Continuations - Latest Comments in Gasoline Pandering - Continuations

Re: Gasoline Pandering - Continuations

albert — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:09:26 -0000

With the likely result that the US may not play as big a role in cleantech as it has the potential to. Just saw a statistic that US share of global production of solar cells has declined from 40% a few years ago to 8% today (may have been in today's NYT).

Re: Gasoline Pandering - Continuations

albert — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:07:21 -0000

So true about the lack of public transport -- even some of the big cities are accessible by car only. Was just in Phoenix/Scottsdale, which is a perfect example.

Re: Gasoline Pandering - Continuations

qwang — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:58:02 -0000

People have 2 choices: switch to mass transit or reduce level of activity. Sadly given the state of US transit infrastructure, high fuel prices will lean towards reducing economic activity.

What really concerns me about this pandering is how it affects the perceived urgency of investing in alternative fuels.

Re: Gasoline Pandering - Continuations

mccv — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:42:26 -0000

It's interesting that certain users already get a pretty hefty tax break on fuel. See http://www.irs.gov/publicat.... I know growing up that a lot of farmers had tanks on their property that they used for farm equiment, and got fuel at a very significant discount. Extending this credit to people who depend on fuel for their livelihood makes some sense.

At the end of the day the high fuel prices should curtail consumption. The amazing thing is that at this point they're not. It's really a testament to the way the U.S. culture and infrastructure are intertwined. Outside the urban centers it's really difficult to avoid driving a lot.