Carl Crossman

The way I see it, one of the contributing factors to the worsening economy is our dependency on fossil fuel. We spend billions to fuel our cars and heat our homes. That’s why I was glad to see that there are new technologies coming out all the time. One of these is the new Volkswagen L1 Concept car.

Dubbed as the “One-Liter” car, it can get about 240 miles to the gallon. The car is scheduled to be in production as early as 2013. I am glad to see that at least someone is doing some serious research into the problem of gas mileage. I hope to see this car come out as soon as possible.

It seems that when Americans talk about taking real steps to find alternate sources of energy, California is leading the way. The state’s legislature has passed an aggressive bill that would require one third of the state’s energy to be from renewable sources such as Wind and solar power. The problem is that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger may not sign the bill.

Under pressure from private interest groups such as the energy producers, he feels great pressure to not sign the bill. I hope he will set an example for the rest of the country and do so anyway. Either way, I am proud of the state’s legislature for sending him a powerful message.

I read an interesting article today about the absent ladybugs. It seems that their populations have been declining over the years due to the release of non-native bugs that are supposed to help control pests. Luckily, help is on the way for these beautiful creatures. There is actually a breeding program for them.

The National Science Foundation is funding a program to bred and release ladybugs. They are looking for the two spotted, nine spotted, and transverse ladybugs that have all but disappeared. The program is going well and we all hope that the reappearance of these bugs will begin soon.

There has been somewhat of a fight over the fact that the new Capitol Visitor Center is set to have the words ‘In God We Trust” engraved on its walls. A lawsuit has been filed to stop the engraving by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The plan was approved by the house and senate. The Pledge of Allegiance is also planned to be engraved on the building.

I understand that there are many people who do not believe in god. But I must say that these people are in the minority. Our country was built on the fact that god was involved. The movement to shut god out I hope is destined to fail.