Then why are conservatives so against renewable sources and anything that helps to promote them (including cap and trade)? You don't get Mr. Fusion without trying and FUNDING something *new*.
They aren't, they've just been categorized that way. We just know that when some truly great technology comes around, it is usually because of some inventor in his basement, trying to either make a name for him/herself or find a way to retire early (although most, after succeeding, claim they did it for the people, as if they should be ashamed for trying to make a buck).
Cap and trade is nothing but a scheme for reallocation of money by gaming the system, with no appreciable impact (as has been shown in Europe). Energy companies know that fossil fuel energy costs continue to grow even without any government intervention. The fist one to finds something that, to the end consumer costs 50% less to go a mile, will win. IRAD monies drive this, and when companies struggle, IRAD budgets shrink.
Most of the argument against conservatives is that they see oil/coal/natural gas/nuclear as the *only* options available. You won't ever get the new technology if you don't spend money *now* to invest. Couple that with the fact that, at least for oil, we simply don't have anywhere near enough to even make a dent in our current needs.
Again, I don't see it like that, we've just been painted that way. My main issue is that we're (gov't) going to do something to our energy costs to cripple our economy (even more). Poor economies don't really lend themselves to technological development when everyone is just trying to stay afloat. And, I agree that it will take something big to replace hydrocarbons. More than likely, it will be more nuclear or (hopefully) fusion reactors (in 10-20 years) coupled with efficient energy storage (the lithium batteries in a prius carry about 10% of the energy that they'll need to, and cost way too much). But again, we've vilified nuclear energy as Chernobyl waiting to happen when it is in reality a very clean alternative to coal (save for waste disposal, which presents other issues but doesn't have to be a problem if stored properly - we will eventually find a way for conversion to something safer).
Now take into account that even if we have lots of natural gas, Cheney and company completely exempted those companies from having to disclose what it is they are actually pumping into the ground to push out the gas. We literally have no idea what they are pumping into the ground to break up the rock formations that are near peoples wells. Funny how cracked rock tends to allow stuff to seep through. The videos of flaming faucets are hard to assume as just a freak coincidence.
We know exactly what is in hydrofracking fluid. And, before any drilling company moved into our area, we were informed that it would be best if we had our water tested by a 3rd party (our choice). They do this not because they think something will happen, but because people's water supplies already have contaminants, and they don't want them coming with a pack of lawyers later on to blame them.
Look at the date on this publication: http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/XH0010.pdf
Conservatives have a long long history of supporting the big established companies and taking those companies word for it when they say its 'safe'. Are Democrats somewhat accountable on these issues? Sure, but one party has clearly been the leader in terms of saying the energy companies know best so just let them do what they want.
We can't put every business on the chopping block at the first cry of foul play. We should also be careful to differentiate between hype, hysteria, and the facts. And there is a difference between negligence and honest mistakes - these businesses stand to suffer a great deal for any of their mistakes. It just so
Ok, clearly none of you have done any research on this, you're just posting sensationalist comments hoping to get modded. So I won't waste my time arguing with idiots, lest I lower myself to your level.
And let's not forget the bigger picture. Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel available. Our local university and bus company perpetually brag about how out public transportation is driven by clean burning natural gas, yet, they fail to mention where it comes from. Pulling it from the ground is undoubtedly the most energy efficient way to obtain NG, rather than some processes for hydrocarbon conversion.
I don't think you'll find a conservative around who doesn't wish that there were cheap, environmentally friendly sources of high-density portable energy available. Until Mr. Fusion hits the big time, we'll have to make do with what we have.
People who live around natural gas wells are well compensated through royalties and lease agreements. Unlike some foreign nations where the natural resources belong to the government, ours still belong to the people (for now, at least). Nobody is forced to sign a gas/mineral lease.
"I strongly favor diversity of ownership of outlets and protection against the excessive concentration of power in the hands of any one corporation, interest or small group."
-- Sounds like he's in the works for something like the 'Equalization of Opportunity' bill that nearly killed Taggart Transcontinental and Rearden Steel when they were trying to build the John Galt Line.
What does this have anything to do with "News for Nerds?" It would be swell if Slashdot would be a bastion of apolitical discourse... Too much to hope for, it seems.
Send your timepieces into Cash4Watch dot com! We'll send you a prepaid envelope, carefully not able to disguise what valuables are inside. Then, once we receive your items (if we even decide to say we received them), we'll likely send you about 10 percent of the market value 6 to 8 weeks later!
Try it now! Our business relies on first-time, once-only customers!
..a real-time man-bear-pig tracking network formed by the immense fleet of Tesla vehicles. They expect to have the creature's location pinpointed by 2015. Did you really think Al Gore was involved because of the green initiative?
This is actually one thing that the Federal Government should be spending money on, as it does not fall to the powers and responsibilities of the states.
Around where I live, the volunteer fire company donation is also optional. They will always come to your house if you call 911 in need of help, however, if you didn't make the donation that year, you get charged at least four figures for their services. The donation is a bargain, and you'd be an idiot not to pay it. "South Fulton's mayor said that the fire department can't let homeowners pay the fee on the spot, because the only people who would pay would be those whose homes are on fire." It's almost like buying health insurance only when you get sick, how would the insurance (or fire) company survive?
I think Blu-Ray will get passed by. Sony's crybaby bitchy attitude killed the last HD optical possibility. Their format war postponed the inception of HD optical media too long, and prices have been steadily too high for movies ever since because they are trying to make up the costs of this war (you don't think it really costs that much more to make a Blu-Ray vs DVD?). Now, hopefully we will move to solid state media storage, such as Secure digital ROM or some variant, where the physical media size is much smaller and more robust. I still think people want to own physical media, just not in $25-$30 optical formats.
While I can see the merits of ethics training in employment (especially with matters of personal privacy), I don't believe it has any impact of whether a person will become a terrorist or not. It is only useful for people who already have morally sound foundations and are willing to absorb a little more info to improve their abilities (or cover their ass).
"If only Osama had taken that ethics course!"
It's called parenting, it's supposed to make kids not turn into total screw-ups. It's not the responsibility of a university to teach people morals; people don't pay for that.
I'd wager that those with political science and law degrees have caused more deaths than all of the engineering varieties.
Also, Hitler was an artist/writer. Now which field of study is responsible for the worst terror the world has ever seen?
Slashdot Mirror
I hereby appoint you winner of this internet argument.
Only the government can use eminent domain for land reallocation. Now, who wants more state-sponsored enterprises! :)
Then why are conservatives so against renewable sources and anything that helps to promote them (including cap and trade)? You don't get Mr. Fusion without trying and FUNDING something *new*.
They aren't, they've just been categorized that way. We just know that when some truly great technology comes around, it is usually because of some inventor in his basement, trying to either make a name for him/herself or find a way to retire early (although most, after succeeding, claim they did it for the people, as if they should be ashamed for trying to make a buck). Cap and trade is nothing but a scheme for reallocation of money by gaming the system, with no appreciable impact (as has been shown in Europe). Energy companies know that fossil fuel energy costs continue to grow even without any government intervention. The fist one to finds something that, to the end consumer costs 50% less to go a mile, will win. IRAD monies drive this, and when companies struggle, IRAD budgets shrink.
Most of the argument against conservatives is that they see oil/coal/natural gas/nuclear as the *only* options available. You won't ever get the new technology if you don't spend money *now* to invest. Couple that with the fact that, at least for oil, we simply don't have anywhere near enough to even make a dent in our current needs.
Again, I don't see it like that, we've just been painted that way. My main issue is that we're (gov't) going to do something to our energy costs to cripple our economy (even more). Poor economies don't really lend themselves to technological development when everyone is just trying to stay afloat. And, I agree that it will take something big to replace hydrocarbons. More than likely, it will be more nuclear or (hopefully) fusion reactors (in 10-20 years) coupled with efficient energy storage (the lithium batteries in a prius carry about 10% of the energy that they'll need to, and cost way too much). But again, we've vilified nuclear energy as Chernobyl waiting to happen when it is in reality a very clean alternative to coal (save for waste disposal, which presents other issues but doesn't have to be a problem if stored properly - we will eventually find a way for conversion to something safer).
Now take into account that even if we have lots of natural gas, Cheney and company completely exempted those companies from having to disclose what it is they are actually pumping into the ground to push out the gas. We literally have no idea what they are pumping into the ground to break up the rock formations that are near peoples wells. Funny how cracked rock tends to allow stuff to seep through. The videos of flaming faucets are hard to assume as just a freak coincidence.
We know exactly what is in hydrofracking fluid. And, before any drilling company moved into our area, we were informed that it would be best if we had our water tested by a 3rd party (our choice). They do this not because they think something will happen, but because people's water supplies already have contaminants, and they don't want them coming with a pack of lawyers later on to blame them. Look at the date on this publication: http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/XH0010.pdf
Conservatives have a long long history of supporting the big established companies and taking those companies word for it when they say its 'safe'. Are Democrats somewhat accountable on these issues? Sure, but one party has clearly been the leader in terms of saying the energy companies know best so just let them do what they want.
We can't put every business on the chopping block at the first cry of foul play. We should also be careful to differentiate between hype, hysteria, and the facts. And there is a difference between negligence and honest mistakes - these businesses stand to suffer a great deal for any of their mistakes. It just so
Ok, clearly none of you have done any research on this, you're just posting sensationalist comments hoping to get modded. So I won't waste my time arguing with idiots, lest I lower myself to your level.
And let's not forget the bigger picture. Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel available. Our local university and bus company perpetually brag about how out public transportation is driven by clean burning natural gas, yet, they fail to mention where it comes from. Pulling it from the ground is undoubtedly the most energy efficient way to obtain NG, rather than some processes for hydrocarbon conversion. I don't think you'll find a conservative around who doesn't wish that there were cheap, environmentally friendly sources of high-density portable energy available. Until Mr. Fusion hits the big time, we'll have to make do with what we have.
People who live around natural gas wells are well compensated through royalties and lease agreements. Unlike some foreign nations where the natural resources belong to the government, ours still belong to the people (for now, at least). Nobody is forced to sign a gas/mineral lease.
"I strongly favor diversity of ownership of outlets and protection against the excessive concentration of power in the hands of any one corporation, interest or small group." -- Sounds like he's in the works for something like the 'Equalization of Opportunity' bill that nearly killed Taggart Transcontinental and Rearden Steel when they were trying to build the John Galt Line.
What does this have anything to do with "News for Nerds?" It would be swell if Slashdot would be a bastion of apolitical discourse... Too much to hope for, it seems.
100 Million? That's a lot of Nigerian Bankers.
Twitter servers in Sacramento? One more reason to hope California falls into the ocean.
Send your timepieces into Cash4Watch dot com! We'll send you a prepaid envelope, carefully not able to disguise what valuables are inside. Then, once we receive your items (if we even decide to say we received them), we'll likely send you about 10 percent of the market value 6 to 8 weeks later! Try it now! Our business relies on first-time, once-only customers!
I bought my Omaega watch from Kazakhstan!
I feel like I'm in the shrinking trash compactor in Star Wars...
Whatever happened to "don't be evil?"
I will just glue my shift key down to make you mad.
That is pretty much how much they cost when buying from Amazon or iTunes. Seems perfectly reasonable to me.
..a real-time man-bear-pig tracking network formed by the immense fleet of Tesla vehicles. They expect to have the creature's location pinpointed by 2015. Did you really think Al Gore was involved because of the green initiative?
This is actually one thing that the Federal Government should be spending money on, as it does not fall to the powers and responsibilities of the states.
Or, who really needs an excuse to use the inflatable ramp to get out of a plane?
Around where I live, the volunteer fire company donation is also optional. They will always come to your house if you call 911 in need of help, however, if you didn't make the donation that year, you get charged at least four figures for their services. The donation is a bargain, and you'd be an idiot not to pay it. "South Fulton's mayor said that the fire department can't let homeowners pay the fee on the spot, because the only people who would pay would be those whose homes are on fire." It's almost like buying health insurance only when you get sick, how would the insurance (or fire) company survive?
I think Blu-Ray will get passed by. Sony's crybaby bitchy attitude killed the last HD optical possibility. Their format war postponed the inception of HD optical media too long, and prices have been steadily too high for movies ever since because they are trying to make up the costs of this war (you don't think it really costs that much more to make a Blu-Ray vs DVD?). Now, hopefully we will move to solid state media storage, such as Secure digital ROM or some variant, where the physical media size is much smaller and more robust. I still think people want to own physical media, just not in $25-$30 optical formats.
While I can see the merits of ethics training in employment (especially with matters of personal privacy), I don't believe it has any impact of whether a person will become a terrorist or not. It is only useful for people who already have morally sound foundations and are willing to absorb a little more info to improve their abilities (or cover their ass). "If only Osama had taken that ethics course!"
It's called parenting, it's supposed to make kids not turn into total screw-ups. It's not the responsibility of a university to teach people morals; people don't pay for that.
I'd wager that those with political science and law degrees have caused more deaths than all of the engineering varieties. Also, Hitler was an artist/writer. Now which field of study is responsible for the worst terror the world has ever seen?
You mean a business doesn't want itself legislated out of existence?