Via the Scientific American Observations blog comes news that during its 2009 season the American Le Mans Series will be introducing a Green Challenge. Details can be found on the ALMS website.

I must admit that I like racing. Not because I’m a fan of watching car drive in circles using internal combustion engines that produce unnecessary CO2. Or that the fuel they use could be used for many other more useful purposes. I don’t know why I like it; I imagine its for similar reasons that I like other sports such as baseball. It’s just fun to watch sometimes.
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I’m moving to a new apartment in mid-July. One of the things that I was going to do at my current residence is to install solar panels. Except that the lease has a clause about not having “large and obstructive” objects on our patios. I asked the manager if solar panels qualify as large and/or obstructive and was told in no uncertain terms that I was not allowed to have them on the patio. Of course, the lease also forbids charcoal grills and I’ve seen at least 5 on other peoples patios. A couple solar panels might attract more attention than a grill though.
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First off, I’m not an economist. I took one undergraduate-level macroeconomics course. And I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night. Therefore, I judge myself to be fully qualified to be admitted as an expert witness in economics. Luckily, the topic of today’s post is simple, and if I misuse any real economics buzz words, I ask that you politely point them out instead of chopping off my head.

When assessing the total cost of an automobile, there are two main areas categories: the initial investment and recurring costs. Figuring out the initial investment is easy; it’s the price on the window. The recurring costs are more difficult, and depend on how much a person drives.
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The full article from The Lancet is reproduced below. It’s an open access journal, so I assume that’s allowed. This story has been picked up by others such as Slashdot and the New York Times. I am not overwhelmed by the article.
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