[clue-talk] the recent "green" fads - or "Stupid Green"

[Angelo Bertolli]

Nate Duehr wrote:
> Sigh... it's all so silly, bordering on truly retarded.  So many 
> "green" initiatives just move the energy use problem around, they 
> don't eliminate the actual use.

There are two costs that we should be trying to reduce, and they are 
somewhat in conflict (which is where this all comes from):  1) effort 
(aka. energy, money) and 2) health.  Companies are good at #1, so I'm 
not quite as worried about that in the long run.  I would be more 
concerned about our health though, meaning that sometimes we have to 
come up with ways to keep companies from persuing #1 at the detriment of #2.

>
> (How much power does it take to CREATE a solar panel?  Will it make 
> all of that back PLUS MORE in its lifetime?)

It's funny you should mention that.  Solar energy is easily the most 
neglected piece to this entire puzzle IMO.  There is so little research 
and development put into this in the US and it has some of the best 
potential and results.

But your point about the math is well taken.

>
> "Green" is the new "Dot Com" marketing fad, but it's being implemented 
> by idiots, without any real regard for where the biggest impact would 
> be seen.  Or more likely, it's implemented only as a way to sell 
> things, not out of true desire to change things.  Only to "appear 
> concerned".

Yeah, hybrid cars are definitely all about marketing.  Check out this 
baby from the 1980's:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_CR-X
Note:
"The original 1.3 liter car and the later American-market CR-X HF (High 
Fuel economy) model could reliably achieve very good gas mileage, more 
than a decade before gas-electric hybrids appeared on the market, and at 
no price premium over the base model; the 1.3 liter was rated (at 
current ratings) at 41 mpg city and 50 mpg highway."

So what's going on here?  Are these hybrid cars any improvement?  Or did 
the car companies purposefully decide they weren't going to improve gas 
efficiency for 20 years until it became a marketing tool to have "hybrid 
cars" and somehow get the mpg to where they had it in the 80's?


Angelo