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... I don't sit around hanging my head and gnashing my teeth over the absolute certainty that the consumer will get screwed, always and forever, no matter what kind of faux solution to foreign fossil fuels addiction T. Boone or anybody else comes up with?
That the outcome is preordained by the very nature of this zero-sum bullshit perversion of capitalism that's been shoved down our throats?
Or the fact that T. Boone is a profit-driven predator by nature and will always make sure that his needs are taken care of first? Not that he's a two-dimensional cardboard cutout like, say, McPain. He's a complex guy. But don't misinterpret his priorities.
This is a guy who helped invent the entire pathological leveraged buyout, junk bond, corporate raider and "greenmail" culture that codified and perfected many of the strategies and tactics Wall St. has used to transfer money upward from the lower 98 percent into the pockets of the ruling class.
He first gained notoriety for buying and breaking up companies, assigning customers to his other holdings, selling off everything that wasn't welded directly to the frame, and then firing everybody who wasn't either hooked into the power structure or adept at playing the corporate suck-up game.
It's logical to argue that the source of funding is irrelevant as long as defined objectives are met. But motivation does matter, imo. I'd rather trust a guy who funds massive sustainable energy projects because fossil fuel consumption is killing live on earth.
Somebody who's seriously afraid his kids and grandkids will inherit a toxic, sweltering, ugly world where natural disasters and endless war are the only sure things, rather than the beautiful planet he remembers back when he was a kid.
He'll have a personal interest in sustainable energy technologies. He'll demand the highest quality in design, materials and construction methods. And he'll spend what it takes to maintain the mechanical, chemical and electronic systems at peak operating efficiency for the projected life span of the equipment.
In contrast, a profiteer without an emotional investment in the project is going to get things done as quickly and cheaply as possible, then sell off his financial interest as soon as possible for some obscene capital gain.
Ownership transfers to some gluttonous conglomerate with no interest whatsoever in promoting sustainability or preventing planetary collapse. It's only interested in improving its profit margins and will serve that objective by jacking up kilowatt hour rates beyond normal pain points, staging phony power outages to justify even more rate increases and eliminating the expense of required maintenance. Then the greedy bastards will watch contentedly as the whole thing grinds to a halt. That's because, with metal prices hitting the roof at commodities exchanges worldwide, they stand to make another fortune by off the scrap metal.
So if T. Boone has a plan or system that removes the rationale behind these constant wars of imperialist resource-grabbing throughout the Middle East, wonderful. If it also helps stave off global ecocide cause by rapid and severe climate change, so much the better.
However, if all it does is put a few billion more into T. Boone's offshore accounts, he'll take it and tough shit for everybody else and their high-minded agenda. Altruism isn't part of his makeup. Vegetarianism isn't part of the makeup of a great white shark, either. You can't blame either of them just for being what they are.
So I'm part of the problem, eh? You better get straight on what the problem actually is first, and it doesn't have anything to do with windmills and active vs. passive solar and declining global albido and battery technologies and power delivery infrastructures. It has everything to do with a national culture encourages greedy predators to dictate the rules of the game.
I don't think systemic problems are ever fixed by the very people who created them. And I don't think you can ever trust sharks -- of any species -- to renounce their natures and devote the rest of their lives to social justice and respect for all living creatures.
wp
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