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By BobInnes (registered) - website | Posted July 13, 2010 at 18:46:22
Kiely, thanks for clarifying. Words in your mouth was only how i understood you- now i'm clear - and in agreement that people are both cause and cure. Glad you're not in favour of culling (or presumably its cousin, euthanasia).
My response is yes to both. As Anatoli says
although the diesel-natgas example he gave was substitution, not saving. But if you think technology can gives us more than 20-30%, to be quickly swallowed up by China growth, etc. you'd better give us an example to chew on that's better than your electric car/solar panel example, which may be ok in xx years, but horrendously expensive unless you live in Arizona or get a big fat subsidy from maybe me.
As for people recognizing/ adopting technology, it depends. People are quick to go gaga over 'sexy' developments like subsidized solar but they/ we certainly eschew any serious 'backsliding' as suggested by Undustrial and WRCU2. Does anybody in Hamilton conserve water, except for a few diehard rain barrel types? Anybody care to post their average consumption?
So its back to people, which is to say, political solutions, where you correctly identify de-suburbanization as a real and viable cure of enormous magnitude. Will people embrace it? Given the state of the stadium debate, I'm pessimistic - which is not the same as nihilistic. Until energy prices seriously rise that is, after which, everything will change of its own accord. But as Anatoli senses, we will be a lot worse off too. We(at least many of us) will perforce be adopting WRCU2's and Undustrial's solution - an enforced smaller footprint. That would also not be nihilistic, indeed some even see it as idealistic. It will just happen as folks grapple with their alternatives.
We are in a tight spot. What do i think we should do? We should act before the storm hits but this action must respect our democracy and freedom too. We cannot have elites dictating draconian penalties onto ordinary people that the elites are able to evade via tax writeoffs. Technology by all means, encouraged but not forced by distorting subsidies. We could start by stopping all subsidies & military intervention, such as those to energy projects as I'm sure our board libertarian, A Smith would suggest. We should ignore/eschew foreign treaties and just get our own house in order. Energy taxes, even carbon taxes, probably, to emulate future conditions, something like a stress test. Reduce other taxes accordingly. Given our existing debt load, we must downsize gummerment asap ie. re-balance the public and private sector. We must trim corporate malfeasance and overbearing ways. Locally, we should change codes to allow/ encourage densification - but this is a huge fight against selfish nimbys. Without MacKillop's articles to force folks to confront our less energetic future, it can only be accomplished after the fact when destitute people will have to force codes to accomodate whoever is accomodating them.
Comment edited by BobInnes on 2010-07-13 17:47:33
Frogs, the pot is getting warm.
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