DesideriScuri
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Joined: 1/18/2012
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Tkman117
quote:
You don't have to be a supporter of AGW to want to switch to more sustainable models.
Exactly my point. But the market is also not a living entity, people are very short sighted, they only look at what will occur within the next few months or years, let alone later on in their lives or after they're dead. We are increasingly dependant on gas and oil, and the market has shown barely any sign of moving towards a direction where resources are consumed much more responsibly. We simply look for more resources to consume when the current ones run out, but when they all run out it will be catastrophic. Change doesn't happen over night, it takes small changes and getting a hybrid like you said is a great idea to contribute to those small changes, and it's also a type of car I'd like to get when I finally get out of university or a few years later.
But while the problem is being addressed in incremental steps in various places, there is the potential for something more drastic. Bringing together economists, researcher, engineers from across a broad range of places could ideally produce something very powerful. New areas of the economy, new policies, new technologies, all which could be brought before government officials across the world with the incentive that these new methods would benefit everyone, including the law makers. The key is this "what do policy makers get out of it?" The oil industry has many politicians and economists in their pocket, so creating enough of an allure to go against the industry is what's really the hard part, not necessarily getting the collaboration between scientists.
The danger of allowing government to dictate the direction of the Market, or research, is that you increase the danger of government being corrupted. That's when you get business taking insulating actions, buying government. And, imo, the proper response towards alternative energy business isn't to provide subsidies and tax benefits (to "level the playing field") to alternative energy companies, it's removing subsidies and tax benefits from all energy businesses.
The Market will figure the shit out. If you base all your decisions on electricity for power, you're at the mercy of electricity power generators. If you stick with the primarily coal-fired generators, you'll find that, as resources become more scarce, your electricity costs will increase. The more you base your decisions on dwindling resources, the worse it's going to become for you.
But, isn't that choice up to the consumer? You make decisions based on your own interests. They make decisions based on their own interests. If you make sounder choices, you'll reap that benefit.
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What I support:
- A Conservative interpretation of the US Constitution
- Personal Responsibility
- Help for the truly needy
- Limited Government
- Consumption Tax (non-profit charities and food exempt)
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) flying out the window, they are gonna do things to counteract that..
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