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Gunrights
Posts:674
Senior User
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Intergalactic Multi Phase Dementsion
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mulhollandj
Posts:230
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| 05/30/2007 3:56 PM |
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| Gore a liar? Who would have thought. I keep saying it is a conspiracy to create a global tax. |
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Fiery Darts
Posts:135
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| 05/31/2007 5:27 AM |
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This week, Scott Adams has been running a series of blog posts about global warming. While it is possible that he is just cleverly trying to drive debate, I think he makes some good points in terms of analyzing the weasliness of the arguments used by both sides. His conclusions are found towards the end, but the entire thread can be found here, here, here, and here.
Warning: his posts are not written for publication in a newspaper and as such they use some inappropriate language. If you are likely to be offended by his language, just read the last post and avoid the first two posts.
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mulhollandj
Posts:230
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| 05/31/2007 9:17 AM |
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| I agree with him. He isn't informed. I do agree with his point idea of looking at is as insurance. Is the cost worth the potential benefit? What about in developing countries where people struggle to put food on the table? |
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Zasch
Posts:134
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| 06/06/2007 12:01 PM |
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| I think that global warming is among the weaker reasons for a change in policy: The combination of the fact that our energy sources often come from enemies (Russia, the Middle East, etc), the fact that pollution remains a large problem in the world that affects millions of people directly, the fact that our economy could be spurred by the growth of new technologies and industries, and the fact that it would help us become more self-sufficent are all excellent reasons, with global warming possibly simply being another. |
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Fiery Darts
Posts:135
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| 06/11/2007 12:28 AM |
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Posted By Zasch on 06/06/2007 12:01 PM
...the fact that our economy could be spurred by the growth of new technologies and industries,... You listed some good reasons to pursue policies that people suggest in response to global warming (after all, the effects of pollution can be measured fairly well in the short term without mucking about with long-term global climate models). I am, however, somewhat dubious of this one. Right now, the one of the biggest obstacles to the development of other fuel sources (along with opposition from environmentalists) is the fact that most alternative energy sources are not economically viable these days.
There are two factors that appear to be improving this situation.
One is the rising price of gasoline. It still hasn't made most technologies into the cheaper alternative, but at least it's making hybrid cars more financially sound (I got 37 mpg during an 854 mile trip this last week in my conventional car, using about 23 gallons of gasoline, but with a hybrid I might have achieved 45 mpg, saving 4 gallons of gas or about 14 dollars, so I'd have to go on a lot of trips to have saved money on a hybrid). (Am I a freak for tracking this sort of stuff? No. My car keeps track of it for me, and I'm just a geek for getting into all the nifty gadgets in my car.)
The other is the proliferation of cell phones. This is driving the development of smaller, lighter, more efficient batteries, which in turn can help with the development of electric cars. (The economical geek in me would like an electric car to commute in, but I'm concerned that I've never seen any data on electrical energy costs to charge the car.)
Anyway, while the economy would certainly get a boost from viable alternative energy, it may be a while before the technology reaches that point.
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Zasch
Posts:134
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| 06/11/2007 1:14 AM |
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Anyway, while the economy would certainly get a boost from viable alternative energy, it may be a while before the technology reaches that point.
Oh sure. Right now the free market has little incentive to develop these technologies - but I'm very pro-technology, and I think that if the government were to give it a kick, the development of new technologies could have larger economic consequences apart from the mere change in energy source.
(Am I a freak for tracking this sort of stuff? No. My car keeps track of it for me, and I"m just a geek for getting into all the nifty gadgets in my car.)
What car do you drive? |
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Zasch
Posts:134
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| 06/11/2007 1:15 AM |
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Hmm, it seems I cannot edit my post:
Plus, technology itself has additional benefits, that I do not think it would be so bad for the government to put some incentive into place to spur the development of new technologies. |
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Fiery Darts
Posts:135
Senior User
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| 06/11/2007 6:20 AM |
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I'm fairly confident as well that technologies will be developed that will give us cleaner sources of power. Right now, there are some people who consider it a high enough priority to pursue it despite the financial disincentives, but it takes more market pressure to really drive these kinds of technologies towards the kind of ubiquity that they need in order to make any difference. That's what will take a while. The government could help with the development of technologies, but even then its power is somewhat limited unless developing cleaner power fell in line with some well-funded government program such as the military or NASA.
As for my car, it's a late model domestic that, like a lot of newer cars, gives me the cumulative fuel economy, average speed, miles to empty, and a few other neat facts (all of which I typically reset when I fill the tank). Typically my car gets about 30 mpg, but on my trip, it got over 40 mpg (we guess) during much of the time because I was traveling on highways (no stop-and-go) and either going 45 mph or downhill (or both). It was also cool enough that I only used my A/C for a short while. |
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