A Clean Future equals a Cheaper Future
It comes as no surprise to me to see time and time again examples of human stupidity. I’m not the sunniest of people on my best day, and when all around me the world is going to hell in a handbasket for a veritable multitude of reasons, one can only get depressed, or rise above it and become as arrogant as me.
This most recent spate of reviling the human race was sparked by an opinion piece by Elizabeth R. Sawin from the Sustainability Institute. Her title was enough to make me smile: “$4.00 per Gallon Gasoline and Climate Change Both Call for the Same Solution: Collective Investment in Clean Energy.” I smiled again when she opened with a question she was recently asked: “What do you have to say about global warming to the whole segment of Americans who are just waking up to energy issues with $4.00 per gallon gasoline?”
Needless to say, my revulsion of the human species, or at least a vast majority of them (I have a variety of revulsions, this one is environmentally based), seem to have only just realized that maybe, just maybe, it might be a good idea to have a look for something other than fossil fuels to power our transportation.
And the terms “climate change” or “global warming” do not even register.
I must admit to a certain measure of childish glee, when I see petrol prices rising as they are. You see, I do not drive a car, and at 24, I have no real desire to drive one either. No doubt by the end of 2008 my peer group will have bullied me in to getting my license, but apart from the sporadic 3am drive to the supermarket for a chicken, my feet and my bike are all I need (and maybe the occasional bus/train ticket).
So at a time when petrol prices are skyrocketing and the US Senate defeating the Climate Security Act, people are suitably concerned. But as I mentioned, it isn’t because of any fear of melting ice-caps or drowning polar bears – although I like to think that many at least feel they should care about such things, even if they don’t actively do so.
Now Sawin quickly antagonizes a great magnitude of people out there by using the term “scientific consensus” to describe what is happening to our environment; it’s never a good move. But I don’t even want to discuss that. The point I want to make is this: how come with fuel prices getting higher than Willie Nelson, people don’t want a cheaper alternative?
It would seem to me that, even though you may be 100% against the idea that man has decided to pollute Earth in to oblivion (guess where I stand), surely you would like to be paying a little less to get to work in the morning? (Another gleeful admission: I work from home!) Wouldn’t you like to pay a little less to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer? (I got nothing for those two! I’m sufferin’ like the rest of you!)
So if there ever comes a time where there is a vote to be cast, calls to be made and politicians to be swayed, make sure you do your part: vote to bring in alternative energies, call your local whatever and let him know! Because even if you don’t feel the environment needs the helping hand, I can sure bet that your hip-pocket wouldn’t mind one.
Joshua:
In contrast to your misogyny, I happen to enjoy the presence of my fellow human beings. Unlike Bernard Marx in Brave New World, I also recognize that without them, the world would be a much more hostile place, one where I would struggle to simply survive. That is not because I am a weakling, but because I have a pretty fair understanding of human history and because I have tested my limits on a few primitive trips.
I love to drive and have probably put between one and two million miles on my various automobiles over the years. My current car, a 2002 VW Jetta TDI has more than 152,000 miles on the odometer. I do not want the people who are on earth today to be the last ones to know what it is like to be able to travel freely on a timetable that is unrestrained by monopoly transportation providers. (Before automobiles, any trip longer than a few miles required the assistance of the railroads.)
I love the fact that I can sit in my home office and write comments and articles to share my thoughts with the world. I have a deep appreciation of the contributions of millions of people who have developed electricity, built a reasonably well maintained grid to distribute it, developed software, fiber optics, cables modems, semi-conductors, and countless other devices and components that make it possible for me to do that.
Like you, however, I am concerned about the impact that sometimes careless humans have on both the planet and on their fellow human beings. I can think of countless examples of wonderful, caring humans that I have met and worked with over my nearly 50 years on the planet, but I can also point to inconsiderate, greedy people who have the ability to make life miserable for most of those around them.
It is a shame that people do not think about energy supplies very much until the prices increase to the point of real pain for most of us and very real pleasure for a tiny group of exceedingly greedy people. However, without the work of many, we would be in real trouble since primitive wood burning is a dangerous, destructive energy source. I do not know about you, but without technology, starting and maintaining a fire - assuming I did not run out of broken limbs - is about the limit of what I could do to keep myself warm in order to survive.
When it comes to clean heat that can be turned into power, the very best - and cheapest - source that I know is heavy metal that can be fissioned. Commercial nuclear fuel costs utilities about 50 cents per million BTU, coal costs about $3-6 per million BTU depending on distance from the mine, natural gas (methane) costs about $5-22 per million BTU depending on location, and oil based fuels cost between $19-40 per million BTU depending on location and grade. All of those BTUs are roughly equivalent for certain kinds of heat engines that can be used to produce motive power for large vehicles and electricity.
Of course, anyone who knows me will also know that I constantly point out that nuclear fission is clean enough to run inside a sealed submarine.
Our mantra as submariners was “Remain Undetected”. I think that is a pretty fair approximation of the environmentally concerned backpacker’s motto of “Leave No Trace.”
ummmmmm.
I’m a bit confused by the last guys comment. Well, at least what I read of it. He claims that you are suffering from misogyny, but I don’t see how “Hatred Towards Women” has anything to do with an article about “Investing in Clean Energy”
Can somebody please explain?
I think Rod meant “misanthropy” - hatred of humanity.
@ George - you are correct, I mistakenly used the wrong word in my comment. It should have been misanthropy, not misogyny.
After deeper consideration, perhaps it was not quite as much of an error as one might imagine.
After all, Florence, who suffers the most in low energy economies? Who spends their days gathering wood for cooking or water for drinking? Who does not have access to indoor lighting, refrigeration, or labor saving devices? Who has to watch their children suffer from poor nutrition, lack of education and lack of clean drinking water?
Though all people in those economies suffer, I do not think I would be inaccurate to say that women suffer more than the men.