Should governments put more resources into researching alternative energy?

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   Silverspeederposted 11 years ago

   Should governments put more resources into researching alternative energy?
   
   Most governments are using taxation to reduce carbon emissions and reduce energy consumption but isn't up to the government to try to offer alternative energy sources and if so shouldn't they be using more of the carbon tax money to research renewable sources of energy?

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   LandmarkWealthposted 11 years ago

   Not at all...First of all there is still a wide debate as to whether or not carbon emissions have the detrimental impact that some believe.  That being said, there is nothing wrong with pursuing other forms of energy consumption.  But gov't funded research leads to enormous waste and misallocation of resources.  That how we end up with disasters like Solyndra.  It becomes a game of corrupt politicians distributing money to their friends in projects that are very often not economically viable.  If a project makes any economic sense then it will attract private capital.  If not then it won't.  Which means they are not long term sustainable.  When it isn't, govt ends up throwing good money after bad at the expense of the taxpayer. 
   
   As an example, look at solar power.  While it's a nice idea...a very small number of Americans have made the conversion to solar panels on their roofs.  And for good reason.  It is a poor economic decision.  Even if you spend 30 years in your home (Which most Americans Don't) the payback is terrible even after the tax credits.   It takes at least a decade to breakeven, and much longer than that when you look at opportunity costs related to the up front investment. Meanwhile, natural gas, which is extremely cost effective, efficient and in great abundance in the US is facing all kinds of obstacles to exploration by the Federal Gov't.  My home is powered by natural gas for heat, the stove and the dryer.  It cost me less than $1,400.00 for the whole year in my gas bill.  My neighbors house is 300 square feet smaller than mine and uses oil heat.  There Oil bill was nearly $6,000.00 for the year.   The gov't doesn't need to fund natural gas research.  It makes sense, so the market does it for us. 
   
   Lastly the idea of a "Carbon Tax" is simply ridiculous.  There is no precise formula for measuring contribution to carbon emissions.  Will the gov't place a monitor on my desktop computer to see how long it is running to measure energy usage of my business and my corresponding carbon footprint ???  They can't simply read my electric bill since it's aggregated with the other corporate tenants.  Will I get a corporate deduction for the plants in my office as a carbon offset ???  You can see where this will end up going.  Perhaps those that sell plants and trees for a living will be exempted from corporate taxes. The method of determining this is totally arbitrary.  And any money collected by the Gov't will end up wasted or stolen.

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      lone77starposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Bravo on "carbon tax," but there is a lot of proof that fossil fuels are detrimental. But the same people who push "carbon tax" are the ones blocking alternative energy and pushing big oil.

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      LandmarkWealthposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The proof is very much in dispute by many scientist.  The same scientist scientific bodies were telling us 35 years ago that the coming Ice Age was upon us and we should begin melting the polar ice caps to save ourselves from food shortages.

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      Larry Wallposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Having worked for "big oil" through a trade group--I assure you the oil industry is not pushing or supporting a carbon tax. It was the oil industry that defeated Clinton's BTU tax years ago--I was actively involved in that issue. Check my oil hubs.

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   Larry Wallposted 11 years ago

   Alternative energy sources will be needed some day, and I come from an oil and gas background. However, there are two major points.
   From a transportation standpoint, if there is going to be an alternative to gasoline, it has to be one alternative and not many. It is not feasible to expect affordable cars to run on multiple fuel sources.
   Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, oil and gas provide more than BTUs, i.e. gasoline, jet fuel, diesel; etc. Natural gas is used to make fertilizers. Oil is used to make hundred of non-fuel products, ranging from medicines and heart valves to parachutes and the tires on your alternative energy vehicle.
   We need a plan and not the "any or all" approach we are seeing today.

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   lone77starposted 11 years ago

   If the government were an ethical entity, unbiased public servant and not tainted by the conflicts of interest with corporations, then I'd still say "no."
   
   We need to get off of the notion that governments are a solution to everything. They aren't. That's why we're in the big trouble we're now in, because over the last century, that notion has crept into our culture until we've become defacto socialists or communists, even when we were fighting "communism" to make the world safe for "democracy." Those were just slogans to keep us hypnotized -- like "peace keeping" actions that are really wars by another name.
   
   I grew up in West Texas and my entire family made money off of big oil. But I'm not the first in my family to say that big oil is a problem. Even during the so-called "shortage" of the 70s, there was not a shortage -- just mismanagement and hype so that raising prices could be easier. Public manipulation. There were fields in West Texas where they turned on the oil pumps only 30 minutes a month. I call that a "bottleneck."
   
   Humans affect climate, yes, but it has not been proven how much. The idea of a "carbon tax" to help protect the Earth is bogus. Just like the private central bank we call the Federal Reserve (creating money out of thin air, based on a debt that they decide exists, to enrich their fellow bankers).
   
   Western governments have also been stealing oil from other countries. It's been nearly 6 years since I've seen American press, so I don't know anymore what kind of lies they still tell there, but moving overseas was the best education I've ever had. Alternative press has some junk, but enough good stuff to see the propaganda Americans and other Western nations are being fed.
   
   We've already had many inventors who came up with alternative sources and they were shut down, arrested, murdered or "suicided." Their actions were a threat to "national security" (yeah, Exxon, Unocal, Shell, etc).
   
   If you want alternative forms of energy, start by creating a new government.
   
   The first experiment with liberty worked pretty good, but the forces of evil have choked the current one so much that there's no fixing it.
   
   Just walk away from it. Stop buying corporate products and services. Throw out your TV. Use public transportation or bicycles, if you need to get about.
   
   Here some information on alternative energy and government corruption:
   
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEV5AFFcZ-s

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      Silverspeederposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I maust agree with most everything you say, our government (UK) takes most of the price of a (US) gallon of petrol which stands at about $8.50 in tax so i don't see them rushing to change things soon.

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      Larry Wallposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I question the objectivity of your you tube source. I  the 70s we had a Middle East embargo. People panic and topped off their tanks every other day, causing an artificial shortage. Oil will be our primary fuel for a long time. Alternatives will come

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      LandmarkWealthposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Not sure about oil remaining the primary source.  My money says in the next 15 years we will be driving cars powered by natural gas.  It's already designed and in great abundance in the US.  We are like the Saudi Arabia of Natural Gas.

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