If We Spent $300 bil on Alternative Energy Instead of Iraq....

[Blackhatjack]

...where would we be today? Would we need oil from the Middle East? Would we be rich beyond imagination as a result of new patentable technological advances that came out of this scientific campaign?(just like the space program in the '60s).

Would we have troops in the Middle East? and would we be under attack for occupying Middle East territory?

What would the political power of Oil/Energy Companies be like today?

How much cleaner would our environment be today? Would we be well on our way to dealing with global warming?

Just wondering why we did not see this as an acceptable alternative to war in Iraq.

[tridim]

1. Certainly that money would be stimulating our economy in many ways

instead of stimulating Halliburton CEO and DICK Cheney's offshore bank accounts.

It's just obscene.

[skids]

2. We'd still be burning some fossil fuels... BUT...

$300 billion would not fully cover our energy needs via alternative sources.

However, it would have added huge numbers of good jobs to the economy, and by now we would have a lot of export markets for American made clean energy products.

In other words, it would have saved our economy, which is currently doomed (this is obvious, if you have a brain enough to look beyond the over-speculated markets) and would have put us on the right path towards becoming carbon neutral, as well as cleaning up our mercury contamination problem and a lot of other environental disasters caused by the fossil fuel industry.

[bluerum]

3. I don't think that fossil fuels will ever be eliminated.

I think that regional alternatives will develop in the geographic regions where they are economically favorable. Solar in the sunny mid lattitudes, wind in the windy areas, geo-thermal where that source is available, methanol in the farmlands etc.

We will be an energy diverse and rich country and world. We have not got much of choice do we?

[Blackhatjack]

5. They will once the cost to extract, refine and deliver them is high enough

...it won't happen in our lifetime, but you have to have a longrange view.

The benefits of converting to non-oil alternatives early would be tremendous.
Otherwise, we will continue to spend trillions on the technology that will eventually bankrupt us and leave us with no alternative to turn to.

[Blackhatjack]

4. Well Combine $300 bil with Changes that Cost Nothing to Implement...

...For example, immediately raise the fuel economy standards --that would save a lot of oil now being imported.

Follow the lead of India, and mandate that all public buildings be converted to CFR lighting(fluorescent) and all heating be be converted solar generated(or at least supplemented).

Impose surcharges on businesses and companies that do not adopt energy efficient measures.

Provide incentives for carpooling, using mass transit.

Provide interest free loans to upgrade inefficient heating and cooling of homes and buildings to new efficiency standards.

The list could go on and on....

AS you reduce the need for imported oil, the domestic oil production relieves us from being under the thumb of OPEC and foreign oil interests. Then work on reducing the need for domestic oil ....

[Bigmack]

6. I've got the horrible feeling...

that if Dumbya had spent the money on Alternative Energy, he would have fucked that up, too.

His cronies would milk the system and generally screw the pooch.

This guy could fuck up a Jello sandwich!

[orwell]

7. His cronies love...

...his "fuck ups." They are raking it in.

Maybe he is more "successful" than we think.

[Parche]

8. jello sandwich

That would make Bill Cosby really mad.................