I stumbled on an interesting website called ProCon.Org. It's a five minute introduction on the debate of alternative energy from expertise in the field. We already know this, but it's still disappointing how the corporations in the United States still control a lot of what we, the consumer has available in turn of alternative fuels for vehicles in this country. Its just another day another dollar for these folks. If you haven't seen the documentary movie, "Who Killed the Electric Car?", you should. Its just a taste of how big corporations work to squeeze more money out of the consumer while damaging the environment.
A preview of the list top ten list:
4. Subsidies for Alternative Energy
PRO: "The subsidies in place allow the [alternative energy] industry to grow and technologies to be developed and mature and drive costs down...
Alternative energy is most developed in countries where government subsidies have been in place for some time. Germany put in place strong incentives in the early part of this decade to encourage demand for solar modules, to encourage installations of wind farms and to support the biofuels industry. Companies in countries with a more progressive alternative energy policy framework therefore developed technology and intellectual property at an earlier state. Other European countries such as Denmark, Spain and Portugal also embraced alternative energy therefore companies tend to be more mature in Europe. However the potential for growth in the U.S. is greater, and once a longer term framework has been put in place, we would expect the U.S. to catch up fast."
CON: "Several recent bills would either subsidize or mandate alternative fuels and/or vehicles. However, the 30-plus-year history of federal attempts to encourage such alternatives includes numerous failures and few, if any, successes...
After all these years, Washington has failed to grasp the serious economic and technological shortcomings of these energy alternatives, which is why they needed special treatment in the first place. Federal efforts to pick winners and losers among energy sources-and to lavish mandates and subsidies on the perceived winners-have a dismal track record relative to allowing market forces to decide the direction of energy innovation."
If we the people want change, it begins with us. It is a buyers and sellers market out there. If the consumer demands alternative fuel running vehicles, that's what the automaker will start producing. We can make a difference for the future and for our planet.
*information taken from: http://alternativeenergy.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=001792
By Cathlean Ravinski
A preview of the list top ten list:
4. Subsidies for Alternative Energy
PRO: "The subsidies in place allow the [alternative energy] industry to grow and technologies to be developed and mature and drive costs down...
Alternative energy is most developed in countries where government subsidies have been in place for some time. Germany put in place strong incentives in the early part of this decade to encourage demand for solar modules, to encourage installations of wind farms and to support the biofuels industry. Companies in countries with a more progressive alternative energy policy framework therefore developed technology and intellectual property at an earlier state. Other European countries such as Denmark, Spain and Portugal also embraced alternative energy therefore companies tend to be more mature in Europe. However the potential for growth in the U.S. is greater, and once a longer term framework has been put in place, we would expect the U.S. to catch up fast."
CON: "Several recent bills would either subsidize or mandate alternative fuels and/or vehicles. However, the 30-plus-year history of federal attempts to encourage such alternatives includes numerous failures and few, if any, successes...
After all these years, Washington has failed to grasp the serious economic and technological shortcomings of these energy alternatives, which is why they needed special treatment in the first place. Federal efforts to pick winners and losers among energy sources-and to lavish mandates and subsidies on the perceived winners-have a dismal track record relative to allowing market forces to decide the direction of energy innovation."
If we the people want change, it begins with us. It is a buyers and sellers market out there. If the consumer demands alternative fuel running vehicles, that's what the automaker will start producing. We can make a difference for the future and for our planet.
*information taken from: http://alternativeenergy.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=001792
By Cathlean Ravinski
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