Current Events — HabitableZone

Current Events » in reply to Too cheap to meter.

Re: Too cheap to meter.
TB — (archived)

Almost every energy industry has its share of people anxious to "suckle at the public funding teat." Most alternative energy companies would have a hard time getting by without government subsidies and tax breaks. The fossil fuel industry has its own set of special deals with the government. Ethanol's government/industry circle jerk is legendary.

Every subsidy in every field has some company making money off it. We have solar millionaires out here. If you set all your policies based on the mortal fear that some bastard somewhere might get rich off it, the only result is going to be universal poverty.

The fact is that our planet will need one hell of a lot of energy as everyone works their way up to our living standards. Those who say that the right thing to do is destroy our own living standards deserve no serious response. Barring some out-of-the-blue fusion or powersat solution, we have basically fossil fuels and nuclear that can deliver the massive quantities needed, although alternatives can fill in a lot of local gaps. The way forward is some form of "all of the above."

And yes, the environmental movement gets a lot of blame for where we are now, being opposed to almost ANY form of power generation large enough to actually create useful power, including hydro, solar farms, and wind farms.

Anyone who thinks that a government-run energy policy is going to automatically be any more "rational" or less "greedy" than a private one is dreaming. It should be noted that Chernobyl was a government program.

Log in or register to post.

The whole thread (39 posts)

Related discussions