Signs of a Creepy Government Conspiracy at Standing Rock

It's been at least 30 years since we've known that we need to stop burning fossil fuels. The fact that it has taken this long to actually begin the transition reveals a terrible failure of global political leadership - and the US government is one of the worst culprits.

The cost of solar power dropped as rapidly as it did because governments - in particular the government of Germany, though others followed along with similar programs - chose to heavily subsidize solar panel installations. This stimulated a rapid increase in the level of investment in solar panel technology and in the factories which produce them, which led to a rapid improvement in both power-generation efficiency and manufacturing efficiency; the whole industry scaled up, and now we live in a world where generating electricity via solar is cost-competitive with fossil fuels, with no further need for subsidy.

The fact that "the pipeline will function for the rest of our lives" is exactly why we need to stop building pipelines. We don't have the rest of our lives to wean ourselves off this petroleum addiction. It's not about replacing the pipeline with ships or trains; it's about making petroleum expensive and inconvenient so that non-petroleum-based solutions can become more competitive. We need petroleum to become more expensive, and we need the cost to rise quickly, because that's the only way we're going to stimulate the kind of investment that will enable the kind of scale-up that will let us accomplish the enormous infrastructure reinvestment we should have started working on long ago.

Yes, it sucks for the people of North Dakota that their lifestyles are unsustainable, and it's going to be hard times ahead for them as they figure out other ways to live. It's going to suck much, much more for the many millions of people around the world on the verge of being displaced, impoverished, and probably even killed as a result of the climate change we are creating by continuing to burn petroleum products.

No, it won't happen overnight, but this is not overnight. We've known this for decades. We have already been running down the clock. We can't just magically demand more time, and more time, and more time, while continuing to do things the way our parents and grandparents did them.

If you think we can continue living this way for the rest of our lives, you really don't understand climate change. One way or another, our lives are all on the verge of changing. Do you want to choose how that change happens now, or wait til it is forced on you?

There's a difference between knowing we need to stop, and having an alternative. The way you paint it... people should have just woken up in the 70s and said, "Yup, guess it's time to let my kids starve... I can't be driving this car to work any more... it'll be better for the planet if we all just die off since we inconvenience people on the coats."

What's kind of funny... North Dakota has a LOT to gain from global warming. Look at their location. A flip to what you're saying is... "Hey, maybe all those people who live on the coasts should move someplace that could stand to have an extra 4-6 degrees added to the average annual temperature." I say that tongue in cheek, mostly to point out how silly it is to mandate change.

People have to decide for themselves, right? Freedom and all that. Telling one of the poorest states that they need to forgo economic improvement because people in coastal states say that global warming is bad... it's exactly like me saying you should move away from the coasts. You don't get to decide how others live any more than they get to decide how you live.

It gets old hearing, "oil is bad" -- we've certainly heard all the doom and gloom for a long time. People need viable alternatives. Just saying, "Yes, it sucks for the people of North Dakota that their lifestyles are unsustainable..." you aren't going to get anyone to side with you. Not your point, but you also realize that the power of government derives from the consent of the governed -- right?

I split my time growing up in Seattle and North Dakota... and I'm quite purple as a result. It's important to see the big picture. The reason Tesla is tying in self-driving cars to electric cars. They know that as soon as more people start driving electric cars... the price of oil is going to tank. Even with amazing strides towards solar, wind, hydro... because of those strides even... we're faced with 50+ more years of oil. As oil prices fall... it's just that much harder to buy an electric car. They need a hook... and self-driving is just that.

But it's not like we have to cut off all oil use tomorrow. Especially in more rural areas, places that can absorb the CO2, places like North Dakota... the places that have too many people, where nature can't possibly hope to keep up... those are the places that need to stop using oil. Right? So putting the burden on North Dakota... cities, people in cities should bear the lion share because they're the ones causing the most damage.

Nice try, NSA. :)

cracked.com is a humor website is this definitely real?