Comment Re:Seems he has more of a clue (Score 1) 703
Automobiles are only responsible for a fraction of global CO2 emmissions - how are Teslas going to reduce emissions from factories, residential and commercial power consumption, concrete production, international shipping, etc? They're not. Cars are only one part of the problem - a part that needs to be solved, but that's just the beginning, not the end. And the clock is counting down fast.
Meanwhile coal and natural gas are only getting cheaper, while nuclear is unlikely to be truly competitive until we crack cheap fusion (and that's ignoring the long-term externalized expenses of waste disposal). Renewables have potential, but will require massive investments in power storage technology before they can supply more than a small fraction of total consumption.
I do agree that, thanks to regulatory capture, government intervention tends to cause as many problems as it solves - but then that also suggests a first-step solution: Let's remove all government "subsidies" from the fossil fuel industry. No more wars to secure cheap oil. No more subsidies or tax breaks for exploration and exploitation. No more exemptions from environmental regulations. No more immunity from prosecution for companies poisoning our groundwater with fracking chemicals.
Unfortunately that's not going to happen any time soon - too many entrenched interests willing to funnel a portion of their ill-gotten gains back into the system to keep the money flowing. The best we can hope for is a similar level of subsidies and regulatory advantages for the competition - the established interests fight those too, but without the urgency brought against direct attacks to their current cash cow.