Zible

Have you ever noticed how people forget about their childhood dreams, aspirations and beliefs as they grow older? It’s a gradual process that seems to happen to almost everyone whether they notice or not.

Is it just me, or when you were younger, could you see obvious solution to problems? Did you wonder why we put up with things that were blatantly wrong or ill-conceived? Did you wonder why it took us years or decades to implement simple ideas and still they weren’t done as well as they should have been?

Recycling facilities for paper, glass, plastic and aluminium. Proper school dinners. Energy-efficient housing. Renewable energy plants. Alternatives to petrol and diesel. Affordable and reliable public transport. No smoking in public places.

Most of these great ideas are still waiting to happen, yet thinking people (particularly children) thought of them 10, 20, 30 or more years ago. I use the expression thinking people because it seems that when we get a job and then a better job and then a house and a husband/wife and a family, we forget to really think. We just go with the flow. We get into a comfort zone and are easily influenced by the media and advertising. We begin to forget those great ideas we once had and we lose the ambition to actually make them happen.

Let’s not forget them. Let’s nurture them and grow them through action. Let’s keep our brains and spirits alive and kicking.

Now here is what prompted this post - The Story of Stuff - the latest outstanding video from Free Range Studios.

I just found a new vehicle while surfing.

Here are the specs…

• Price: $108,000 (£55,000)
• Weight: 3000+ lb (1360+ kg)
• 0–60 mph (0–96 km/h): 4 seconds
• ¼ mile (0.4 km): 12 seconds @ 120 mph (193 km/h)
• Top speed: 150 mph (240 km/h)

Now visualise what a car with such high performance would look like.

Now go and see what the car is.

If you enjoyed that, you might also like this great looking car and this space age one.

Both the Tesla and Aptera are in production now but have a seriously long waiting lists and can only be purchased in the USA. The Tango has not yet reached mass production.

Update: The Tango is already in production and you can order one from the UK. I just received this email from their President, Rick Woodbury:

Hi Jake,

Thanks for your enquiry:

Yes, you can certainly pre-order one for the UK.

We are shipping one to London with a few months.

The T600 is available now. It is made to order. Orders placed now will take approximately 6 months to deliver. The price is $108,000 in USD, fully equipped including a 10-year unlimited-mileage parts warranty. We can customize the Tango or remove items at cost if so desired.

Lead-acid batteries that have a range of 40 to 80 miles depending on speed and terrain come standard. Li-Ion batteries are also available with a range of 100 to 200 miles or more of freeway driving with prices ranging from approximately $25,000 to $50,000 depending on type and capacity. We are expecting a final quotation and warranty shortly. The Li-Ion batteries promise much more power than even the lead-acid.

We are also taking deposits on less-expensive models which will be designed and built as funding becomes available from profits or investment capital.

There is more detailed information on our web page under the “Ordering” button.

If you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Best wishes,

Rick

So you can order a T600 now ($108,000 with $10,000 deposit) and receive it in 6 months, or you can pre-order a Tango T100 ($18,700 with $500 deposit) and wait 2-3 years.

I was thrown off a train at Marylebone Station 4.58pm today because I had a bike. I argued with the railway staff, including the station manager, but they enforced a rule that would not let me on their trains between 4.30pm and 7.30pm.

The train was ready to depart and there were plenty of spare seats. But they forced me to wait in London for 2 and a half hours before I could use my ticket.

People should be commended for choosing to cycle, not thrown off and prevented from travelling. Cycling, instead of driving, reduces CO2 emissions and gives people exercise. Climate change and obesity are two of our greatest challenges - cycling to work helps solve two problems in one go.

Encouraging cycling is clearly a good policy, so let’s not prevent people from doing a good thing. Let’s make more space for bikes on trains or just increase the frequency of trains. It’s as simple as that. Yes it might mean refitting some trains or adding a carriage here or there, but if we’re serious about climate change and obesity, having bikes on trains is a no-brainer.

The station manager told me that the ban was ‘governments rules’. I questioned his judgement and rightly so. From what I’ve since read online, only some train companies ban bikes on trains, though it is an increasing trend.

The Labour Government harps on about ‘integrated transport’ and tackling climate but as usual, it is hype and rhetoric. Labour was petitioned 14 months ago to allow bicycles on trains but they declined to help, saying it was up to the train companies. We didn’t elect our Government to pass the buck.

The train companies don’t get it. The government doesn’t get it. So where do we go from here?

1. We can lobby the Office of Rail Regulation.
2. We can lobby the train companies.
3. We can vote Labour out of power in 2 years time. And we will.