K=D8HB wrote:
wrote


But will most people carpool? Will they pay for public transit, wind
farms, and higher-efficiency appliances? Will they live in walkable
towns and cities rather than sprawling into suburbia where every trip
requires a car? How much are Americans willing to reduce their
consumption of energy to balance the equation?


I just love you east-coast liberals with your "feel-good
conservation village" notions.

Minnesota is one of the most "liberal" places in the nation,
Hans.

Such societies exist (in Europe primarily) --- if you want to
live in one, move there.

I see. You get to determine what America should be like,
not me. Why is that?

Personally, I prefer my fuel-inefficient 6.0L 32-valve
turbocharged engine to your "50mpg highway" wimp-mobile.

"Any....fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more
violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage -
to move in the opposite direction". (*)

"Wimp-mobile", huh? Is your masculinity and maturity measured
in horsepower, cubic inches displaced, and foot-pounds, Hans?

Mine isn't.

Since I'm willing to pay the price to run it,
and enjoy the freedom it gives me, your "walkable towns" have
zero appeal to me.

*You* don't pay all of the price, Hans. All of us do. We pay it in
pollution, we pay it in the trade deficit, and we pay it in
having to deal with the folks who sell us the oil, and what they
do with the oil money.

Most of all, we pay for it in being dependent. Freedom? How much
freedom exists when a nation's economy is at the mercy of imports?

Nobody is saying that *you* would be forced to live in a "walkable
town".

Sometime back you bemoaned the lack of the community that you
used to see in the radio store/club meeting/etc.

I submit to you that the lack of community problem isn't limited to
amateur radio, but has become a part of American life, and is driven in
part by the detachment of people from the places they live, work, shop,
etc. And that detachment is driven in part by overdependence on
automotive transportation as opposed to walking, running, biking, etc.

Sooner or later, of course, the democrats will again ascend to power an=
d attemp
to social-engineer such crapola into the law of the land,
rather than
inconvenience a few reindeer with drilling rigs in the
neighborhood.

Alaska doesn't have enough oil to end imports, Hans.

It would be interesting to see your reaction if they wanted to drill
for oil under one of your favorite Minnesota lakes. Or build a nuke
plant on one, using the lake water for cooling.
Or something similar.

I seem to recall a quote from Vonnegut about "they were too damn cheap"
or some such. Cheapness involves more than not spending money.

73 de Jim, N2EY


(*) - attributed to Albert Einstein