As President Obama's stimulus package makes its way into law I am surprised and delighted how much is being made of alternative power technology. Has it taken a recession to change the direction of power technology?
It is insightful to use the big negative to promote a new future. Economically things are getting very bad. There doesn't seem to be much that can be done about that except try to cushion the bottom. But when the bounce comes do we continue the same old way, or do we do we go in another direction.
When things are good there is reluctance to change. Why give up the good life? But when rock bottom comes there is always a new direction in recovery. It is like the alcoholic who refuses to confront his/her demons until there is no other choice, and then can choose a new way of life or alcoholic poisoning.
Our reliance on oil is one of the factors involved with the present crisis, along with greed and other factors. What would the present situation be like if we had a secure source of cheap energy totally independent of economics?
One of the things often overlooked is that while it is going to take a lot of resources to get alternative/renewable power going, once it is it would only require periodic maintenance. A wind farm will continue to produce power while the wind blows independent of oil prices, Wall Street or interest rates. It would eliminate so many factors from the economic equation that it is doubtful if such a crisis as the one we face now could ever occur again.
How good would it be if our factories had reliable cheep power without any tie to world oil prices? What would our balance of payments look like without importing any energy? How good would it be to plug your car in to continuous renewable power to be charged overnight? Imagine never having to stop at a gas station again.
Up until now the emphasis has been on the arguments about whether or not global warming is real and the economic cost. Forget the economic cost. What was the economic cost of the sub-prime market? Our economies are on there knees. It will take as much to rebuild the same old way as to rebuild with renewable energy.
The emphasis of starting again with new technologies won't cost jobs, it will create them. Technology always changes available jogs. Look at all the jobs that have gone since the introduction of the automobile, or the computer. Many jobs just no longer exist, but they have been replaced with new jobs. The power station workers will no longer shovel coal, but there will be new jobs with the new technologies.
The economic crisis is hurting the whole world. Many people (including myself) are suffering because of it. But maybe if we can work together to bring about a change in direction the rest of our lives can be secure, and future generations will thank us for our courage in changing the course of technology.
The key to greater achievements, and the elimination of negatives like war, greed , poverty and oppression (to name a few) is for people to make informed choices based on understanding instead of just leaving it to the experts to tell us what to think.
Much of David's work involves looking at issues and translating them into plain language. If the expert spoke in plain language we would understand that the experts know no more than we do. We are both spiritual and physical beings. The two must go together if we are to be complete in this world. When writing on spiritual subjects this is always tempered with bringing our spiritual being into the world. If one or the other is neglected we suffer. These are the twin motivators of my work. Physical well being and understanding issues so that we have choices, and making those choices from a spiritual base of knowing who we are.
It is insightful to use the big negative to promote a new future. Economically things are getting very bad. There doesn't seem to be much that can be done about that except try to cushion the bottom. But when the bounce comes do we continue the same old way, or do we do we go in another direction.
When things are good there is reluctance to change. Why give up the good life? But when rock bottom comes there is always a new direction in recovery. It is like the alcoholic who refuses to confront his/her demons until there is no other choice, and then can choose a new way of life or alcoholic poisoning.
Our reliance on oil is one of the factors involved with the present crisis, along with greed and other factors. What would the present situation be like if we had a secure source of cheap energy totally independent of economics?
One of the things often overlooked is that while it is going to take a lot of resources to get alternative/renewable power going, once it is it would only require periodic maintenance. A wind farm will continue to produce power while the wind blows independent of oil prices, Wall Street or interest rates. It would eliminate so many factors from the economic equation that it is doubtful if such a crisis as the one we face now could ever occur again.
How good would it be if our factories had reliable cheep power without any tie to world oil prices? What would our balance of payments look like without importing any energy? How good would it be to plug your car in to continuous renewable power to be charged overnight? Imagine never having to stop at a gas station again.
Up until now the emphasis has been on the arguments about whether or not global warming is real and the economic cost. Forget the economic cost. What was the economic cost of the sub-prime market? Our economies are on there knees. It will take as much to rebuild the same old way as to rebuild with renewable energy.
The emphasis of starting again with new technologies won't cost jobs, it will create them. Technology always changes available jogs. Look at all the jobs that have gone since the introduction of the automobile, or the computer. Many jobs just no longer exist, but they have been replaced with new jobs. The power station workers will no longer shovel coal, but there will be new jobs with the new technologies.
The economic crisis is hurting the whole world. Many people (including myself) are suffering because of it. But maybe if we can work together to bring about a change in direction the rest of our lives can be secure, and future generations will thank us for our courage in changing the course of technology.
The key to greater achievements, and the elimination of negatives like war, greed , poverty and oppression (to name a few) is for people to make informed choices based on understanding instead of just leaving it to the experts to tell us what to think.
Much of David's work involves looking at issues and translating them into plain language. If the expert spoke in plain language we would understand that the experts know no more than we do. We are both spiritual and physical beings. The two must go together if we are to be complete in this world. When writing on spiritual subjects this is always tempered with bringing our spiritual being into the world. If one or the other is neglected we suffer. These are the twin motivators of my work. Physical well being and understanding issues so that we have choices, and making those choices from a spiritual base of knowing who we are.
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