The US and Big Industry have used coup's and economic hit men to control the natural resources of South America since we assumed custodial control with the Monroe Doctrine in 1823. Populist leaders have every right to be paranoid. But it seems that all Leftest/Populist leaders feel the need to install a cult of personality and demonize the United States to distract the people into accepting their edicts. Their is a lot of grey in this, it should at least be interesting to watch. Does anyone have any doubts that Exxon will win every point in the World Court? Does anyone have any doubts that Chavez will push Venezualans into Cuba like poverty before he gives in? Does anyone think that China will be disinterested bystander? May you live in nteresting times!
only realistic alternative as of now is nuclear power. us would have to create more secure sites to place the nuclear waste. we'd also have to start recycling on a national level (plastic is made out of oil). people would have to stop driving around gas guzzling suvs/trucks and start driving hybrids. we have to invest more in public transportation. private home owners and businesses would have to start installing solar arrays on their roof tops. people in the oil industry would not be happy. it is possible to do but it would be really really expensive. economically it would be a bad idea in the short run. but in the long run, it would benefit the US. not sure the avg. US citizen is willing to go the distance on something like this...
it would create new jobs and spending in the economy. i'm not suggesting being entirely off oil. i'm just suggesting cutting back significantly. with alternatives.
How about a traditional energy car that still only uses gasoline after 40 miles. Coming in 2010. http://www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/
dont know much about south american politics but for a continent stricken w/ poverty, its easy to see how someone like chavez could be easily elected. if he wants to keep his oil then he should keep his oil. the US will just have to buy more from other countries.
More importantly - what's the actual energy savings? Does this reduce carbon footprint? If we really wanted to lower our reliance on foreign oil, we would need to totally overhaul our transit system (ditch highways and go mass transit like every sane country) and lower our ridiculously high use of plastics. Don't get me started on bottled water. Or on our national disinterest in recycling.
They've promised to get it to less than $30,000. According to a GM officer who is currently driving one (I think he was interviewed on CNBC.), it reduced his gasoline budget from $180/month to $50/month, while adding $30/month to his electric bill. It probably doesn't reduce carbon footprint much if your electricity comes from gas or coal, but it should mean significant pocketbook savings.
Fine, they can sell more to other countries. When they buy less from other OPEC countries, we'll buy more. It'll even out.
i'm thinking the genie is already way too far out of the bottle for that sort of change. i think realistically we need to be looking in different directions. that doesn't mean that i wouldn't advocate mass transit systems...it just means I don't think it's the only solution.
It's the best in terms of efficiency, particularly for long distance travel. But no, it's not the only solution, and it is probably too late to go back on our psychotic fixation on independent travel at lower speeds and higher cost. If we had to stick with the car, I'd prefer hydrogen to some "plug-your-car-in-every-night" continuance on fossil fuels.
This certainly is true for Houston. The plug in car would be a good transition if the electricity used to run it can come from a relatively non-polluting source. A big "if" I know. As an aside if gasoline rose to $10/gallon or more, (and other energy rises largely in tandem) would Houston be an affordable city? As I understand it, although housing costs are low in Houston we generally make up for a lot of it by spending more on transportation than they do in more compact cities. The older I get, the more I would hate to give up my car.
