environmentalists scoff at the improvements made by US engineers at GM and Ford, where their big trucks and SUVs have been turned into hybrids boosting their mpg by what seems paltry amounts, 12 mpg to 16 mpg.

Per 10,000 miles driven, a car getting 40 mpg uses 250 gallons, improving that to 80 reduces gasoline consumption to 125 gallons saving 125 gallons. A vehicle getting 10 mpg uses 1000 gallons per 10,000 miles driven. Improving that to 15 mpg takes consumption to 667 gallons, a reduction of 333 gallons. More than twice the savings of the previous example.

Lesson learned? The Prius doesn't do too much for our energy reduction plans. Keep in mind that the driver of a 10 mpg vehicle will not switch to one that gets 40 or 80.

Second environmental lesson. How much energy does it take to make a Prius? I have a simple process for calculating this. If a 51 mpg Prius costs $24,000, then there is $24,000 worth of energy in it. This conversion factor works for most normal goods. It doesn't apply to a Coach purse (I am embarrassed to say I know what they are). A Nissan Versa can be had for $10,000. The Versa should get about 33 or 35 mpg with a standard transmission. How many miles would you have to drive the Prius to reduce energy consumption by $14,000? Hmmm? Partly depends on miles driven per year and interest rates ( a discounting/net present value problem, and gasoline prices.)