We need to shift off of fossil fuels anyway for strategic, economic, environmental, and geopolitical reasons:
- De-funding terrorist petrostates
- Neutering the Big Oil lobby
- Removing the possibility of OPEC style embargo politics
- Creation of a native energy industry increases GDP and keeps the money in-country
- Expanding biofuel use eliminates the need to subsidize farms and farmers
- Co2 from biofuel was in the air months prior, so no net CO2 gain.
- Clean Coal tech such as emissions scrubbing and carbon sequestering has gotten to the point where it is viable as a greenish energy source, and the US has coal coming out its.. seams.
- Nuclear has gotten a lot safer.
Slowing/eliminating human inputs to climate change is just the cherry on the un-fossil sundae.
If by 'ally' you mean 'pusher', then yes.
The western world is still dependent upon oil, and will be for the forseeable future _even if_ massive alt energy efforts are successfully and immediately undertaken, as such things take time to propagate through the economy and culture.
Til then industrialized nations are, to varying degrees, oil junkies, with all the disadvantages that entails and the same pusher/addict dynamic between themselves and Saudi Arabia, Russia, etc.
Given the current drum beat to war (nearly identical to the one for Iraq -deja-vu!), a development like this that appears to threaten everyones interests, if it pans out as real, could not only increase the likelihood of going to war in the first place, but that it might concievably be done as part of a coalition of nations this time instead of unilaterally.
If this were to happen to the degree of coalition response seen in GulfWar I it might actually be successful.
Of course, the US (dunno about Britain) is already stretched so thin financially and militarily that they couldn't pull it off without a draft and switch to full war economy, so maybe not.
Demonstrate 'snotty wanna-be know-it-all Libertarian' for me.
To clarify, I have respect for and empathy with many pieces of the Libertarian philosophy. But this replier, and now you, demonstrate to varying degrees all that is wrong with it. Libertarianism, like any other extreme Ism such as Communism, 'looks great on paper', but doesn't fly in the real world.
The government is not your friend, no, but neither is it your enemy.
Um. No. Air America went into bankruptcy, not the same as failure/extinction. Wishful thinking? And this was primarily because of conservative boycotts on any station that dared to air their content.
Additionally, Mitt Romney now owns a majority stake in Clear Channel, which owns most of the radio in the US. I guarantee you that has effects: liberal-as-anywhere Madison WI recently had to fight to keep its _top rated_ progressive talk station when Clear Channel decided arbitrarily to drop it for Fox Sports.
Slashdot Mirror
We need to shift off of fossil fuels anyway for strategic, economic, environmental, and geopolitical reasons: - De-funding terrorist petrostates - Neutering the Big Oil lobby - Removing the possibility of OPEC style embargo politics - Creation of a native energy industry increases GDP and keeps the money in-country - Expanding biofuel use eliminates the need to subsidize farms and farmers - Co2 from biofuel was in the air months prior, so no net CO2 gain. - Clean Coal tech such as emissions scrubbing and carbon sequestering has gotten to the point where it is viable as a greenish energy source, and the US has coal coming out its.. seams. - Nuclear has gotten a lot safer. Slowing/eliminating human inputs to climate change is just the cherry on the un-fossil sundae.
Mod Parent Up! This deserves a five.
Mod this up!
If by 'ally' you mean 'pusher', then yes. The western world is still dependent upon oil, and will be for the forseeable future _even if_ massive alt energy efforts are successfully and immediately undertaken, as such things take time to propagate through the economy and culture. Til then industrialized nations are, to varying degrees, oil junkies, with all the disadvantages that entails and the same pusher/addict dynamic between themselves and Saudi Arabia, Russia, etc.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/stoneage/clovis.html
Given the current drum beat to war (nearly identical to the one for Iraq -deja-vu!), a development like this that appears to threaten everyones interests, if it pans out as real, could not only increase the likelihood of going to war in the first place, but that it might concievably be done as part of a coalition of nations this time instead of unilaterally. If this were to happen to the degree of coalition response seen in GulfWar I it might actually be successful. Of course, the US (dunno about Britain) is already stretched so thin financially and militarily that they couldn't pull it off without a draft and switch to full war economy, so maybe not.
"Unable to back up his half baked assertions, HILJ resorted to vaguely insulting ramblings. Back to you, Kent"
What does that even mean? Swimming lost in your own metaphors. I said my peace. Rebut or spare me the bullshit.
Demonstrate 'snotty wanna-be know-it-all Libertarian' for me.
To clarify, I have respect for and empathy with many pieces of the Libertarian philosophy.
But this replier, and now you, demonstrate to varying degrees all that is wrong with it.
Libertarianism, like any other extreme Ism such as Communism, 'looks great on paper', but doesn't fly in the real world.
The government is not your friend, no, but neither is it your enemy.
'zomg-free-markets-demand-zero-regulatio-democracy -is-a-sham-governments-only-exist-to-tyranize-thei r-populace-we-need-to-switch-to-pure-contract-law- nownownow!!1!'
Feh.
Why cant they have a gigantic buffer battery onsite at the fueling station that can trickle or suck from the grid as needed?
You're quite a tapdancer, wigglin' around those issues without touchin' em. Hoo! Next time try backing it up with facts.
Um. No. Air America went into bankruptcy, not the same as failure/extinction. Wishful thinking? And this was primarily because of conservative boycotts on any station that dared to air their content. Additionally, Mitt Romney now owns a majority stake in Clear Channel, which owns most of the radio in the US. I guarantee you that has effects: liberal-as-anywhere Madison WI recently had to fight to keep its _top rated_ progressive talk station when Clear Channel decided arbitrarily to drop it for Fox Sports.