On 6/25/06, paul phillips <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Is anyone really serious on this that alternative sources of power are
going to rescue the capitalist imperial system from implosion? The mind
boggles.
Paul P
The capitalist imperialist system has proven fairly versatile over
the centuries. And there is plenty of narrow technical (in addition to
social ) waste in the system. So efficiency increases by themselves
have tremendous potential, even before turning to sources. Also
there is no shortage of renewable sources - just of inexpensive
renewable sources. If you increase efficiency with which power is used
to produce GDP then you can "afford" to pay more for each unit of that
energy. There are lots reasons this might not happen - all sorts of
structural barriers. But it is not (at least in a time frame of a
century or so) any reason it violates any law of physics.
I guess if I'm going to say that - I'd better deal with this:
Research the "laws of thermodynamics" and compare them to the cultural
imperative for "economic growth." See if you can recognize and then
resolve the tension between the two in your mind.
Because a trend cannot continue forever, does not mean it can't
continue quite a long while. Mind you if we survive long enough to
get a real foothold space that could be a hell of a long while. But at
least there is no reason sustainable technology can't provide everyone
on this planet with at material standard of living equal to (say)
the median income of France, and a decent amount of leisure as well.
(The only reason I don't say the U.S. is because there are many ways
in which are standard of living in real terms is inferior to France.
But if you want to include our stress, and long workdays in the
bargain, eveyone on this planet could have a U.S. GDP sustainably.)
Again I'm not saying this is likely. I'm just saying the fault lies in
our social system, not our technical inability.
