Did we learn nothing from the 70s?

[skids]

A nice editorial from a small-town paper. Sometimes we get wrapped up in the specifics, and forget the need to ponder the overall philosphy.

We should undertake what Jimmy Carter ironically called the "moral equivalent of war" and insist on dramatically improved technology in cars, appliances, homes, industry and utilities, to stabilize fuel consumption in this country. Give every consumer tax credits for installing insulation and buying more efficient appliances and economical cars.

...

As one energy expert and former Department of Energy official has said, "If we behave like oil will be cheap (and don't conserve), oil will inevitably become expensive. If we behave like oil will become expensive, it will be more likely to stay affordable."

http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050925/REPOSITORY/509250342/1028/OPINION02

[phantom power]

1. America heard what Carter had to say... and voted for Reagan.

That says everything you need to know about our "overall philosophy" since 1980. Style over substance, comforting stories over reality.

[rosesaylavee]

2. Nope. Didn't learn. And if history has a lesson from all this

we won't learn from history either... give us 5-10 years and we will collectively forget about the * Administration's current changes of our civil liberties and overall economic stability.

**Sigh**

[HereSince1628]

3. No

Beginning with the Presidency of his Saintlyness Ronald Reagan every attempt has been made to undo meaningful energy and energy related policy.

[edbermac]

4. I learned only one thing from the 70's...

DISCO SUCKS!!

[TheFarseer]

5. People just trash Carter for the gas lines

eventhough I have been told the gas lines actually occurred under Nixon and ONLY under Nixon! That's how politics goes: people like the guy who says do whatever you want, it will all be OK. They hate the guy that says "save some for tomorrow"

That's why we have to create tax incentives and dis-incentives to buy more efficient cars etc. It's still a free country but we are going to tax your balls off if you buy that Hummer.

We also need the "Manhattan Project" for energy. Funny we can do that to build a weapon that can obliterate Japan but not to invent something that will benefit all of mankind for generations to come.

[dcfirefighter]

6. We did, it's called nuclear fusion

but everyone's scared of that

[jpak]

7. If we wait around for nuclear fusion - we will all freeze-to-death

in the dark.

On the other hand, we access have fusion energy every day at sunrise....

:evilgrin:

[TheFarseer]

8. I meant more for something to replace oil

unless you want to drive a nuclear car around.

[dcfirefighter]

self delete duplicate post

[dcfirefighter]

9. There are 'wired' alternatives to driving a nuclear car

such as heavy rail metro, light rail, trams, personal rapid transit
there are also less oil intensive transport uses: diesel locomotives v diesel trucks, buses & carpooling v. single rider trips, less driving v. multiple car trips per day.

There is no easy fix that lets us keep living exactly as we have.

What is the annual capacity (in kw-h) of new solar power produced every year? What is the demand? How long, at this rate, or even 10 times this rate, until we can replace existing energy sources?

What's the annual capacity in kw-h of new nuclear power produced every year?

United states demand 320,000 MW total power
Wind power capacity 3800MWe, + 1600 MWe a year
Solar power capacity 84MWe, + 20 MWe a year
nuclear power PRODUCTION 90,000 MWe + 830 MWe a year, roughly double that for total energy
200 years until wind power CAPACITY meets total energy demands
16,000 years until solar power CAPACITY meets total energy demands
84 years until total nuclear PRODUCTION meets total energy demands.

[ramapo]

10. Not a thing

As Yogi Berra said, this is deja vu all over again.

Politicians, officials, and citizens come up with ideas and pronouncements like today's energy problems are something new and unexpected.

The United States took the route to fantasyland in 1980. Look at trickle-down economics. Spend more, earn less equals an economic fantasy that resulted in a nation deep in debt.

Whatever lessons were learned in the '70s were quickly discarded and whatever vistigal remains were thoroughly trashed in the '90s.

If it wasn;t so sad it would be funny.

What really gets me are the 25 years that have been pissed away during which we might've constructed an efficient transportation infrastructure.

Instead we perfected the art of sending good jobs offshore and celebrated the fact that we THINK there are no consequence to our actions (or lack of).