371–380 of 466 posts
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I am amused by the optimism of these responses. Nobody is concerned that if we end up with cheap nuclear fusion that humanity won’t use a lot more of it? Would humans stop building resorts in deserts?
Deserts are a wonderful place for resorts, assuming it is man made desert (like the Sahara) and infinite energy to desalinate and recycle water in an ecologically sound way. We just aren't to that point yet.
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It’s not a planned central economy. It is self-reliant local communities within regional bounds, like a fault-tolerant distributed system. They would trade primarily with adjacent regions stuff that they don’t or can’t produce locally. Knowledge, information and education should flow freely everywhere, enabling peace. People should feel comfortable living in their birthplace and should have no motivation for economic…
How do you produce airplanes and silicon chips exactly?
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> When energy runs out, or becomes significantly more expensive, it's game over for developed countries. Western society is inefficient at a macro level, even though it may seem efficient from the financial perspective of a single company or an individual. People cover huge distances to work. Companies are moving goods, components and people from all over the world. People change jobs (losing focus) and their residen…
> adopting a new political philosophy No thanks, I'd rather let market forces make that decision eventually. All imposed political philosophy that run contrary to market forces and human desires will run into massive inefficiency and grift.
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> When energy runs out, or becomes significantly more expensive, it's game over for developed countries. Western society is inefficient at a macro level, even though it may seem efficient from the financial perspective of a single company or an individual. People cover huge distances to work. Companies are moving goods, components and people from all over the world. People change jobs (losing focus) and their residen…
Let me guess what your alternative proposal is: everyone should live how you want them to live. Thanks but no thanks. Even ignoring the untold riches & quality of life improvements that free market capitalism has produced, it's just a more free and thus moral system. Edit: also you don't need to be a philosopher or genius to see that. Pretty much everyone moving out of free Western societies is rich or getting rich (…
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EROI is a physical measure, it doesn't deal with price at all so I don't get what it has to do with your first paragraph?
It is rather an economic measure to my understanding. Lower EROI will tend to raise energy prices. According to the Wikipedia article, it has been argued that falling EROI has been responsible in part for the collapse of the Roman empire. It has also been linked to inflation.
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> Even if you never used wind, solar, nuclear, hydro, etc. then you’d still be ahead in the BEV case. Yes, but not by much. A coal power plant averages 33% efficiency. Gas is 42%. Source: google > Neither of which have tailpipe emissions in populated areas unlike ICE. CO2 doesn't care where it's emitted. > But we do also use wind, solar, nuclear etc as power sources for BEV. And nowhere near the power needed if every…
>> CO2 doesn't care where it's emitted Disease rates (e.g. asthma) in the population do though >> And nowhere near the power needed if everyone switched to EVs You’re saying that if demand for electricity goes up, it won’t be met? Why?
> You’re saying that if demand for electricity goes up, it won’t be met?
Yes.
> Why?
Because government does not price things based on supply&demand. Therefore, you get shortages (rolling blackouts).
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And you're going to get around 80% from your EV after round trip through a battery. EVs powered by oil power plants is not a good use of energy. Fortunately, that's not what we are doing. I just wish EV proponents would stop pretending it is. Is there a term for a self-inflicted straw-man?
>> around 80% from your EV after round trip through a battery I didn't follow this part, there’s an energy loss in the process of charging the battery and there’s a loss in the process of converting from dc battery to ac traction motor, but it’s well shy of 20%. The high amperage involved in both charging and discharging mean losses are low (because if they were high, you’d generate so much heat as to make the system…
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Solar and wind have so far not been nearly adequate to charge existing EVs, let alone what would be necessary if we all converted to EVs. Given the reluctance to expand nuclear power, we're going to be charging EVs with fossil fuels for a long time.
> Solar and wind have so far not been nearly adequate to charge existing EVs, let alone what would be necessary if we all converted to EVs. This is categorically false. We already produce >10x as much wind energy alone that all BEVs in the US consume. We already produce orders of magnitude more hydro electricity than we need for every passenger vehicle in the US to be a BEV.
Yet California urged customers to not charge their EVs during peak hours because there isn't enough electricity available. And EVs are still only a tiny percentage of cars.
> hydro
is a doomed power source, because rivers are drying up, suitable sites are rare, and no new ones will be built because of environmental concerns. Existing ones get blown up.
https://www.nps.gov/olym/learn/nature/dam-removal.htm
BTW, a lot of PNW hydro power gets sold to California, which still has to tell people not to charge their EVs.
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What's the better alternative?
A better alternative would be to have localised production and localised consumption of food and most basic goods. Stuff like not having foreign-cuisine restaurants and not buying salmon from thousands of kilometers away. Cloth production should follow the same idea. People should feel more attached to their birthplace and the goal should be to develop their skills locally with one company preferably. Strong bonds wi…
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The whole problem is exactly selfish short-term gain that eclipses longer-term common gain. Lack of understanding it, and lack of the ability to create a social system that works better towards it, to my mind, is directly related to our (limited) intelligence as a species. Lack of kindness does play a serious role, can't disagree.
Selfishness is about intent. Not about doing self-serving things because you lack the intelligence to do more altruistic things. That’s just my perspective.