Quote
Originally posted by: Yoda Is Your Father
In that case I agree. Empty promises are a huge part of the problem. I really can't fathom why we are not all driving around in electric cars that function just as well, if not better, than their petrol equivalents. I mean, this is 2005 for God's sake.
Of course, electricity still needs to be generated, more often than not by fossil fuels, so maybe that wouldn't solve the problem...
Did you know that Howard Hughes actually developed and manufactured a car that could travel from L.A to San Francisco on a single tank of water? in the 1940s!! He scrapped it when he realised that any collison would cause the driver to be scalded by boiling water, but my point is there are alternatives and I am sick of listening to rubbish from dickheads in government (and the misled public who follow).
Surely developing and manufacturing a feasible alternative, on home soil, would be a huge boost for the economy?
I guess in a way Jedisage is right - it is tiresome listening to environmentalists preaching but nothing ever really getting done, although maybe if everybody put their heads TOGETHER, and laid ulterior motives aside, something would get done. But I suspect we have more chance of seeing pigs fly.
P.S Live 8 did exactly what it intended to do - it raised awareness in people who might not otherwise give a damn by dumbing down politics. Sadly that is what the world has come to - tell a man about poverty, he will not care, take a man to a rock concert, suddenly he's waving his hands in the air shouting 'MAKE POVERTY HISTORY!'. By the way, I was at the London show. It was very good.
I'm all for conservation, and doing what we can. Absolutely. In terms of alternatives, we're not just talking about cars. We're talking about the entire hydro-carbon infrastructure of the planet. We can't just snap our fingers and switch. Homes and businesses need oil for heat, gas and jet fuel to ship their goods. It's going to take a massive effort by the whole world, including China, India, and the rest of the "developing" countries. It will also mean opening the flood gates of what we've got to ease the pain.
Concerts, Live 8, etc: I don't begrudge them because they raise awareness. But there's a big difference between making a meaningful impact, and making a feel-good gesture. Shouting "Make poverty history!" at a concert, any concert, isn't going to solve anything, and the people performing at them might be doing it for the wrong reasons (ie: Publicity).
I truly hope that an alternative can be found and implemented....quickly. Or it's going to be ugly in about 15 years.