I agree that things need to be “fleshed out” before hand, but one of the problems is that we don’t know all the information before hand. As a result, we often can only evaluate some of this new technology AS its being deployed. It’s often impossible to predict how something will work until you actually start trying it out and investing time/money into it.

With alternative energy we have no choice but to start working towards a cleaner energy system because of climate change. But it does require that initial monetary investment in order to kick things off.

I am tired of hearing about the latest solution to our energy problems, only to find out down the road that the tradeoffs outweigh gains.

I’ve read about ethanol with enthusiasm, only to find it can’t be run in a pipeline, and needs to be trucked everywhere, creating more pollution, and then getting less bang for your energy buck because it delivers less actual energy than regular gasoline.

Then there’s wind power, but windmills are an ugly blight on the land (or sea), and when use in the ocean, apparently create noise that disturbs whales (and who knows what else). All hardly “green” additions to our society’s arsenal of alternate energy.

I’m open to alternate energy, but let’s have these ideas fleshed out BEFORE they’re presented as the next holy grail.

Thank you,
Catherine

Can’t we just raise the price of a gallon of gasoline to $7 for a few years, move all oil production back to the US, and in 5 years be at $.80 per gallon?
What’s so bad about that?l

I ask myself those same questions everyday. I assume that it would cause a major uproar in the U.S. to do so but I personally beleive that putting out a little money now will greatly enhance the future of our son’s and daughters. Since we got ourselves into this mess it is time to dig ourselves out and not to depend on future generations to take care of the problem.

I believe that is an incredibly effective solution. The problem never lied in the logistics, though. It’s a matter of “the American Dream” and everyone who is pursuing it. In today’s America, the word “successful” means “has a large income and very expensive things.” People who are trained from a very early age to pursue this end goal will never elect someone who proposes this idea. Even if they show the numbers that it will only last a few years, and then we’ll all be better off; the problem is in our bent toward instant gratification and indulgence in greedy pursuit.

That’s my humble opinion, anyway.

That is precisely what is needed; the problem has always been the extremist views from either side. A solution can only come when everyone comes together to methodically discuss all the pros and cons – whether it is climate change or energy policy.

My first take on the conference–I largely agree with you: The Great Divide on Energy Policy