Re: shuttle disaster
On Wed, 2003-02-05 at 22:50, Pigeon wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 05, 2003 at 11:41:19AM -0600, DvB wrote:
> > csj@mindgate.net writes:
> >
> > > On Mon, 3 Feb 2003 22:36:45 +0000,
> > > Pigeon wrote:
> > >
> > > [...]
[snip]
> I can think of a few off the top of my head:
> - run mobile power plants (vehicles, locomotives) off RME or alcohol
> - design the products of industry to last ten times as long as they do
> at the moment, and reduce industrial output by 90%
Unfortunately, the world economy would crash.
> - impose a 1% cashflow tax on the oil industry and put the money into
> fusion research
The petroleum industry is already highly taxed in the West.
> - put sails on ships
Yankee Clippers were covered with sails, but were only a small fraction
of the gross tonnage of modern cargo ships. It would be impractical.
> They all suffer from the problem that people who currently make vast
> amounts of money out of fossil fuels won't be able to any more. I have
> an unpleasant suspicion that we'll be dependent on fossil fuels until
> they actually run out and force us to do something else. Science can
> find lots of solutions, politics/greed are the problems when it comes
> to putting them into practice.
The "problem" is that gasoline & diesel are very convenient & high-
density fuels.
I'm pretty confident that a decent minorty of US cars will be using
fuel cells in 15 years.
--
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| Ron Johnson, Jr. Home: ron.l.johnson@cox.net |
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| Rohan Nicholls , The Netherlands |
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