tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post988662990604498377..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: The Simple AnswersAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-29166337910833503442008-05-05T21:27:00.000-04:002008-05-05T21:27:00.000-04:00erik, that is a very fair point. As ben notes, the...erik, that is a very fair point. As ben notes, the political difficulty is not an add-on, but integral to the picture.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-35710194992394209062008-05-05T15:24:00.000-04:002008-05-05T15:24:00.000-04:00Hmmm...I'm reconciling this post to your latest "N...Hmmm...I'm reconciling this post to your latest "Not Jumping To Conclusions" one...<BR/><BR/>I like the idea of nuclear power, but I suspect the devil is in the details...Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12644557735209287031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-30831389475265706132008-05-04T15:52:00.000-04:002008-05-04T15:52:00.000-04:00How many people the earth can comfortably support ...How many people the earth can comfortably support is an entirely technology-based issue. We can't support even 2 billion hunter-gatherers, and probably not 2 billion villagers. Once we have sewerage, running water, reinforce concrete, and electricity, we can support many more. 6.5 billion people is the least of our worries. We're going to 9, then receding.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-85506822430004261082008-05-04T00:35:00.000-04:002008-05-04T00:35:00.000-04:00The 'Simple Answer' is definitely one that we, Ame...The 'Simple Answer' is definitely one that we, Americans, capitalists, technologists, futurists, don't really want to hear. It's so obvious, likened to a giant pink elephant in the room, but we have to ignore it because it's anathema to our lifestyle.<BR/><BR/>I'm not as resigned as <A HREF="http://www.azcentral.com/news/aztalk/forum/articles/0409forum_livetalk-CR.html" REL="nofollow">this guy</A> ("<I>I am hopeful we can save a few tens of millions of Americans...</I>") but there is some truth in his claims. The facts can't be ignored...60 Million barrels of oil per day, world consumption; maybe 110 Million bbl/day projected/needed by 2023, given India's and China's newfound love of that 'liquid gold.<BR/><BR/>300 Million people here in the U.S. 6.5 Billion or so, world's population, on a planet that comfortably supports 2 billion. An economy that requires steady growth to stay afloat. And, requires that free-flow of oil at relatively inexpensive prices to sustain that needed growth.<BR/><BR/>It's hard to swallow, and we won't, but clearly...Serr8dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08083811545504469815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-47338491374690628762008-05-03T20:29:00.000-04:002008-05-03T20:29:00.000-04:00What utility is going to invest billions of dollar...What utility is going to invest billions of dollars in something that has proven to be so vulnerable to demogoguery and unreason? Just look at our political inability to take care of nuclear wastes (a problem we more or less know how to handle).<BR/><BR/>I love our political system, messy as it is, and would defend it against all enemies. But democracies do <B> not </B> always do the right thing. Nuclear power requires long-term unsentimental thinking about energy, security and the environment. How can we make <B> that </B> possible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-17935380207736128662008-05-03T13:52:00.000-04:002008-05-03T13:52:00.000-04:00Yeah, that's my thought.Yeah, that's my thought.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-90880215692438152422008-05-03T12:54:00.000-04:002008-05-03T12:54:00.000-04:00Um, okay, I must be slow today. Why am I supposed...Um, okay, I must be slow today. Why am I supposed to roll my eyes at the idea of nuclear power plants? I wish we would build more than a hundred. Our air would clean up so fast you would not believe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com