Re: CNN tanking as Fox News surges
From: max (kmbrown_at_sas.upenn.edu)
Date: 03/06/05
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Date: 6 Mar 2005 06:38:05 -0800
I appreciate your point on the energy issue. I would like to offer in
response what I think to be our real energy problem: how we generate
electricity. These hybrid cars you mention require electricity in
order to run or be re-charged, electricity that is generated by giant
turbines. These huge machines- sometimes as many as six or seven in a
row each about the size of two tractor trailers-consume coal and
petroleum products-ALL DAY, EVERYDAY-in manner that makes polution
created by automobiles seem like a veritable drop in an oil
tanker-sized bucket. There are thousands upon thousands of these
house-sized machines placed about our country.
If the Republicans and their crony capitalism have done anything
skillfully in terms of energy, it has been to encourage the American
public to believe that changing the way we drive will solve the bulk of
our oil problems. This lie masks the fact that our "public utilities"
here in the US are responsible for producing as much as 70% of the
total fossil fuel generated polution and C02 for entire planet.
But this oil problem is a two way street. In fact until we address the
wasteful consumption of electricity in this country in addition to the
the ways it is produced, we have no real hope of slowing down global
climate change let alone reversing it. Hybrid cars may dramatically
increase our energy consumption, but through electricity generation
rather than gasoline.
Electricity is essential to our standards of living. Think about less
TV, fewer computers and cell phones, no fax machines, no forced air
heating; the very internet itself will not function without a
consistent stream of electrons. This is the character of the daily
life of at least half the planet.
If you wish to make a tangible dent in our energy problem, then
conserve electricity. Put a few solar panels on your house to run your
hot water heater or to charge up that hybrid car for example,
SUPPLEMENTING AND LOWERING THE AMOUNT YOU USE FROM THE GRID. That is a
signal that Washington politicians and energy interests cannot ignore.
To my mind, when I see serious reworking of the way electricity is
produced and consumed in our country, then I will know that real change
in our oil policy is in the wind. It's up to us whether this is a
gradual change that can be absorbed by our economy or whether it is
brought about by a deep recession caused by $80 a barrel oil prices.
Max
The Republicans
> have proven to be little more than promoters of a form of
> crony-capitalism that seeks to protect established industries in
every
> way possible. They try to block and stiffle competition with
> government subsidies and favoritism at every turn. Hardly the
actions
> of promoters of a free-market.
>
> A great example is our energy situation. There are clearly
> alternatives to the current petroleum economy that we're now engaged
in
> a world war to protect. A war that subsidizes petroleum to the tune
of
> $100 Billions of dollars. In other words, the true costs of
petroleum
> is not reflected at the pump due to Republican meddling in our "free
> market". If it was, gasoline would be closer to $3.00 and
alternatives
> would be in a much better position in the not-so-free marketplace.
> If that isn't enough. There are competing technologies that could
> eliminate our need for foreign crude oil altogether. Newsweek, a
> mainstream publication, just did an article about the fact that the
> technology currently exists that could allow for one to travel 500
> miles on one gallon of gasoline. This would require nothing more
than
> a flexi-fuel vehicle (one that can burn petrol or biofuels like
> ethanol), combined with hybrid technology that is souped up with
bigger
> batteries which would allow a car to be plugged in and charged
> overnight. All these technologies are available in the real world.
> Combining them, we could easily create a car, a mid-size sedan that
> goes 500 miles on one gallon of gasoline. Why would we be persuing
> such an obviously superior technology that would essentially end our
> worries over oil? Could it be that our "leaders" really aren't
> interested in solving problems or putting American ingenuity to the
> test to use the latest technology for the overall good? Yes, that is
> the case. Our great, free-market Republicans are trying to protect
the
> two most profitable markets ever created, oil and arms dealing.
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