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Author Topic: gass prices  (Read 701 times)

Erik K

Re: gass prices
« Reply #20 on: May 25, 2008, 03:23:54 pm »
Darkstorm, I like the ideas, ever consider moving to the States and running for congress??
 

darkstorme

Re: gass prices
« Reply #21 on: May 25, 2008, 03:35:02 pm »
I don't have the CHA score to be a career politician, I'm afraid.  Also, don't you have to be a naturalized US citizen to run for Congress?

Oh, and in consideration, I'd qualify my above statement - I'd be fine with a limited "food stamps"-esque program to help the lower-income families, in an attempt to keep the money from going to gasoline.  It probably would go there regardless, but some effort in that respect would have to be made to satisfy the moral imperative.

The other problem, of course, is that while intelligent people (of which most of Layonara's player population is comprised) would recognize the sense in programs like the one I outlined above, a surprisingly large fraction of the voting public is okay with such programs as long as:
[list=a]
  • it costs them nothing, and
  • they don't have to do anything or change their lifestyle


Which just isn't a practical reality at this point in time.  *sighs*  But write your congressperson with thoughts like these, by all means - I've written my MP along similar lines.  If enough of us do it, we can climb out of the hole we've dug before it's too far above our heads. :)
 

Marswipp

Re: gass prices
« Reply #22 on: May 26, 2008, 11:32:41 am »
The problem is that the collapse is imminent. Besides, the plans will take more than four years to implement.
Playing D&D 3.5e, D&D 5e, Pathfinder, and exploring Starfinder through a VTT
 

darkstorme

Re: gass prices
« Reply #23 on: May 26, 2008, 01:56:06 pm »
Quote from: Marswipp
The problem is that the collapse is imminent. Besides, the plans will take more than four years to implement.


And so... what, we give up?  Wait for the end to come, sitting complacent in the knowledge that we can't do anything to stop it?  What good does that do?  If you have a plan of action that could be implemented faster, by all means, be forthcoming - but being a fatalist has never profited anyone.

If you're referring to presidential, congressional, or (insert local government adjective of choice) terms of office - well, the key is to get enough inertia behind a project.  If you can get it to the point where it would be more trouble to stop than it would be to finish, it behooves whichever government takes the place of the former one to continue on the path.  CSP plants as described above  take no more than three years from groundbreaking to operational status - comparable (or faster) than conventional coal-fired plants, and much faster than suggested (but as-yet theoretical) "carbon capture" coal plants.  (And let's not even get into nuclear construction time.)

Infrastructure projects also add jobs (LOTS of jobs) to the economy, and there are few governments of any stripe who will willingly sacrifice jobs just to undo what the previous government has done.

If you're referring to "time until society collapses, oil vanishes, and we all die" - I must respectfully disagree.  There will be hardships in the future, both immediate and more far-reaching.  Oil prices don't look to be going down anytime soon, and demand is likely to rise a bit further before the first evidence of demand destruction is seen.  But if any organization in a nation has access to resources that the average citizen does not, it's the government.  The means to implement such a plan will stay well within the abilities of the government for several decades, at the most pessimistic.  However, I would agree that for best effect, plans such as these should be put into action as soon as possible, and on the widest possible basis.  But "we're doomed" is not a constructive comment.

There are lots of approaches that could be enacted immediately: the cessation of oil company subsidies, the termination of the "once-through" nuclear fuel policy, tougher milage standards (something approaching Europe's performance, say), federal subsidies for personal-level renewables and conservationist policies, and so on, and so forth.  The plan I outlined above is just a more sweeping (and more final) solution to the problem.

As a closing note, I'd like to again stress that if you see fit to criticize, offer either an explanation or an alternative suggestion, lest you find yourself fitting the Irish poet Brendan Behan's description of critics too neatly:
Quote

“Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how it's done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves.”
 

Marswipp

Re: gass prices
« Reply #24 on: May 28, 2008, 10:02:27 am »
I'm no critic; I'm all for trying to improve the economy. I'm only stating facts, which may or may not need supporting facts--Specifically within the Unites States wherein the majority of the citizens would rather wait, as "We aren't effected (yet)."
Playing D&D 3.5e, D&D 5e, Pathfinder, and exploring Starfinder through a VTT
 

AeonBlues

Re: gass prices
« Reply #25 on: May 29, 2008, 04:02:02 pm »
On a brighter note.  Polar ice has melted significantly enough to open up new oil reserves.

Aeon
 

Nehetsrev

Re: gass prices
« Reply #26 on: May 30, 2008, 12:08:51 am »
On another bright note, I saw a news article on PBS as part of the News Hour with Jim Lehrer today about an alternative way of producing fuel from algee that yields a fuel that is extremely similar to the currently used fossil-fuel oil.  Interesting facts about this developing technology is that it would likely cost half as much to produce as drilling for oil currently costs, it's renewable, and exhaust emissions when the fuel is burned emit an almost equal ammount of CO2 as what is drawn from the air as the algee-fuel is being grown.  Meaning the emmisions from the new algee fuel would not impact the environment negatively (or at least not as badly as current fossil-fuel does).  The developers of this new fuel already even have vehicles running off it.

The same news article also talked about the solar-thermal energy plants as described in posts above, and currently some of those are being built in Nevada for a power company based in California.  If I remember accurately those new facilities should be online and producing power by 2010 from what the news article mentioned.
 

Eight-Bit

Re: gass prices
« Reply #27 on: May 30, 2008, 09:48:04 am »
The oil companies have been vomiting money all over themselves for decades as they gorge on the blood of the modern motorist.

Anyone ever watch Future Car on the science channel? That fact that it is possible to run a car on water is still blowing my mind to this day.
 

 

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