What is Digg?42 Comments
- YME1280, on 09/03/2008, -0/+18They should have hybrid powered learning devices that tell people when they are living in a dangerous part of the world and maybe move that ***** 50 miles north.
- brainnovate, on 09/02/2008, -0/+12What a smart idea, using the mass transit network to generate additional electricity. Talk about self sustaining!
- RyeBrye, on 09/03/2008, -3/+9Hurricanes can lift up busses and throw the like twigs.
just sayin... - ColorBlind, on 09/03/2008, -0/+6They bring them in after the fact.
- Colecoman1982, on 09/03/2008, -0/+5Um, are you an idiot? Did you even read the article? They're saying that, since hybrid buses use their gas engine to produce electricity (which is then, normally, stored in a battery) they could be used as stationary back-up generators in emergencies. Basically, you drive the bus to a local emergency shelter (school building?), park it, plug in any equipment that needs to be powered (AC/refrigeration, medical equipment, communication equipment, lights) and leave the engine idling to power the equipment. Never mind, you're most likely a troll anyway.
- MacBookForMe, on 09/03/2008, -1/+6Such power generators are especially crucial in any emergency situation and they could save many lives.
- ColorBlind, on 09/03/2008, -0/+4The response time from Katrina was the disaster. That's why everything was fine this time. The government did what it was suppose to do.
That and it missed new orleans, but that's besides the point. - inactive, on 09/03/2008, -0/+4At least it wasn't a disaster like the last big hurricane in New Orleans. Suppose they couldn't have had a worse response than Katrina though.
- shutaro, on 09/03/2008, -1/+4Pow! Right in the kisser!
- erichw1504, on 09/03/2008, -1/+4Pow, right in the kisser!
- Sanduu, on 09/03/2008, -0/+2It sounds like a great idea
- ColorBlind, on 09/03/2008, -0/+2well put.
I wonder how many of them actually realize they live below sea-level. - inactive, on 09/03/2008, -0/+2Smart idea, at least they have reduced fuel costs.
- digitalbuzz, on 09/03/2008, -0/+2It's been done before in Tacoma, but by the USS Lexington:
http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_ ...
Imagine the electricity that can be harnessed by one of today's Navy ships in times of need. - diggydougie, on 09/03/2008, -0/+1And it's very handy that wherever a hurricane strikes there is an ocean nearby. The carrier can just follow the storm at a safe distance until it hits shore and provide power and other assistance as well. Carriers also have hospital facilities and can carry civil engineers and helicopters as well.
- diggydougie, on 09/03/2008, -0/+1But if you live on the coast don't you think that you should be equipped for such things? No matter where you live on the coast you will eventually see a hurricane.
- inactive, on 09/04/2008, -0/+1Yeah, the miss always helps...
- Birukun, on 09/03/2008, -0/+1How about move to a place that does not flood every other year........
- typographics, on 09/03/2008, -1/+2The only bus John McCain will ride is a hybrid-electric bus pow.
- liljay2k, on 09/03/2008, -0/+1"...models for a model..."; I like that.
- liljay2k, on 09/03/2008, -1/+2Pow, right in the kisser!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJLCtBmJnos - Deranged, on 09/03/2008, -0/+1Where I live, our buses are fully electric. It has worked for years now.
- slapthemonkey, on 09/04/2008, -0/+1Great idea
- cheezintern, on 09/03/2008, -0/+1reading the article ftw!
- leif777, on 09/03/2008, -0/+1I'm sure it can save someones life in the long run... till then what's wrong with having a non-emission transit system?... your glass is half empty, Seaton.
- leif777, on 09/03/2008, -0/+1why can't we just put all that stuff that POWers the buses on the houses?... oh yeah, nobody is makin' any money from the electricity they make... silly me
- Seaton, on 09/04/2008, -0/+1The dangers of this setup would kill more people than it would save. I really can't see how a house without power is going to kill someone. I went two weeks without power after Isabel. I'm doing just fine
Non-emission transit system?!?!?!? Did you even read the article?
This is about using the DIESEL generator on a bus to power houses after a storm passes. Last I checked, diesel engines release emissions. Aside from where the buses come from (mass transit) I don't understand what non-emission transit system you are referring to. - randumbusername, on 09/03/2008, -0/+1fema's got a F
- lattin1, on 09/03/2008, -0/+1"How about move to a place that does not flood every other year........"
So following this logic nobody should live anywhere in which any kind of natural disaster occurs on a semi-regular basis. Well, lets get everybody out of the Great Plains then because it floods there every 5 or so years. Then lets get everybody out of California since they have about 10 major wildfires every year, not to mention the occasional earthquake. Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama,Louisiana, Texas, get the hell out. Maybe we should all just move back to the original 13 colonies (minus Georgia of course) and see how that works out. - randumbusername, on 09/03/2008, -0/+1you're better off getting a gasoline generator. i doubt if buses would help our current situation as well as a person having a generator would. as usual this sounds like a feel good waste of money.
- cheezintern, on 09/03/2008, -0/+1It's America though, people are free to live wherever they want, even 6 feet below sea level in a hurricane prone area. I just don't want to be paying them (through my taxes) to live there every time they get flooded.
- Seaton, on 09/04/2008, -0/+1No, I do not. If things get bad enough that widespread power outage occurs, people would have been evacuated anyway. They should stay out until the infrastructure is repaired.
I don't think people understand what this will cost. I would rather see a well protected shelter with a generator, then driving a bus around streets with downed trees, checking the electrical lines of every house that you plan to connect it to, connecting the cables, energizing the circuits, then bringing a fuel truck around the streets with downed trees to refuel the bus.
I agree with the no matter where you live on the coast, you will eventually see a hurricane. I've seen quite a few. - BoneStamp, on 09/03/2008, -0/+1Dugg down for comparing it to the Prius (everybody hates GM and loves the Prius). Then again, I don't care if close minded people bury me with their biased, narrow minded view.
- Seaton, on 09/03/2008, -1/+1Those who have never been on generator power before, or who do not own their own generators have no business being connected to a generator. The connections would be complicated and expensive, requiring marine grade connectors for every city block, and shore power cables carried by buses. These connections would need to be made by a qualified electrician, in other words, an employee of a local power company. Would you rather have this employee spending time replacing damaged elements of a power grid, or worrying about hooking up a house to a bus so the residents, who should have evacuated in the first place, can watch TV? My guess is: You would rather have the power company restoring electricity the old fashioned way. The power provided by the generator would have the potential to create surges, or if the generator drops the load, it could damage or destroy anything plugged into it. Residents would sue the government for blowing up their computers with the bus power. If the power is shared amongst multiple residents, fights would break out among the residents because "it was your fault for running too many appliances and killing the generator".
Part of what makes the power grid works is the electricity starts in one place, and ends up at another. If you have multiple power producing buses charging the grid in multiple locations, you are looking at electrical fires, death, and your own possessions being destroyed by the surge. A power company employee starts at the source, works his/her way to the point where the break is, and goes from there, just like any good electrician does. This employee does not need to worry about a poorly designed switchboard sending voltage back into the very lines they are trying to repair.
I have no problem with connecting a bus to a command center, hospital, or other crucial government facility, but chances are these places already have generators.
Half the reason we evacuate during major storms is to prevent bodily harm to ourselves and our families. The other half is to allow time to repair the infrastructure. When it's time to come back, they will tell you. Until then, we don't need to be in our storm damaged houses, worrying about how to hook our house up to a bus. - BoneStamp, on 09/03/2008, -2/+2They could pour deep concrete anchors so they can strap the buses down.
- LeeSoong, on 09/03/2008, -1/+1'We Need MORE POWER Captain!'
- BoneStamp, on 09/03/2008, -1/+1As much as everyone likes to rag on General Motors, since 2003 they have sold over 1000 of these buses to various cities. Seattle is the largest purchaser of these buses. In total, these buses save more carbon output than all the Prius cars combined... but everyone should still do as much as they can to reduce overall output.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/06/1000th-gm- ... - KenSPT, on 09/03/2008, -4/+2Who cares about the storm survivors needs?
It's not me, so I can care less if they drown or not ... - lattin1, on 09/03/2008, -4/+1PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION DOES NOT RUN DURING OR IMMEDIATELY AFTER A HURRICANE!!! How would hybrid buses help in any way, shape, or form following Gustav? I'm in Baton Rouge, the hardest hit major city in Louisiana, and nobody gives two ***** about catching the bus. I'm just glad my gas guzzling, 8 mpg, 4 wheel drive Suburban was able to drive over all the fallen trees and flooded roads so I could get to work where they actually have power. The kicker is I work in the public transportation office for LSU.
- cchris81, on 09/03/2008, -4/+0lol, My company makes some of the stuff for these busses.
The Digg Toolbar for Firefox lets you Digg, submit content, and keep track of Digg even when you're not on the Digg site. Download the official 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is