I mean coal and oil dont grow on trees and whether they cause global warming (different from local warming) or not they still cause other bad things like acid rain and smog. So isnt cleaner technology a good thing regardless?
Anonymous
I'd buy an electric truck just to help put those sand rats in Midwest out of business.
?
It all depends. Being frugal is always a good thing. However, at what lengths will we go through to reduce consumption? Take, for instance, the Brits reduced heating fuel consumption by raising prices and taxes and it resulted in over 2000 deaths in one year. The suppliers were happy since they made their profit. And the funeral homes were happy, they made their profit. The Government was happy, they increased taxes. But a lot of people were miserable. Those that survived were extremely uncomfortable and sick. Those that didn't make it, well, you know. I'm sure those who made such laws and rules never went cold.
This is only one case. There are many more like this one. This conservation always hurts the little guy and never those who are making the policies.
As for your acid rain, they had acid rain in Christ's time. Are you going to blame that on petroleum? Come on, get your facts straight.
As far as 'don't grow on trees' is concerned. Wrong! Petroleum is dead trees and such that nature has processed into condensed energy. Let us say that you had a fifteen-gallon tank of gasoline. It is roughly 2 cubic feet. How far can you go on that 2 cubic feet? Let us say that you had a gas guzzler. It would only go 100 miles out of that 2 cubic feet. Now chop down a tree and take two cubic feet of wood. How far down the road can you get with that? So what is wrong with letting nature assist us in making us energy efficient? Now let us take that tree and produce alcohol, you would only get about 60 miles out of that same 2 cubic feet. And what about the energy it takes to produce that alcohol? You have to subtract that from the 60 miles.
So your analogy is great for the logic of third graders, but when you really think about it, it really doesn't make sense.
There are ways to conserve energy that won't hurt you and me. For instance, why take a jet halfway around the world to have a conference on energy conservation? Does that make sense? How about making roads and traffic more efficient? A car that is idling produces about thirty times more pollution than a car that is going down the road.
I'm all for making traffic more efficient. I'm all for reducing needless consumption of energy. However, conserve it where it benefits mankind in general. It can be done.
Anonymous
CLIMATE CHANGE IS A HOAX .
?
Your question seems to imply that we just extract fossil fuels willy nilly and burn them without purpose. Since it costs money to keep my house cool, I only cool it moderately. I choose to "cut down" on fossil fuel use. Having political zealots trying to control my use isn't a good idea. It may be a good idea for Cuban's or North Koreans that don't give a ratsass about their citizens but it is a horrible idea for a free society. The point is, we already cut down the use.
Jocelyne
I agree. So much wrong is perpetrated for the sake of profit at the expense of everything else. Technology is not the answer.
Humanity is on the brink of destruction. The hate and the us vs them will be the end of society as we know it. We are headed towards a nuclear war that will affect us all.
We need to change our priorities: curb the competition and embrace cooperation, stop the unsustainable consumer lifestyle we are being convinced we need and choose people instead of things.
It truly starts with each one of us. We can change our negative attitudes and try to make sense of our rude neighbour's behaviour. Am I doing something to offend him or does he have issues at home? Am I being good to my spouse or only thinking of myself?
It seems too simplistic an answer to the world's problems, but if you think through the domino effect of negative, selfish behaviour, it will lead you to unfair laws and lobbyists who push for decisions/laws that screw the consumer so their company can make bigger profits.
Starting a new, positive wave is hard when you are unhappy or discriminated against or been wronged...I get that.
But who else if not you?