Apologies folks for getting back on topic. I know you love
veers, but I could not help myself...
I've always wondered why someone who can afford a 85,000 dollar car that can only go about 250 miles or so would need state and federal tax credits.
Well, an answer could be: because the "support" is not directed to the buyer, it is an
incentive [in a world where incentives are preponderant, because it's assumed that people (economic agents), respond to incentives], for the consumption of such technology. It could well be semantics or another point of view, but when someone with that amount of money is thinking about buying a new car, this kind of incentive could change his/her opinion and make him/her buy a car with new technology, which in turn could result in more
R&D in that particular industry.
The reality...the hard cold reality, is that alternative fuels are not feasible at this time. The batteries aren't good enough, wind farms kill more birds annually and most likely will devastate raptor populations, especially if they continue to grow in numbers, wind farms are ugly, instrusive, solar works only on the fringes, wind/solar farms work in remote areas if they can get environmental approval for construction much less approval for construction of transmission systems, nuclear isn't an option, and the beat goes on.
Not sure, about solar energy. At least in
Chile the private investment is growing constantly and at the same time technology is improving. One problem, nonetheless is, as always, how clean is the production of the panels and how you treat them when you have to change them. And batteries, of course, another point.
FNG said:
The hard cold reality is that we need bridge fuels that get us from the current technology to a technological state that will actually support our power needs. Why is there such resistance from certain groups about the expansion of natural gas production and usage? It's much cleaner, we have so much that it will take centuries to use, and can provide the power we need now to meet our power needs until the technology matures enough to actually be able to take it's place.
I agree with you. However as Sandy and Al already mentioned, I like to hear that someone doing something. Why not impulse the parallel development of this technology while the use of natural gas becomes the standard?
FNG said:
I hear all the time about how we need more manufacturing jobs, and then from the same mouths how the technological improvements in the production of a bridge fuel like natural gas are the end of mankind. Then are strangely silent when the government issues kill permits for bald eagles to wind farms.
Politicians: that is the problem. And we could question: why people elect them?
Just my 0,001 cents.
All the best,
B.