Comments on: Too Cheap for Our Own Good

By: Biofuels 14-31 Times More Costly than Raising Gas Tax, Study Finds | evolve+sustain | news on global & societal sustainability

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:56:04 +0000

[…] Gas, quite frankly, is too cheap for our own good, and the gas tax is exceedingly low (even hurting those who drive in some ways — for example, […]

By: Biofuels 14-31 Times More Costly than Raising Gas Tax, Study Finds

Biofuels 14-31 Times More Costly than Raising Gas Tax, Study Finds — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:03:13 +0000

[…] to what it was 30 years ago (adjusted for inflation) would be great, though. Gas, quite frankly, is too cheap for our own good, and the gas tax is exceedingly low (even hurting those who drive in some ways — for example, […]

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:30:00 +0000

Hmm, I’m not sure what you’re talking about here. This piece is specifically about individuals, has nothing to do with government’s role.

I certainly don’t think the govt should run everything, but i certainly don’t think corporations should be free to pollute and harm the public either.

There are many, many “carrot” policies I like and support. But, again, that’s not the point of this article at all — this article is about the individual, how he/she thinks (or doesn’t think) about cost of products and services.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:27:00 +0000

Yeah, I saw that. What a shame! I can never understand that argument when it’s clear one side is lying and clearly wrong. We don’t need to give liars a bigger podium! They already have far too much control.

By: Ed

Ed — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:48:00 +0000

Dear Zach, I know you are a youg educated nice guy but your socialistic, have the government run everything is not the answer, A successful (History has proven that Capitolism has provided the greatest success for the masses) program would use positive incentives to get people to things that are better for them and everybody else. An example would be the two grocery stores in my neighborhood. One charges extra if we us plastic bags. The other gives a discount if we bring our resuable bags. See what i mean.

You are a smart guy.

Help find incentives that will make it logical to do the the best things

By: BlueRock

BlueRock — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:57:00 +0000

Exactly. WTF?!

If you’ve not seen it, they’ve responded to the criticism with “we are trying to bring all voices to the table”. The same false balance BS that has plagued climate science communication. B’ bye ET.

No great loss – I’d started to think their articles were mostly rehashes of CleanTechnica output.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:39:00 +0000

Thanks!

& WTF??! Can’t believe ET is going that route. Ironically, i unsubscribed a week or so ago, bcs there’s just too much old stuff on there that I have to go through twice. But maybe i sensed this coming.. jk, but WTF?

By: BlueRock

BlueRock — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:32:00 +0000

Excellent commentary. Thanks, Zach.

> …we need to promote the idea that everything isn’t about money…

I think lots of people get this, and seemingly more of us are waking up to it – witness the widespread support for Occupy [wherever].

Unfortunately, there is a certain political demographic that seems to be completely unreachable, unmoved by facts and science – and they have the billionaires goading them on.

So, we keep plugging away, communicating the truth. It always wins eventually.

P.S. Check out http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/11/the-failed-chevy-volt-that-just-wont-go-away/#comment-376641938

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 11:27:00 +0000

True & True

& I agree..

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:10:00 +0000

You hit upon a good subject, we often do have the choice to choose one thing over another. But often times choices are made for us, without any control on our part. How often do politicians make choices for us, at the bequest of lobbiest? Or how about the stuff we use every day in our living? Buyers for the large box stores make the choice of whether to buy from an American manufacturer, or foreign, and often dictate the specs for the products as well.

I am optimistic that our future will give us more choices for a cleaner and more sustainable environment. As I scan through all the science blogs, I see that the choice for clean, will be cheaper than our antiquated fossil fuels, so the choice will be an easy one to make.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:29:00 +0000

Thanks. Yeah, we seem to have a culture of not thinking about where our money goes. Thanks for the note, and keep up the good work!

By: SarahSW

SarahSW — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:04:00 +0000

Zachary, you’ve really hit on a topic that baffles, perplexes, and frustrates me, especially in these frenzied post Black Friday/Cyber Monday days. People are struggling, the economy is bumpy, but generally, globally and historically speaking, our standard of living is so high. People are making choices – and as you say, they ARE choices – but they don’t even realize it. While you address the health and environmental choices, I think the most about the business and consumer choices. I have been trying especially hard this season to write about small companies and growing businesses who have made the choice to produce their goods in the United States and provide American jobs wherever they can. I write about shopping, which is admittedly more frivolous than the environment, but it is a place where people make small choices every day without realizing that they really do make a difference in the world, in their communities, even in their own health. I know we all can’t believe in the same things, but I hope we can all believe in something more than saving a buck.

Sarah from htttp://www.usalovelist.com