In case you missed it | Rocket trike arrives in D.C.

0

Rocket trike arrives in D.C.

You may recall seeing a dude in a yellow, torpedo-like bike thingie on our cover back in September.

We wrote about Tom Weis, who was planning to ride his German-built Go One Rocket Trike to Washington, D.C., in an effort to build awareness and support for his dream of a United States completely powered with renewable energy by 2020.

Yeah, probably just another one of those Boulder wackos, right? Well, he made it to Washington. His 10-week “Ride for Renewables” finished at the Jefferson Memorial earlier this month after traversing 11 states and more than 2,500 miles. Weis even met with U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., who took the rocket trike for a spin through the halls of Congress.

“Our nation has a serious addiction to fossil fuels,” Polis said in a press release, “and it’s going to take innovative initiatives like Tom’s ride to break the habit and turn our country around.”

“Almost everyone I met during this ride wants to see a modern-day, green energy moon shot for America,” says Weis, president of Climate Crisis Solutions.

Weis is still in D.C., hoping to meet with other Congressional leaders, if not President Obama and the First Lady, to share what he learned on Main Street America.

Check out www.rideforrenewables.com for his video blog and more information about how to get involved.

In related news, the former president of Shell Oil said in a recent interview that Americans can expect to pay $5 a gallon for gas by 2012. But don’t worry, we’ve also received notice that the Environmental Protection Agency is on the case. The EPA has announced that its timeline for developing nationwide limits on global warming pollution from power plants, the largest single source of global warming pollution, won’t be proposed until July 2011, and we won’t see final standards until May 2012. Ain’t government bureaucracy grand?

Fourmile flattery

What is that saying about the sincerest form of flattery? Well, we sure felt flattered after seeing Fox 31 News in Denver poach our Dec. 23 story about underinsured victims of the Fourmile fire, without even a passing reference to the publication that did all the legwork.

Usually, when reporters see another media organization doing a story they are interested in pursuing as well, they try to find another angle, maybe a new source. In this case, however, it was the same sources and the same storyline. Pretty lazy.

We guess we shouldn’t expect much more from TV broadcast news, given the sad state of affairs at media outlets where complicated stories have to be watered down to 15 seconds of sensationalistic drivel.

And they wonder why we need a journalism school at CU. At least the broadcast further raised awareness of the insurance plights of these Fourmile fire victims.

The Lord taketh

Speaking of, did you hear about the Dallas pastor facing charges of burglarizing a parishioner’s home on Christmas Eve?

According to reports, Sandy McGriff, 52, said she saw two men on the side of the parishioner’s house and when she went to check it out, she said she saw a broken kitchen window. McGriff reportedly said she made a foolish mistake and went in through the window to make sure the parishioner’s belongings were secure.

One of the neighbors called police, and when officers arrived, they said they found McGriff carrying out two fur coats. The parishioner’s laptop computer and several purses were in McGriff ’s Jaguar, parked in the driveway, police said.

McGriff said she was just trying to protect valuables in case the men came back. She was expected to face charges of burglary of a habitation and resisting arrest.

Thou shall not lie, nor mix communion wine with egg nog.

Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com