Raising fuel efficiency for American drivers
Re: “The cost of highway speeding,” May 22 editorial.
The Post’s editorial suggesting that Texas shouldn’t raise its speed limits and local drivers should slow to 55 mph is ludicrous. Apparently you want to punish those who bought economical vehicles because the rest didn’t.
The complaints from people about the cost of gas ignore the problem of those who anticipated it. My car gets 37-38 miles per gallon at 75 mph. If I want to cut my gas cost by a factor of three, I flat cannot do it. The Hummer drivers, on the other hand, have an easy way out: buy any one of a dozen or so vehicles that get three times better gas mileage.
Is it possible for car companies to make more fuel-efficient vehicles? Of course they can, but the American public and the present government cannot seem to get it into their heads that oil is a finite resource.
Higher mileage ratings need to be mandated and the tax on gas raised. Then, perhaps, people will understand it is a valuable commodity. Then, perhaps, the car companies would start selling all those high-tech, efficient cars they sell in other countries.
Chris Pollard, Monument
…
The Post’s editorial was a textbook case of junk science. The statement that “gasoline mileage drops markedly at speeds above 60 mph” is pure baloney. Why? Because speed doesn’t determine economy – aerodynamics and gearing do. If your car has a shift point at 60 mph, it will “guzzle” more gas at 59 than it will at 61, no matter what the Federal Highway Administration says. The government doesn’t write the laws of physics.
Several European companies have recently demonstrated vehicles, using conventional fuels and powertrains combined with advanced aerodynamic designs, that achieve greater fuel efficiency at triple-digit speeds than the current generation of vehicles can attain at any speed. This highlights the main reason the statistics cited by The Post are so useless – they lump streamlined vehicles like cars and motorcycles together with trucks and SUVs that are about as aerodynamic as a brick wall.
Anthony Cramer, Broomfield
Proposals for state judicial term limits
Re: “Term limits for judges?” May 23 news story.
Term limits for judges do not make sense. Politicians with extended terms in office gain experience, while risking the dangers of entrenchment. Long terms of service invest the judge with an ever-deepening understanding of the law and its application. This is not merely a broadening of experience, but rather an intensification of expertise that is the essence of sitting on the bench, especially important for appellate and state Supreme Court judges, for they are the checks and balances for the other branches of government as well as the lower courts.
Neither initiative 75 nor initiative 90 (limiting terms of appellate court justices) should be approved by the voters, in particular 90, which is retroactive, offering no grandfathering.
Joel R. Goldberg, Denver
Editor’s note: Neither of these initiatives has made the ballot yet.
Review of “Carmina Burana” in Boulder
Re: “‘Carmina’ Flyers fall flat at Macky,” May 22 dance review.
I learned long ago the futility of arguing with people who purchase ink by the barrel. Yet I must chide Denver Post Fine Arts Critic Kyle MacMillan for one of the most insidious, destructive and mean-spirited reviews I have ever read.
It’s one thing to find fault with aspects of a production like “Carmina Burana,” performed by Ars Nova Singers and Frequent Flyer Productions this past weekend, but to completely ignore a spontaneous standing ovation while picking nits out of one’s navel is unforgivable.
The Frequent Flyers’ contribution to the performance gave the production an exciting visual aspect that was the frosting on the cake of Carl Orff’s musical masterpiece. The grace, skill and daring of the aerial troop – not to mention the stamina – was beautiful to behold. Ars Nova was in its usual excellent form, but the aerial dancing put the performance over the top and brought the audience to its feet, in spite of critic MacMillan’s nasty report to the contrary.
George Luce, Denver
TO REACH OPINION EDITORS
Phone: 303-820-1331
Fax: 303-820-1502
E-mail: openforum@denverpost.com
Mail: The Open Forum, The Denver Post, 1560 Broadway, Denver, 80202
Letters guidelines: The Post welcomes letters up to 200 words on topics of general interest. Letters must include full name, home address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited for length, grammar and accuracy.
