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Old 05-08-2008, 05:10 PM
Dr House Dr House is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wheeldog View Post
Ah, if only it were that simple. Nuclear will not solve the energy problem. Insofar as transportation is concerned the issue is liquid fuel. Nuclear plants will not power the fleets of trucks, cars and aircraft that are critical to our economy and life in general. Believe me, the free market is not free.
Of course not. Liquid fuel is used to the extent it is because driving has been too cheap for decades. I suggest transferring the cost of road use from taxes to tolls. That way people will bear the full brunt of the cost and will do what's cheapest for them, which is in the case of private individuals to drive less (move closer to the workplace, carpool, use public transit, etc) and in the case of commercial carriers to use trains and ships instead of trucks (thereby reducing their fuel consumption by a factor of 5). Of course, even if we don't take that wise course of action, rising fuel prices will do it for us.

Quote:
You seem to blame "liberalists" for the energy problem. This is not a "them against us" issue. Like it or not we are all in this together. If you want to point fingers I suggest aiming at the nearest mirror. We are all to blame. This situation should not surprise anyone. Warnings about energy limits have been heard since the 1950s. Carter was the first president to tell us the truth about oil, and we chose to ignore him - and vote him out of office.
I know. I blame environmentalists for putting the kibosh on nuclear energy when it coulv'e bought us energy independence. I blame the government in general (and those who demanded it of them) for heavily subsidizing road use and liquid fuels. Roads are choked and Americans are going into debt because driving has been way too cheap for decades.

-Dr House
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