From: Adrian Tymes (wingcat@pacbell.net)
Date: Tue Aug 26 2003 - 00:12:36 MDT
--- Spike <spike66@comcast.net> wrote:
> Of course, as prices go up, economically viable
> sources
> magically appear. I grow so very weary of the
> nattering
> nabobs of negativity. A hydrocarbon shortage
> would not stop economic growth, it would stimulate
> it.
> In the U.S. and much of Europe, manufacturing is
> outsourced to cheaper places, and now we are
> outsourcing
> software as quickly as we can write specifications.
Which reminds me of another point. Synthetic oil is,
what, less than ten times as expensive as the real
thing? Even if all the natural oil were to go
away...
Yeah, true, oil would then become a "secondary energy
medium" like hydrogen. But some of the oil
manufacturing processes do involve primary capture of
energy, using natural solar technology
(photosynthesis); therefore, this would essentially be
a spur to wider-spread deployment of solar.
> If we had an industry which creates wealth and
> cannot
> be outsourced, such as blanketing the west with
> solar cells, windmills and the infrastructure to
> distribute all that free clean power, the economy
> would be stimulated to the verge of orgasm.
Probably easier to start by blanketing the cities,
western or otherwise. Not as much need for
infrastructure until you've tapped out that vein.
Though, keep in mind that the actual blanketing can be
outsourced: cells can be manufactured overseas and
installed by imported labor. But once it's
installed...
> To state that wind power cannot replace hydrocarbon
> burning is simply absurd. We really can do it all
> with
> renewables: wind, water and sun. Sure it would
> require
> a lot of costly infrastructure, but that is the
> beauty
> of capitalism: it gets things done. Right now, so
> much
> of our capital is idle, doing nothing but bidding up
> the prices of each other's homes to absurd levels,
> such
> as those seen in the Sillyclone Valley. Let's cut
> that
> nonsense and build something!
I resemble that remark. You don't happen to be
running for governor, do you? ^_^;
(I wonder if someone will seriously suggest this to
one of the leading candidates. Fund it by tax credits
towards the installation of solar: most of the money
would come out of the energy companies' pockets, in
the form of lowered utility bills if nothing else,
and/or out of those we'd export solar cells to.)
> The only thing holding this
> world back is that there is still way too much
> oil, coal and gas in the ground that needs to
> be burned up.
Too much *cheaply accessible* oil, coal, and gas, thus
driving the cost of energy down. But, yeah. (Irony:
I was just discussing with a friend his fictional
alt-verse where the Tesla Generator actually worked,
producing essentially unlimited super-cheap
electricity starting just before 1900.)
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