I am actually not suggesting legislation to ban anything, however. I'm suggesting the governments across the world incentivise r/d into alternative energy and make alternative forms of transport more attractive than those more wasteful kinds. Better public transport, better facilities for people using non-fossil-based energy sources.
I actually have little issue with incentivising people to go for more economical cars or energy efficient items or research to new kinds of fuel sources, etc.
I love incentives. My issue is not with incentives. I actually think we should have tax incentives and such for buying more fuel efficient cars, energy efficient appliances and objects like solar panels, and as long a we're in the business of giving scientific grants giving it to people (regardless if its a college or if its a fuel company) doing research into alternative forms of energy.
What I dislike is PUNISHING people for NOT doing those things. You want to give people a $1000 tax break for buying a car with 35 MPG or over, sure thing. You want to impose a $1000 fine on people for buying one with 15 MPG, absolutely not. And that goes equally true for bull**** underhanded attempts of doing it by, for example, increasing the taxes on all cars by $1000 and THEN doing the $1000 tax break on ones over 35MPG, effectively back ending into the $1000 fine.
You will rarely see me upset with the money potentially giving money back to people for doing something that is beneficial in some facet or way (As opposed to giving money to people for things that are of little tangable benefit or demotivate).
There is substantive, tangable, immediete proven fact in terms of the affects on Alcohol. On ones body. On ones attitude and its impact if they are in public. On ones ability to drive. These are MUCH more immediete and much more definitive than that of climate change, its impact, and its possability to be "stopped" if it even needs to be.
Further, if its about resouces, then why aren't we getting to use our own now? Why are we having numerous legislation that also is due to environmental issues that are essentially stopping it. People continue to claim that even if we drill now we won't have the oil now, but in 10 years. Fine, drill now, and lets get it in 10 years. Because 10 years ago people were saying lets reduce the restrictions on this and start drilling and we were told no, it won't come now. Now 10 years later we're hearing the same thing. If its about expiring resources why aren't we building the infastructure NOW to tap ours in 10 years, or even just be ready for when we NEED to start pumping ours? We're not, because this is as much a political movement as a legitimate scientific movement, and part of it is the notion that oil consumption of any kind, and using of our own resources, is bad.
If we're going to run out or resources sometimes in our life time know what is even more important than simply using less of it currently? Finding what is going to be the NEXT resource we're going to use. Yet that is second fiddle most times to making us stop using the resources. And we're going to do significant damage to business, our economy, and our way of life all of which helps enables the educational system and economic system we have in place to allow us to potentially MAKE those advances in technology a reality.
I'll have to look for an old thread, its probably 2 years old now so I don't know if I'll be able to find it, but its part of what started really opening my eyes with this.
Scientists had found a way to create an incest that actuall excreted crude oil.
Yeah, they shat oil.
There were people on this website that went balistic at the notion, so upset with this scientific research because we needed to "end our obsession with oil".
It was at this point where it was made crystal clear that this isn't simply science, this is most definitely political.
If its about resources running out who cares what the resource is...if it hydrogen, if its water, if its trash, or if its oil. If its really about that then should we be excited and hey even saying "lets give these guys some grants" if there's a chance to have a renewable resource that could actually use the entire infastructure we currently have in place instead of having to create an entirely new infastructure?
But we can't, because oil is bad, oil is dirty, oil is evil, oil is owned by people like exxon, and we can't have that...
Cause yeah, it may be a bit about the environment, but its a hell of a lot about politics as well.