Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Firstly, I cannot believe that someone would actually say, "Hey. global warming is OK because, some parts of the earth might suffer horribly but, we here in the US might really improve our climate". That's just.... awful.

Secondly, warmer climates do better? Really? Why don't you move to Ecuador or some place nice and toasty in the middle of Africa?

how dumb are you? seriously? You think Ecuador is hot? Most of Ecuador is probably much colder than Washington, DC.

And yes, most of the great civilizations flourished either in warm climates or during warming periods. Look it up.

Global warming is just not worth worrying about. We are not going to change man-made warming, because China, India and Brazil are not going to cooperate even if we can agree on something (which we likely cannot). That is, we can cut our emissions to zero and they still go way up for the planet. So focus on engineering solutions.

Great logic. We don't know how to get everyone to cooperate and so therefore it doesn't matter. Focusing on engineering solutions is not going to solve the problem, and the reason is obvious. As long as producers can keep the price of fossil fuel below the cost of new technologies, it is uneconomic to pursue them. But since the climate will likely be ruined before the last of the coal and oil is gone, we are screwed before the imperative to develop technology is there.

If you don't believe me, look at wind energy. Now that natural gas prices are dropping again, wind investments are plummeting. Look at nuclear. Five years ago, we were going to rush back into nuclear. What happened? Energy prices fell, and energy producers are not going to stick their necks out on a huge capital outlay now, only to find out that energy is priced below what a nuclear plant produces. Look at solar. We are already bailing on solar investment because of one bankruptcy.

Now look at the consumption side. Hybrid sales have stalled. Conventional automobiles improve only when regulations require it, not because of engineering. Why? Who wants to produce an expensive car, hoping that consumers with warm hearts will fork over more money for the same performance.

Have you ever wondered why oil prices bounce around from decade to decade, even when there is political instability? It is because (and I am not kidding here) OPEC has done calculations to determine how long they can maintain high prices. They know that extended high prices cause consumers and companies to invest in alternatives to reduce oil consumption. As a result they deliberately pull back oil prices before those investments happen. It is rigged. You should know that.

so the market is speaking loud and clear.

No. Last I checked, OPEC was still a cartel, which as any right wing free market economist will tell you is the opposite of the free market.

And given that the environmental cost of oil and coal are not added into the price, those same economists will tell you that the free market will not protect the environment. This is basic economics. Look up externalities and the tragedy of the commons. Yes even Milton Friedman.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Firstly, I cannot believe that someone would actually say, "Hey. global warming is OK because, some parts of the earth might suffer horribly but, we here in the US might really improve our climate". That's just.... awful.

Secondly, warmer climates do better? Really? Why don't you move to Ecuador or some place nice and toasty in the middle of Africa?

how dumb are you? seriously? You think Ecuador is hot? Most of Ecuador is probably much colder than Washington, DC.

And yes, most of the great civilizations flourished either in warm climates or during warming periods. Look it up.

Global warming is just not worth worrying about. We are not going to change man-made warming, because China, India and Brazil are not going to cooperate even if we can agree on something (which we likely cannot). That is, we can cut our emissions to zero and they still go way up for the planet. So focus on engineering solutions.

Great logic. We don't know how to get everyone to cooperate and so therefore it doesn't matter. Focusing on engineering solutions is not going to solve the problem, and the reason is obvious. As long as producers can keep the price of fossil fuel below the cost of new technologies, it is uneconomic to pursue them. But since the climate will likely be ruined before the last of the coal and oil is gone, we are screwed before the imperative to develop technology is there.

If you don't believe me, look at wind energy. Now that natural gas prices are dropping again, wind investments are plummeting. Look at nuclear. Five years ago, we were going to rush back into nuclear. What happened? Energy prices fell, and energy producers are not going to stick their necks out on a huge capital outlay now, only to find out that energy is priced below what a nuclear plant produces. Look at solar. We are already bailing on solar investment because of one bankruptcy.

Now look at the consumption side. Hybrid sales have stalled. Conventional automobiles improve only when regulations require it, not because of engineering. Why? Who wants to produce an expensive car, hoping that consumers with warm hearts will fork over more money for the same performance.

Have you ever wondered why oil prices bounce around from decade to decade, even when there is political instability? It is because (and I am not kidding here) OPEC has done calculations to determine how long they can maintain high prices. They know that extended high prices cause consumers and companies to invest in alternatives to reduce oil consumption. As a result they deliberately pull back oil prices before those investments happen. It is rigged. You should know that.

so the market is speaking loud and clear.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Firstly, I cannot believe that someone would actually say, "Hey. global warming is OK because, some parts of the earth might suffer horribly but, we here in the US might really improve our climate". That's just.... awful.

Secondly, warmer climates do better? Really? Why don't you move to Ecuador or some place nice and toasty in the middle of Africa?

how dumb are you? seriously? You think Ecuador is hot? Most of Ecuador is probably much colder than Washington, DC.

And yes, most of the great civilizations flourished either in warm climates or during warming periods. Look it up.

Global warming is just not worth worrying about. We are not going to change man-made warming, because China, India and Brazil are not going to cooperate even if we can agree on something (which we likely cannot). That is, we can cut our emissions to zero and they still go way up for the planet. So focus on engineering solutions.

Great logic. We don't know how to get everyone to cooperate and so therefore it doesn't matter. Focusing on engineering solutions is not going to solve the problem, and the reason is obvious. As long as producers can keep the price of fossil fuel below the cost of new technologies, it is uneconomic to pursue them. But since the climate will likely be ruined before the last of the coal and oil is gone, we are screwed before the imperative to develop technology is there.

If you don't believe me, look at wind energy. Now that natural gas prices are dropping again, wind investments are plummeting. Look at nuclear. Five years ago, we were going to rush back into nuclear. What happened? Energy prices fell, and energy producers are not going to stick their necks out on a huge capital outlay now, only to find out that energy is priced below what a nuclear plant produces. Look at solar. We are already bailing on solar investment because of one bankruptcy.

Now look at the consumption side. Hybrid sales have stalled. Conventional automobiles improve only when regulations require it, not because of engineering. Why? Who wants to produce an expensive car, hoping that consumers with warm hearts will fork over more money for the same performance.

Have you ever wondered why oil prices bounce around from decade to decade, even when there is political instability? It is because (and I am not kidding here) OPEC has done calculations to determine how long they can maintain high prices. They know that extended high prices cause consumers and companies to invest in alternatives to reduce oil consumption. As a result they deliberately pull back oil prices before those investments happen. It is rigged. You should know that.

Anonymous wrote:Firstly, I cannot believe that someone would actually say, "Hey. global warming is OK because, some parts of the earth might suffer horribly but, we here in the US might really improve our climate". That's just.... awful.

Secondly, warmer climates do better? Really? Why don't you move to Ecuador or some place nice and toasty in the middle of Africa?

how dumb are you? seriously? You think Ecuador is hot? Most of Ecuador is probably much colder than Washington, DC.

And yes, most of the great civilizations flourished either in warm climates or during warming periods. Look it up.

Global warming is just not worth worrying about. We are not going to change man-made warming, because China, India and Brazil are not going to cooperate even if we can agree on something (which we likely cannot). That is, we can cut our emissions to zero and they still go way up for the planet. So focus on engineering solutions.

Firstly, I cannot believe that someone would actually say, "Hey. global warming is OK because, some parts of the earth might suffer horribly but, we here in the US might really improve our climate". That's just.... awful.

Secondly, warmer climates do better? Really? Why don't you move to Ecuador or some place nice and toasty in the middle of Africa?

Anonymous wrote:The proenvironment businesses aren't going to fix the economy, ithey have actually hurt it . Focus on the environment when we are prosperous again, not now. I say burn, harvest and generate the cheapest energy regardless of the environment until we are back to 5% unemployment.

Since when did energy prices create our economic crisis?

Maybe you are right. Let's let other countries win the race to build the next generation of energy companies. The Chinese are already winning in solar due to government investment.