Did you know that your tax dollars are subsidizing the possible destruction of the Real Bay Area as we know it?

NASA is offering a series of prizes to encourage Green Flight.  These “green” flying machines are called SAVs, or Suburban Air Vehicles, which would have either VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) or ESTOL (extremely short yadda yadda) abilities.  “Pocket airports,” which need be no larger than 2 acres, could be placed anywhere as the planes would have electric motors. 

Electric motors would be much quieter than gas motors, so there wouldn’t be the noise factor that you get from a conventional airport.  Think flying EVs.  Being close to a pocket airport could be not a location fail but a location win.  Heavily trafficked areas could have SAV taxis rather than leaving the plane parked all day. 

While this X-Prize approach to solving traffic problems might sound all ecological and high minded (ha ha), this is a threat to our entire way of life!  Realize what this would mean to home prices in the RBA. 

NASA is encouraging aircraft designs that could have a range of up to one thousand miles per battery charge.  That means the RBA could expand as far away as Montana!  After all, why is the RBA so Special?  It’s close to the great jobs.  And what keeps commutes from further afield long and painful?  Gridlocked traffic!  That’s why people pay the prices they do for Burbed-worthy habitation!

Not only that, Google has just stabbed us all in the back by being a major backer of the prize money!  The first stage of awards, totaling $1.65 million, were made possible by Google’s involvement.

According to a study done using patterns in Sonoma County, removing just 3500 vehicles a day from the Golden Gate Bridge and San Rafael Bridges would alleviate gridlock (see page 27, Sonoma-Marin County Commute Model, also the traffic study itself).  That means commutes would be less painful for the automobile drivers as well as those on these SAVs (which everyone knows stands for Suburban Assault Vehicle).

Not only that, imagine these damned miniplanes hogging the ChargeStation and leaving your Leaf or Volt stranded!  I tell you, Real Bay Areans, contact your Congresscritter and demand that NASA stop investing in technology that will allow just anyone to get to work at Google yet also own a house on ten acres for half the price you paid for a mansion in Cupertino! 

Remember, high property values means nobody else gets in after you!  This is an Open Thread.