Move over Winnipeg, Edmonton is now the Murder Capital of Canada. It seems that as long as I could remember, Winnipeg had the dubious distinction of being Canada’s murder capital. But today’s Stats Can release shows that Edmonton now has more homicides per capita. To put the numbers in perspective, Winnipeg has 3.7 murders per 100,000 people, Edmonton 4.3, Seattle 5.6, New York 7.4, Chicago 20.6, Detroit 39.4, New Orleans 57.5! (source)
But do not fear Winnipeggers, you still have some notable distinctions:
* Murder Capital of Canada – Edmonton
* Robbery Capital of Canada – Winnipeg
* Break-in Capital of Canada – Vancouver (or Regina for smaller cities)
* Vehicle Theft Capital of Canada – Winnipeg
Congratulations Winnipeg on giving up your violent past and instead focussing on stealing other people’s stuff.
In news that makes me smile, Toyota is planning on releasing a plug-in hybrid. One step closer to the elusive electric car, which may not be so elusive anymore.
A computer nerd in Silicon Valley, flush with start up money from guys like Larry Page, Sergey Brin (from Google), and Elon Musk (from PayPal), has developed an electric sports car that uses a ton of laptop-like batteries. It has a range of 250 miles, fuel-efficiency of 1-2 cents/mile, full charge taking 3 hours, and a starting price tag if $80,000 US. Target audience: rich tech company CEOs (and me in a few years =).
I wonder how electric cars will affect parkings lots in places like Winnipeg, where there are outlets for plugging in block heaters on cold wintery days so batteries don’t freeze solid. I’m sure Impark won’t be happy with you recharging your vehicle in their lot, at least not for $8/day.
Canadian Veggie 
Electric cars
Don’t forget to go see who killed the electric car. It’s in theatres near you this year. Not to ruin the ending but it was GM with big oil in the conservatory.
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Sigh…
I’d take one good public transit system over an electric car. But a Japanese car company has better reasons for the latter than the government has for the former.
Looking at the math regarding vehicle cost and money saved in fuel for the current hybrid models, there’s not enough (if at all) monetary incentive to choose a hybrid. I wonder what the numbers are for the all-electric car. The warm and fuzzy feeling only works for so many people; no wonder the Concentration of Priuses in the SF Bay Area is in the parking lot at Google, who give a bonus to their already well-paid employees who are purchasing hybrid vehicles.
Well, I’ll be happy whenever the technology matures enough for the price to fall like DVD players.
And the answer to who killed the electric car is maybe similar to the answer to who killed American railroads.
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I absolutely agree. I rely on public transit and am a huge fan of transit. For 5 weeks I was able to move all around Europe, effeciently and comfortably, without ever stepping foot in a car. It’s a high standard, but I want that level of public transit here.
Cars are a necessity for many people though. Even in Europe, with the great public transit, people still drive. I’d rather those people drove hybrids or electric cars.
As for the math, you’re right. It’s a warm fuzzy feeling. Gas prices would have to rise a bit farther before there was a real cost saving.
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