N2EY wrote:
In article , Mike Coslo
writes:


Exactly, he saw that by looking at the longterm, his overall total profits
would be enhanced. He wanted a longterm, stable income than a quick buck.

And the most amazing thing is that with just that outlook, we not only
stabilize the situation, but we preserve the best part of how our
econmmic system works.


Henry Ford wasn't a paragon of virtue by any means but he did take the long
view. That's considered old-fashioned today.

It's a debatable case for invoking Godwin, maybe?

I always thought that the best way was to let the businesses do their
thing as much as possible, with a light touch. The time for intervention
is when the business threatens the environment, employee rights (such as
there are any) or of course engaging in illegal activities, which there
will always be some companies willing to do that. And of course the
monopoly problems.


Of course - the devil is in the details, though. How much environmental threat
is OK? What rights do employees really have?

Sure. We have a local case in which a massive amount of known Iron
Pyrite rock was dumped in a small valley with a stream running along the
bottom of the valley. The valley is all filled in now. The predictable
happened, and we now have a massive acid drainage problem that will kill
many tourist frequented streams and will probably sterilize the creeks
it runs into and construction on the highway has been stopped, and we
have a real mess on our hands.

Not much of a gray area there I think. And we can keep busy enough with
the blatant cases that we don't have to go after Joe six-pack and his
Sunday BBQ or his lawnmower.

Martha and her bookie...I mean broker...got convicted, didn't they?

Here's a datapoint for ya: The USA imported 57% of the petroleum used here last
year, up from 56% in the previous year. Domestic production is down slightly.
Even if the Alaskan refuge is drilled, it will be 10 years before full
production is reached there. Gasoline prices are already about $1.75 and it's
only March.

Some people are making a good profit.


Meanwhile, SUV sales are at record levels and a process called TDP (Thermal
Depolymerization) is almost unheard of.

Wellll, you are partially correct. You lump SUV's as if they are all of
the Excursion/Suburban/Escalade type. And that is wrong. I just bought
an SUV that gets in the 20's in town, and low 30's on the highway. It's
downright tiny by comparison, and is a very responsible vehicle as far
as resources go.

And I don't think that any of the Bio fuel options are viable or even
desirable. To see what I mean, replacement of even a tiny fraction of
what we use now in fossil fuel will take a lot of biofuel, and how much
can we make?

The tragedy of the biofuels is this:

America decides that we should go ethanol in a big way. Lots of corn
and other sources are grown for fermentation. After all, this will use
up that silly surplus, right?

Only then it's no longer surplus. There would be a lot of pressure to
grow more and more of the raw materials. Have you seen what has happened
to much of the great plains lately? Salt desert, and besides that, the
aquifer is not being recharged except at a very slow rate.

Now when push comes to shove, and population starts to strain our
ability to produce food, you make the decision. Food or fuel? Who drives
and who dies?

How do we get folks to take the long view again?

It will probably take running out of/low on resources of one kind or
the other. Like the above.

- Mike KB3EIA -