FUSION POWER is what humanity needs. Fusion unlike fission is clean - produce waste with much shorter half lives than fission - and would be easier to produce worldwide once technology reaches a certain point. Also, Fusion power cannot be reverse engineered to be a nuclear weapon (unless you spent billions upon billions).
Fuel Cells and these stupid hybrids are simply a way of patronizing these stupid tree huggers.
Hybrids are actually WORSE for the environment than regular cars due to a number of factors including energy production and increased driving. I'm all for clean, efficient energy but I want to see it done right...not some rush job that creates more problems than it solves.
Hybrids lead to more driving because people choose these are environmentally conscious people choosing hybrids over public transit.
However, that's not the only conclusion I think we can reach here. What it means above all else is that the public transit system is failing: if it can't even get people willing to pay several thousand dollars more for a vehicle into their buses, things need to change.
Your post lends no credence to the concept of bridge technologies. I agree with your sentiment, but in order to get from point A to point F, we have to go through points B, C, D, and E first.
Hybrids are just a means to an end, not the ultimate solution. The spotlight on Hybrid cars helped Americans into a mode of thinking where the less dependent we are on (foreign) oil the better and/or the less CO2 we put in the atmosphere the better.
This is probably the most important effect Hybrids have had. It does not matter that producing ethanol from corn actually releases more CO2 into the atmosphere than burning gas in cars. The impetus for change is ideas, and the ideological shift has taken place thanks in no small part to attention placed on Hybrids and Hydrogen vehicles. Eventually we will be energy and fossil fuel independent, but it won't happen over night.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
DickHardknocks @ Sep 28th 2007 12:46PM
FUSION POWER is what humanity needs. Fusion unlike fission is clean - produce waste with much shorter half lives than fission - and would be easier to produce worldwide once technology reaches a certain point. Also, Fusion power cannot be reverse engineered to be a nuclear weapon (unless you spent billions upon billions).
Fuel Cells and these stupid hybrids are simply a way of patronizing these stupid tree huggers.
Hybrids are actually WORSE for the environment than regular cars due to a number of factors including energy production and increased driving. I'm all for clean, efficient energy but I want to see it done right...not some rush job that creates more problems than it solves.
staniel @ Sep 28th 2007 12:51PM
how do hybrids lead to increased driving???
yea, people are worried about fuel cell cars blowing up, and you're talking about fusion cars??
Paul @ Sep 28th 2007 1:09PM
Last time I checked (I will admit it has been a while) fusion requires more power than it produces.
nobody sane @ Sep 28th 2007 1:25PM
Hybrids lead to more driving because people choose these are environmentally conscious people choosing hybrids over public transit.
However, that's not the only conclusion I think we can reach here. What it means above all else is that the public transit system is failing: if it can't even get people willing to pay several thousand dollars more for a vehicle into their buses, things need to change.
Chris @ Sep 28th 2007 2:11PM
Your post lends no credence to the concept of bridge technologies. I agree with your sentiment, but in order to get from point A to point F, we have to go through points B, C, D, and E first.
Hybrids are just a means to an end, not the ultimate solution. The spotlight on Hybrid cars helped Americans into a mode of thinking where the less dependent we are on (foreign) oil the better and/or the less CO2 we put in the atmosphere the better.
This is probably the most important effect Hybrids have had. It does not matter that producing ethanol from corn actually releases more CO2 into the atmosphere than burning gas in cars. The impetus for change is ideas, and the ideological shift has taken place thanks in no small part to attention placed on Hybrids and Hydrogen vehicles. Eventually we will be energy and fossil fuel independent, but it won't happen over night.