Steve Nelson, CGCS said: I would like to think that the alternative (s) will be developed by brilliant people right here in the US. I get frustrated at cynics or Newt's that put down prototypes like the volt or wind or solar etc. Somebody or something has got to be the first step towards something different, and there are going to be successes and failures.
This.
I guess people that don't get it by now (people that would fight against improving the mpg standards on vehicles, for one) are caught up in their own politics and beliefs. There's not a fix for that. Over time they'll be outnumbered, become irrelevant, or die off in the face of a population, a world population, that is asking for responsibility, efficiency, affordability, longevity, and sustainability over the alternative. The companies that come up with the business models that do that, (god bless capitalism and a free-market society) will be the ones setting the mark and making the money. The folks who are heavily invested in old technologies of our parents parents, will resist as they try to squeeze out the last penny from their investment, but they're pretty much done at this point. The fat lady is warming up. And honestly, if they're any good with their money at all, they've already invested it in alt energy companies and supporting industry.
The 'transition generation' between technologies has a tough time -- wood/coal, coal/oil, oil/nuke, etc. But as a society, we always seem to move ahead to the better choice. Maybe some kick and scream as they go, but eventually they go because it's the only thing that makes any sense. Leaving fossil fuels behind makes sense on multiple levels. It's just a matter of getting that transition generation through the tough parts. We are in the tough part.
I think it's terrible news for the middle east, as far as holding the world hostage, as more people can change their thinking and latch on to the reality of development/invention of functional alternatives to fossil fuels. There's really no choice here.
I think the dust-up is that there's trillions of dollars tied up in oil investments/futures and the considerable powers-that-be aren't ready, or more likely, aren't yet positioned, to take advantage of the next big thing.
Add politics on top of that and pot stirrers on both sides, and you have more time to make dividends off your oil investments.
So Dennis, when you say we should trust speculators or trust oil industry execs to look out for my future because they're just doing what's right by me, I wonder if you know how off-base that sounds. My feeling is you are a trusting person. I think a lot of people in certain businesses would appreciate that.