This article struck a chord with me as it mirrors something I've been thinking and saying for some time. Environmentalism has been sold poorly to the public for too long. The whole thing is always presented as some kind of moral crusade where compliance means eating tasteless gruel because it is good for us. It's always about some kind of sacrifice. In the case of topics like anthropogenic global warming (which I am beginning to suspect is going to be viewed by future generations as a bizarre quasi-religious hysteria based on awfully weak evidence), it is hard to escape the impression that many of the eco-evangelists are more interested in beating down capitalism and technology than they are in the science of global warming.
This allows the opposite side to spend all its time arguing against the anti-capitalist and anti-technology agenda instead of dealing with the issue of efficiency. I have long thought that many of the so-called "green" technologies could be adopted and pursued more easily and broadly if they were simply marketed as good old fashioned Yankee ingenuity and thriftiness.
So it comes as no surprise that this guy is doing something that Detroit seems unable to do. They spend too much time building ugly cars and lobbying in Washington to avoid increases in fuel efficiency standards.
3 comments:
Great article...
We had a discussion on New Years eve with some friends about the media driven world of fear we live in. Can't let our kids outside because peds live out there too. Has there been an huge increase in the population of chickenhawkers since I grew up? Hell no, we just hear more about them. It sells papers.
The global warming thing too. Who the fuck knows what's going on, but the greenies are blowing it big time and news outlets are eating it up. The more they can make an issue a polarized professional wrestling match debate the more fish wrap they sell. The whole topic is already in the pulp bullshit wrelm of discussion.
Give me something that goes as fast as the car I've got, looks as good, is as fun to drive, AND gets great eco-friendly gas mileage I'll buy it in a second.
Much of my data on the environment comes from the first three reels of "The Day After Tomorrow." After that it's just another cheesy love story.
Humans like polarization. The universe likes polarization; it's how the universe works. As Einstein said, this is why we never see three football teams on the same field, although he later modified this to allow players to wear their team jerseys at the All Star Game.
The mechanisms of global warming cycles are far too complex for any of us in the Blogger/Scientific Community to tease apart in the Comments section, so I'll reserve that for the AOL chatroom I'm creating. I'm hoping it'll replace the old "Peer Reviewed Bullshit No One Can Understand" model of scientific discourse, which is as outdated as my Compuserve account.
Dave is absolutely right about efficiency - this should be an easy one to sell to both sides, right? But then the sides are blurry, and it's back to Einstein's Football Field Equations, which predict any electron whose "spin" hasn't been determined by the end of the Super Bowl Halftime Show will be subject to Wardrobe Malfunctions.
As he points out, Tony wants efficiency, but he still wants his Porsche. Can't say I blame him, but I will anyhow. It's just easier.
Few people know that Einstein holds the single season yardage record for running backs in the Zurich Patent Office Semi-Pro League. And remember, this was back in the days when players "went both ways"!
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