Toyota's Lead American Environmental Engineer Killed in Plane Crash
by EcoGeek.org on 11.27.06
David Hermance, Toyota's lead American environmental engineer, died in an airplane accident this weekend. Not only did David bring the Prius to America, he was also a champion for efficiency and clean cars as an engineer and as an advocate. He pushed for the Prius before anyone knew what a hybrid was, and he brought the car to America while gas prices were still at a dollar a gallon. "Dave repeatedly demonstrated his commitment not just to Toyota's profits but to the planet," said Jason Mark, vehicles director at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Berkeley.
Hermance, an experienced pilot, was performing aerobatics off the California coast when the accident occurred. He is survived by his wife and two grown children.
::LA Times ::Hugg and ::GroovyGreen
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Sad news. I have great respect for the man (and his team, obviously). Did lots of good.
Ah, the environmentalist with a private plane - much better than the conservative minister with a gay lover.
It's nice to know dirty treehuggers have such sympathy. ..
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editor note: That was one person.
*sigh*
Here comes the Spanish inquisition.
Please understand that not all environmentalists are saying that we shouldn't do anything.
Before you judge this dead man who changed the automotive landscape in the US (and probably the world), it would probably help for you to know about him and his life. Perspective, it's called.
Or in a language that you can understand: "OMG, AL GORE HAS A CAR! OMG, DAVID HERMENCE HAD A SMALL PLANE!!! That negates everything they ever did, surely. And I'm sure their message was that we should do *nothing at all* that can harm the environment when a non-polluting alternative is not yet available (ie. small planes running on fuel cells or whatever) instead of just becoming sustainable (which doesn't mean 100% clean) and then phasing in clean technologies that allow us to, y'know, do stuff."