"That's because of the huge $2 Billion dollar federal government subsidy [citizen.org] from the enormous tax break...
There is no subsidy. Look up the word. It means "Monetary assistance granted by a government to a person or group in support of an enterprise regarded as being in the public interest." If you are TAKING less from someone in taxes, you are not giving them any grant or money.
Since when is letting someone keep their own money (and not forcibly taking it from them) a gift? A tax break can never be a subsidy.
"Who do you think lobbied for that tax break/subsidy? "
I wonder about the taxpayers. Perhaps they did: they benefit the most, as it robs them of less money.
"You're going to need an olympic-sized swimming pool and cooling pumps to store your nuke waste."
You think you are going to be the king of the world producing your crop of super-speedy scaled mutant Olympic swimmers for quite some time to come. But they will catch up with you. Someday, geiger counters will be part of the doping tests. They'll catch up with you and your little black lagoon full of Deep Ones....
"I don't think you can say that in the U.S. It's considered rude and feminine."
You can say it if you love unsafe flimsy cars that can hardly carry anything. However, you won't save the environment by driving one. Just as you will not destroy the environment driving that SUV you need.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the quintessential American: Loud, aggressive, and self-satisfied without any reason to be."
The parent described in (albeit angry) detail his need for his SUV. He was angry because some know-it-all decided to run his life for him and declare that he did not need his SUV. Sure, he was loud, but the parent who set him off was the self-satisfied aggressive one.
Those who buy SUV's do it out of their own need. You might not need one, I might not need one, but they do. Speak for yourself only when you say "and you don't" need an SUV.
"Even if battery powered cars were the wave of the future, they will merely shift vehicular pollution from gas fired engines to.... coal fired power plants"
What is wrong with that? Nothing. A lot is good with it. You have taken thousands (more?) of hard-to-control, hard-to-verify emission points and replaced them with one single emission point. It is a lot easier to control the toxic emissions at a single power plant than it is for thousands of cars.
"Yeah, but..." is typically the first two words in a very bad argument. I won't make one of those messages.
Your response, and the other one I looked at more closely, actually changed my mind on this. Well argued. Wish you weren't doing this as an AC, I'd mod you friend.
" bike in Paris, and I'm afraid I'm inflicting severe damage to my lungs"
Screaming loud insults in French at the careless drivers who try to run you off the street every 6 seconds can have cause cumulative damage.
For one, they haven't yet found anything safe to do with the waste. For another, there have been so many near catastrophic accidents. You don't have to evacuate a city when ANY pipe breaks for a coal plant. You did not mention this, but it has also been extremely expensive compared to everything else.
"2) Using oil/coal/gas, etc in ONE location makes it easier to clean- only ONE smokestack needs to be dealt with, instead of thousands of car exhausts all over the place."
"BS! Hummers only get 14mpg when idling downhill with a stiff wind blowing in their general direction:-P"
pshaw. I only drive my hummer downhill in neutral with the engine off. Even with the engine off, the thing still guzzles gas, however. No idea how they managed this one!
"Power plants may be more efficient than car engines."
And if they aren't? Upgrade them. There are so few of them to upgrade compared to all the car engines out there. The same applies to improving the pollution control at the emission point.
"As far as nuclear power goes, I wonder what's better, relying on oil or nuclear power?"
I'll tell you what. I'll set up two cabins. One will have a bucket of nuclear waste under the bed. The other will have a bucket coal dust and carbon under the bed. Which bed do you choose to sleep in?
"Don't be silly. Just because it's not using gas doesn't mean that it's not using oil, or some worse form of energy conversion (it's noookular). "
Or better. It is a definite improvement to replace thousands (millions) of smokestacks, one on every car, with just a few (the ones on the power plants).
Seeing all the PSP hype, with the screen that even looks great when someone holds it up to a camera on TV, I wonder if that will make a fantastic ebook reader.
"You just have to look at what the Bush administration and the EPA did to Mercury Emmision Regulations last month to see see that they are not dealing with it"
So? The same guys are just not dealing with emissions from all those cars out there either. But when someome decides to do something about it, it is a lot easier to fix a few smokestacks than it is to fix a nationwide fleet of cars. The point remains: limiting the noxious emissions to a just a few points makes it easier to deal with.
Interesting. I think you plagiarized this post I found on Slashdot's archives from 1985:
"Yes, they are leaving us behind. When shall we hear of Magnavoxes, Philcos, and Penncrests and other American companies making news as firsts in their respective fields? As our CEOs, CFOs and their cronies struggle with corruption allegations, the Japanese and Taiwanese are slowly dominating us. One can hardly find an American television now system now...next will be the audio system. We may fall just like the once great Romans did. Remember the Roman Empire?"
I do remember the Roman Empire, actually. I found quite a few messages on it digging in slashdot's archives from A.D. 214.
Slashdot Mirror
There is no subsidy. Look up the word. It means "Monetary assistance granted by a government to a person or group in support of an enterprise regarded as being in the public interest." If you are TAKING less from someone in taxes, you are not giving them any grant or money.
Since when is letting someone keep their own money (and not forcibly taking it from them) a gift? A tax break can never be a subsidy.
"Who do you think lobbied for that tax break/subsidy? "
I wonder about the taxpayers. Perhaps they did: they benefit the most, as it robs them of less money.
Tommy Chong? Is that what you call yourself now? Trippy, dude...
You think you are going to be the king of the world producing your crop of super-speedy scaled mutant Olympic swimmers for quite some time to come. But they will catch up with you. Someday, geiger counters will be part of the doping tests. They'll catch up with you and your little black lagoon full of Deep Ones....
You can say it if you love unsafe flimsy cars that can hardly carry anything. However, you won't save the environment by driving one. Just as you will not destroy the environment driving that SUV you need.
The parent described in (albeit angry) detail his need for his SUV. He was angry because some know-it-all decided to run his life for him and declare that he did not need his SUV. Sure, he was loud, but the parent who set him off was the self-satisfied aggressive one.
Those who buy SUV's do it out of their own need. You might not need one, I might not need one, but they do. Speak for yourself only when you say "and you don't" need an SUV.
What is wrong with that? Nothing. A lot is good with it. You have taken thousands (more?) of hard-to-control, hard-to-verify emission points and replaced them with one single emission point. It is a lot easier to control the toxic emissions at a single power plant than it is for thousands of cars.
"Yeah, but..." is typically the first two words in a very bad argument. I won't make one of those messages. Your response, and the other one I looked at more closely, actually changed my mind on this. Well argued. Wish you weren't doing this as an AC, I'd mod you friend.
I'd rather pay Dave when I installed ringtones on my cell phone than pay the cell company.
I mean, come on! Hamster wheels are weak enough as it is!
You mean we will still be making the Bush family rich with our energy needs?
" bike in Paris, and I'm afraid I'm inflicting severe damage to my lungs" Screaming loud insults in French at the careless drivers who try to run you off the street every 6 seconds can have cause cumulative damage.
For one, they haven't yet found anything safe to do with the waste. For another, there have been so many near catastrophic accidents. You don't have to evacuate a city when ANY pipe breaks for a coal plant. You did not mention this, but it has also been extremely expensive compared to everything else.
"2) Using oil/coal/gas, etc in ONE location makes it easier to clean- only ONE smokestack needs to be dealt with, instead of thousands of car exhausts all over the place."
You are right on this!
"Overlook Hospital? How obvious can you get?"
...except they really haven't found a safe place for it yet, so much of it just sits around.
pshaw. I only drive my hummer downhill in neutral with the engine off. Even with the engine off, the thing still guzzles gas, however. No idea how they managed this one!
Correction: "The NYT claims...". "Times" is in the name of a newspaper is NOT a plural.
Isn't this a little off-topic? What does where you go to buy fish have to do with it at all?
And if they aren't? Upgrade them. There are so few of them to upgrade compared to all the car engines out there. The same applies to improving the pollution control at the emission point.
I'll tell you what. I'll set up two cabins. One will have a bucket of nuclear waste under the bed. The other will have a bucket coal dust and carbon under the bed. Which bed do you choose to sleep in?
How much is a gallon of electricity going for these days?
Or better. It is a definite improvement to replace thousands (millions) of smokestacks, one on every car, with just a few (the ones on the power plants).
Seeing all the PSP hype, with the screen that even looks great when someone holds it up to a camera on TV, I wonder if that will make a fantastic ebook reader.
So? The same guys are just not dealing with emissions from all those cars out there either. But when someome decides to do something about it, it is a lot easier to fix a few smokestacks than it is to fix a nationwide fleet of cars. The point remains: limiting the noxious emissions to a just a few points makes it easier to deal with.
"Yes, they are leaving us behind. When shall we hear of Magnavoxes, Philcos, and Penncrests and other American companies making news as firsts in their respective fields? As our CEOs, CFOs and their cronies struggle with corruption allegations, the Japanese and Taiwanese are slowly dominating us. One can hardly find an American television now system now...next will be the audio system. We may fall just like the once great Romans did. Remember the Roman Empire?"
I do remember the Roman Empire, actually. I found quite a few messages on it digging in slashdot's archives from A.D. 214.