Subj : Re: Backwards
To   : Mike Powell
From : Jeff Thiele
Date : Fri Jun 10 2022 16:22:52

On 10 Jun 2022, Mike Powell said the following...
 MP> > Nah, American ingenuity will step up to the challenge. There were naysay
 MP> > about the automobile, too.
 MP> The difference, that you don't seem to get, is that while the automobile
 MP> made other things obsolete eventually, it did not do so immediately. 

The primary opponents of green energy are the companies and workers engaged
in the fossil fuel business, afraid of losing their profits and livelihood.

 MP> What I mentioned specifically was the backwards idea that you could
 MP> legally or economically obsolete one thing (in this case, gas-powered
 MP> autos and fossil fuel power in general) when the alternatives are not
 MP> yet ready, proven, and affordable.

We have electric vehicles that are ready, proven, and affordable. Also, this
is a false argument because none of the green policies I've heard of call for
ending all fossil fuel use by a certain date. They've all had goals of
reducing emissions by X% or to some previos year's levels by a certain
deadline.

 MP> Horses and buggies did not go away when the automobile was first
 MP> introduced.  There were no laws or screwball economic policies that
 MP> forced people immediately to the automobile.

Climate change was not as much of an issue then.

 MP> So yeah you had better learn to live more like the Amish.

Nah, I don't think so. Instead, I think the way we're doing things is
changing. I hardly drive at all since I don't commute anymore. My employer
has changed our workplace to be more group-oriented, for those times when
people need to meet face-to-face. Otherwise, we primarily work from home.
They also said that the impact on traffic was a major reason for not making
people come back into the office. Things will be different, sure, but not
backwards.

Jeff.

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