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Re: FT: Massachusetts reaps a wind and solar harvest, 6/8/2011
Cars: the personal automobile was fairly widely adopted primarily because it was a far better solution than the alternative: the horse.
Yes, there were massive subsidies in road building, etc etc but honestly it is unclear how much that mattered. Horse poop was a societal problem in cities, furthermore injuries due to runaway horses/falls from horses were quite ubiquitous, not to mention the large effort necessary to maintain a riding animal (stables, food, care).
Planes: massive subsidies all around. Development of civil aviation was very much a national security issue starting after WW I - having a significant number of experienced pilots was a vital military issue, and the pre FDR government wasn't so large as to be able to have tens of thousands or thousands of pilots sitting around.
Trains: massive subsidies in rail development - though primarily tax and land grants. These subsidies were for the purpose of developing largely unused Western territories.
The problem with wind and solar is that these technologies don't do anything which cannot already be done. The United States has no problem with natural gas and coal supplies, thus the drive to push more and more electricity generation into wind and solar is truly a societal luxury - one which it is unclear the United States can afford given its present economic situation.
The lack of planning as well as the enrichment of scoundrels aspect is just as worrisome - as I've noted before there are areas in which wind/solar can be of use, but these are quite limited and specific.
Instead of being used for these specific areas with ongoing development to push technology such that the usage can expand, instead huge financial resources are being thrown around to install backward technology and increase costs.
Originally posted by lektrode
Yes, there were massive subsidies in road building, etc etc but honestly it is unclear how much that mattered. Horse poop was a societal problem in cities, furthermore injuries due to runaway horses/falls from horses were quite ubiquitous, not to mention the large effort necessary to maintain a riding animal (stables, food, care).
Planes: massive subsidies all around. Development of civil aviation was very much a national security issue starting after WW I - having a significant number of experienced pilots was a vital military issue, and the pre FDR government wasn't so large as to be able to have tens of thousands or thousands of pilots sitting around.
Trains: massive subsidies in rail development - though primarily tax and land grants. These subsidies were for the purpose of developing largely unused Western territories.
The problem with wind and solar is that these technologies don't do anything which cannot already be done. The United States has no problem with natural gas and coal supplies, thus the drive to push more and more electricity generation into wind and solar is truly a societal luxury - one which it is unclear the United States can afford given its present economic situation.
The lack of planning as well as the enrichment of scoundrels aspect is just as worrisome - as I've noted before there are areas in which wind/solar can be of use, but these are quite limited and specific.
Instead of being used for these specific areas with ongoing development to push technology such that the usage can expand, instead huge financial resources are being thrown around to install backward technology and increase costs.
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