We mostly agree. But my point seems to be missed entirely - so I'll try again. It's NOT about GW - it's about what we're doing about it.
But first, I'd like to know more about how you did it for pennies per KWh? Did you build your own wind turbine or what? When I priced it solar it was *WAY* expensive and had a 10 - 14 year ROI. Fuel Cells about the same. It was *way* expensive to "go green" for me. I'm in Texas and it's been over 100 for *way* too many days and my electric bill is crazy high right now.
Anyway, I watched a debate where Lord Monckton asked some questions and I gotta say - he made a really good point. Love him or hate him, it doesn't mean his questions are any less worthy of being answered than any other.
He asked questions and made points that really made me think.
The more I seek answers to his points more the overtly reactionary jackasses accuse me of being a denier.. Which, frankly, has really opened my eyes just to how *LITTLE* the green advocates actually know and understand.
So lets talk about what action to take.
Which is my critique #1: Automatically rejecting points made by the other side of the debate simple because they are the other side of the debate doesn't help
Frankly, the green movement almost seems adverse to discussing *real* answers because they fear loosing their political football. The more I ask, the more I question, the more resistance I have to finding answers. Actions are speaking louder than words.
You seem reasonable, so these are the basic question he asked that is the quickest way to get accused of impaling babies on stakes:
- What are we going to do?
- What impact will this have on developing nations and populations?
- How will we do it?
- How much will it cost?
- Why are we doing it?
- Can we prove the costs outweigh the negatives?
I ask these questions, nobody can seem to (or is willing to) answer them or even admit they should be asked, and I have a problem with this. It is turning me into a skeptic because instead of talking about this - I'm stereotyped.
Thus, asking questions makes me a skeptic. Really. lol... and then they act like people "just don't get it"? It's like a bunch of monkeys humping a football. A lot going on but not many results.
Which is my critique #2: Our models keep failing to predict what will happen. Simple reality. We need better models so we can answer the above questions.
*NOBODY* can *PROVE* billions will die. Nobody can *PROVE* what will happen. There is no _proof_. We're not there yet.
I"m trying to be pragmatic and the hyper-reactionary political greens won't let me. They don't like my "badspeak".
Which brings me to where I am at:
Which is my critique #3: The environmental movement seems almost oblivious to the negative impact some in their movement have. And worse, refuse to even admit that there are extremists that are making the who effort look bad.
It's *EASY* to dismiss the human toll today because we're not face to face with it; but we are foolish to not account for the direct, current impact on the planet's people today. Not just making Americans take more public transportation, but ensuring that vaccinations in the Sudan are properly refrigerated. We can't do this in an affordable way today with only sustainable or green energy.
Go build a hospital powered by wind turbines and solar panels that the people of Somalia can afford.
The extremists fight against the populations of developing nations under the banner of fighting *for* the environment.
I am *NOT* OK with preventing GM crops to feed the starving. We've spliced plants to create higher yields forever. They sue to prevent them. May less rain forest would be destroyed if would share the GM crops to increase the yields on what farmland they use today?
I am *NOT* OK with telling countries cannot build coal based or nuclear power plants - *especially* those with little to no infrastructure today. They sue to prevent them.
Blindly saying no new coal plants on the planet is not just crazy, but borderline evil IMHO considering what NOT building them brings us. And we KNOW what that brings us. Famine. Death. Ignorance. Radicalism.
I say - like you, lets build *clean* power plants here. Lets make their construction and the profits from them exempt from taxes for 10 years or more.
Here's what makes me "evil" to the green movement: I say let's allow the developing nations to build power plants that use less green technology for the short term (30 - 40 years) so we can bring them to the prosperous party we're all benefiting from.
Maybe it ought to be based on GDP or something - but to sit here and act like people aren't dying and suffering because of global warming extremists' actions is a bunch of bull.