In the longer term, he sees SkyCab as a Swedish green export industry. For ten years these ideas were dismissed as science fiction, but now the wind is blowing more favourably for SkyCab and other cleantech companies. In particular if they are Swedish. Michael Wood, U.S. Ambassador to Sweden as well as George W. Bush's childhood friend, sees as his major task to locate Swedish green innovators and introduce them to American venture capital. SkyCab is one of currently 48 companies on the ambassador's list.
There's no doubt that Ambassador Wood knows what Skycab is; he participated in a panel discussion with Åke Åreda.
From Åke Åreda's bio:
Dr. Åke Åredal, Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration, is the Swedish initiator of a unique, new method for urban travel, Personal Rapid Transit. Åredal is founder and owner of SkyCab AB, recently named one of WWF/GlobalFOCUS 12 foremost Climate Entrepreneurs for 2008. US Ambassador M. Wood has listed SkyCab as one of 30 "hottest" clean tech companies in Sweden. The Swedish Enterprise Federation has also listed SkyCab as one of 20 best examples of products good for the environment.
Being a doctor of philosophy gives this guy the expertise to invent a transportation system?... right. Skycab is just one of over 100 wacky concepts listed on Jerry Schneider's "gadgetbahn" website. Skycab is so loony, it even has its own musical theme and childrens' comic book (PDF)
As the Bush Administration attempts to steal scarce transit funds to pay for highways, they want Americans to invest in a bogus Swedish PRT boondoggle. At a time when the demand for transit alternatives to automobiles is at record levels, the Bush administration is tinkering with a Nixon-era concept with over thirty years of failure.
It's part of Ambassador Wood's effort to greenwash Bush:
In the past few weeks, I've been telling people in Sweden about this initiative. I tell them that I'm concerned about global warming and that we need to find clean alternatives to fossil fuels. And Swedes sometimes say to me, "Have you checked with Washington on this? Are you sure this is OK with that Texas oilman in the White House?" I can confirm that this is 100% OK with George W. Bush. Contrary to popular perceptions, the President does recognize the problem of global warming and our responsibility to act to solve it.
Nice try, Ambassador. Here's a touching story that supposed to show how close Michael Wood is to his old pal George:
Even before formally appointing Wood to serve as ambassador, Bush had tapped his friend for help in a very public way.
Wood and his wife, Judy, went to dinner in Arlington, Va. with the president and first lady Laura Bush in the week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. (They ate Mexican, one of Bush's favorites.)
It was an important symbolic event. The nation was still in shock as people worried about the economy and their safety.
That dinner was a way to tell the American people to "get back to business as usual," Wood said.
Afterward at the White House, Bush went outside to walk the dog, and Wood had a moment to ask how he was holding up.
Bush's response, according to Wood: "I realize now what my job is. My job is to make sure this never happens again." Wood is perhaps most famous for breaking his collarbone while mountain biking with Bush at a Secret Service compound in the Washington, D.C., area.
Mountain biking
Both former runners, Bush introduced Wood to mountain biking.
"It actually took me almost a year to get in the shape he's in," said Wood, who said even Lance Armstrong was impressed with the president's ability.
After getting in shape, Wood and the president would go for "these great, grueling mountain biking rides."
On one of them, Wood failed to notice a hole in the bottom of a drainage ditch. He hit it straight on and went headlong over the handlebars.
He landed on his shoulder, breaking his collar bone.
It got attention because the White House didn't immediately release details of the accident - and it came just a few months after intense criticism over Vice President Dick Cheney's accidental shooting of a friend while hunting.
For more laughs, here's a selection from the pod-promoting Ambasssador's observations on George W. Bush back in 2006:
The Democrats are hoping that the President is so unpopular that even if his name is not on the ballot, voters will vent their unhappiness on the Republican candidates.
I don't see if happening that way. First of all, George Bush is very good at winning elections. He is more than happy to have the Democrats run against him. Remember, in 1994 he was not supposed to beat Ann Richards, who was the incumbent, to become Governor of Texas. In 2000, he won the Republican nomination over John McCain, and then defeated Al Gore. It isn't easy to defeat an incumbent candidate, in this case, the Vice President, when the economy is relatively strong. George W. Bush did it. Then the Republicans gained seats in Congress in 2002, and in 2004, the President won against John Kerry. I don't think this year is going to be an exception. He is out there campaigning and raising funds and talking to the American people. He does those things well.
The President also has an advantage when it comes to political strategy. I think most of you have heard of Karl Rove. He's the man behind the President's victories. He did for George W. Bush what James Carville did for Bill Clinton. Carville's retired from campaigning, and the Democrats don't have anyone to match Karl Rove.
Part of what Karl Rove does is get out the money and get out the votes. I know that the amount of money that goes into elections in the U.S. strikes many people as obscene. However, our candidates rely heavily on ads placed on commercial TV and radio stations, and those are expensive. Direct mailings, polling, hiring strategists - unfortunately, it takes a lot to win an election, and it all costs money. We also view campaign contributions as one way that individuals can have an impact on the system.
Karl Rove also brings out the voters. We saw it in the last two Presidential races. This is sometimes called the "72-hour machine," the ability of the Republican Party to mobilize its supporters at the very end of the campaign and actually get them to the voting booths on Election Day.
Yeah, and we all know how that turned out. I'd say Ambassador Wood is as good at predicting the outcome of elections as he is at picking "green" technologies.
...and if there are still any questions about the political bent of most of these PRT promoters, take a look at the sticker on this PRT JPod:
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