by "Groagun" (groagun)
Published 01/30/2017 at 22:10
by "Groagun" (groagun)
Published 01/30/2017 at 22:10
No Tags
STARS: 5
It’s frustrating to see people of my generation, my peers, ignoring the lessons learned from the past or just plain not bothering to look at or educate ourselves in that rich history.
It’s not only my group of Gen X’ers but my parents group as well. The Baby Boomers: the F’in Baby Boomers, who lived through the period in which I single out today.
Gen Y’ers, the group directly behind me are given a bit of a pass here as they weren’t even conceived yet but that’s still no excuse now as most of you are in your late 20's to mid 30's now. Old enough and smart enough to know better and have been taught some of the recent past.
So what am I rambling on about? This: Ford says a loss of 1 Million jobs on the table and this Ford: 1 Million jobs at risk
In other words, if the US auto industry stops or slows down the demand and research into better fuel economy technology, it will save 1 million jobs.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
If you’ll allow me, let’s take a walk down memory lane. To a time when America was once again at a cross road and it picked the wrong path. It was shown the right path, but you ignored it and payed a very heavy price for your mistake: both in monetary terms and the blood and lives of your brave Service men and women and private citizens alike.
This article is from Gizmodo circa Nov 2013:
President Carter’s Solar Panels
It’s not that fuel economy technology and solar panels are related in energy sector concerns or environmental impact calculations, no it’s that when America and Americans have a choice to move forward with something new and innovative and that, or those things, disrupt the status quo, America and Americans become very short sighted and even anti-technology.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Here is the original New York Times article from June 21 1979 NYT June 21 1979 and these other posts show some of the fallout from President Regan’s fateful decision to remove the solar panels in 1986: The Forgotten History Blog: Regan Removes Solar Panels and for a simple monetary calculation and cost analysis, this What did it cost to remove the White House solar panels?
Those simple monetary calculations are kind of funny but the real disheartening thing is the cost to American Service members lives in the pursuit of oil that really should hurt: not to mention or forgetting by any means, those lives lost during 9/11 or the subsequent wars there after.
What if Regan pursued the new and clean energy future that Carter started? I think it’s reasonable to think or even assume that 9/11 or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may never have happened or ever needed to be.
Now that does not mean that something else would not have happened or been just as momentous and life taking, but I would bet all I have that the future, circa 1986, would have been very different from the one we know today and lived through.
Now Mark Fields is playing a very deceptive game here. Ford is head first into technological development and even a leader in some areas. Mr Fields knows full well that if Ford stops R&D into new fuel technology and alternative powertrain technology, Ford might as well close up shop today.
No, what Mr Fields and the other CEO’s are doing is playing Trump for a fool, he is, and trying to squeeze as much government cash as possible out of his administration before the party ends.
Ford, GM and Chrysler, the Detroit 3, not the big 3, know what they’re doing and taking full advantage. If you believe that halting technological progress is the path to future profitability then I have some land in Florida to sell you.
By killing the solar industry in America in 1986, Regan handed the Chinese the keys to the store and they ran with it. They own the industry today. America spends more on solar power than anyone and they pay the Chinese to produce the goods for them.
Don’t be stupid, don’t be fooled again! Be honest with yourself and with others. Hold all your officials feet to the fire: that is what makes America great and you as Americans great.
You have all the tools at your finger tips and a wealth of knowledge the rest of the world could only dream of. If you give the shop away again you have no one to blame but yourselves.
For every job lost in the old tech department, there’s at least one new one in the ever growing and increasingly needed ‘clean energy’ field. Let the past go, embrace the future. Don’t let the snake oil salesmen of yesterday determine your future.
Good luck, I’m rooting for you.
"190octane" (admiralcb)
01/30/2017 at 22:20, STARS: 3
I’ve said for a while that the way to deal with coal miners being out of work is to invest money into training and putting factories that manufacture renewable energy sources in coal country.
Fossil fuels are going to be a thing of the past. Why should we, as a country, cling to the past instead of leading the world into the future and reaping the benefits?
"For Sweden" (rallybeetle)
01/30/2017 at 22:22, STARS: 2
Why would anyone build factories in a mountainous area
"TheHondaBro" (wwaveform)
01/30/2017 at 22:23, STARS: 5
Why would anyone build mountains in a factory area?
"190octane" (admiralcb)
01/30/2017 at 22:23, STARS: 0
I’m sure they can find enough flat space to put some buildings in.
If not, use some of that leftover dynamite and make some flat spots.
"jkm7680" (jkm7680)
01/30/2017 at 22:32, STARS: 4
Agreed. The only problem is the resistance to retraining that some of the older guys have.
Coal ain’t coming back, but something can. These people just need jobs.
"jkm7680" (jkm7680)
01/30/2017 at 22:34, STARS: 1
Very well written, props!
"DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
01/30/2017 at 22:47, STARS: 0
minor point, but....
What if Regan pursued the new and clean energy future that Carter started? I think it’s reasonable to think or even assume that 9/11 or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
Afghanistan doesn’t export any oil . At least as of 2010, but I doubt they’ve kicked it off since then.
There’s a common misconception it’s in the middle east, but it’s in Asia. Like has a border with China.
"Groagun" (groagun)
01/30/2017 at 23:01, STARS: 0
Actually I wasn’t even using Afganistan as an oil producing nation for cause or effect. You are correct in your assessment of their capabilities or lack there of in this case.
No, Afghanistan is a victim of the region and politics at large. Part of the sad story comes from oil as the root and the overall relationship that the middle east has with NA and the world at large.
I’ve asked before but am always curious as to what others think: If the oil runs out or if there had not been any to start with, what kind of relationship, if any, would the rest of the world have with the middle east in general?
"DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
01/30/2017 at 23:18, STARS: 0
My best guess is that it would revert back to how it was before WW1. By no means an expert on that, but the nations would either break up into smaller ones or lose lots of power to local tribal leaders.
"Groagun" (groagun)
01/30/2017 at 23:21, STARS: 0
Internally I believe you’re right: but what about the rest of the world? Would we care at all?
"TorqueToYield" (torquetoyield)
01/31/2017 at 07:57, STARS: 0
The US is now the #1 oil producing country on Earth. Google it. It’s all due to fracking. It’s a bit of a recent development (post Afghanistan/Iraq war). But to claim that our Middle East policy presently revolves around oil is false. The law was only recently changed to allow for limited exports of domestic oil so most of the oil produced in the US is consumed in the US. This has drastically lowered our imports of foreign oil.
"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
01/31/2017 at 09:55, STARS: 0
Or subsidize to relocate people in these incredibly impoverished areas. The poorest counties here in Michigan are so depressing and stuck in an endless cycle of poverty. They can’t afford to get out though. For the ones that are willing to be reeducated, relocated and put to work. We should be subsidizing that. That’s how piece of shit of a president could actually fulfill his promise of putting America to work. But he doesn’t truly want to do that.
I’ve heard it happening on a small scale somewhere, some mayor or something somewhere made some favorable tax laws, attracted a major corporation and had it working with the local community college to create degrees that led directly to jobs. Imagine that. I believe the corporation was Bell, or some other helicopter maker.
We need more communities like that where education and jobs are working in harmony.
"Groagun" (groagun)
01/31/2017 at 12:16, STARS: 0
Again, this article has nothing, nothing, to do with oil production. You are correct in that today, the US produces more oil and and natural gas than anyone and can be almost %100 self sufficient in terms of power: except for the oil coming out of Alberta which is technically foreign oil.
This article is about past mistakes leading to recent or present ‘problems’ to put it mildly. This is about near sighted policy and decision making that has ramifications in today’s and tomorrows world.