ISP 4760 Class Research Project:
Saving Michigan’s Economy?
Our
starting point: the Scott Long’s excerpt:
“The oil crisis in the early 1970’s prefigured the massive rise of gas prices and shortages around the world. In response to the problem of low supply, Volvo decided to create a car known as the Light Component Project. The LCP used composite and lightweight materials to create a lightweight and fuel-efficient vehicle that could survive the oil crisis. The LCP ran on an extremely efficient diesel engine and averaged 65 miles per gallon, and as much as 100 mpg at cruising speeds (http://www2.rmcil.edu/satre/sci115/sci115/video6.htm). However, as the crisis eased and gas prices decreased Volvo decided not to put the car into production. Without high gas prices its economic viability was very low.”
“We have had the technology to produce fuel-efficient cars
for more than 30 years. The only thing restricting us has been the force of the
economy and politics. Oil companies, along with the American subsidies that
make sure we get cheap oil, have ensured that the demand for cars that are
inefficient has stayed high. There is no economic impetus in our society to
promote the ownership of a fuel efficient car. Yet few people even know or are
aware that we have the ability to create better cars. Our culture is so based
on economics that it has inhibited technological innovation to the point where
many people are completely unaware of our own scientific capabilities.”
We shall divide into research teams. Each team, with the help of the internet (.edu sites preferably), books, interviews, video, answer in writing the following questions:
1. Now, this is a bit odd, by itself. I just don’t believe it’s true. Who is Dr. Long anyway? So, let’s try to find out if this really happen. Did Volvo actually make such a car THIRTY years ago? What were its exact characteristics? Is there a video film out there about it?
2. A question for a mathematically inclined team: If such cars were available for the price of, say, Ford Focus, how much money could the average American who chose to buy it save on gasoline alone in one year? Over a lifetime?
3. A far more important question: Had a 65 mpg law been passed, what would have been the HEALTH impact of worldwide reduced gasoline consumption? For instance, effect on cancer, on asthma.
4. An even more important research question: What would be the environmental effects? Here, pay special attention to the mama of all environmental problems, climate change.
5. Who would have lost money if such cars were built in Sweden and exported to the USA, or made in the USA by, say, Ford?
6. A key historical question: How did GM gain the ascendancy over Ford? Did it do so by building better cars, or by relying on the fact that a sucker is born every minute? Could the mindset they developed then explain their steadfast refusal to develop cheaper, healthier, safer, and more reliable cars?
7. Now, to politics and economics: Why didn’t Volvo develop this car? Death threats? Lobbying? What?
8. What should our proposal be: Asking one of the car companies to build such a car? Will they then? Asking the government to do so? Or maybe proposing a joint venture? Could we possibly overcome lobbying by bankers, oilmen, car makers?
9. Let’s assume for the moment that such cars could be built, and that they could now yield an average 100 mpg. How could we present our results to Governor Granholm? Do we need to network, or what? How do we get her to read our proposal
Some Resources:
One excellent source for this project is interviews. The trick is to find experts who are not owned by government and industry. A well-known, national expert, is Amory Lovins. Knowledgeable people at the ISP are Profs. William Lynch and David Bowen. Organizations like Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, might be able to help you too. You may find out some very useful material, as well, here: http://www.is.wayne.edu/mnissani/PAGEPUB/gh.htm
Miller’s widely used text, Living in the Environment, is very helpful too.