128shot wrote:Tanada wrote:128shot wrote:Why don't we switch over to this, yet another fossil fule (makes me cringe too), untill we develop renews?
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How would this be any better than using lignite or sub-bitoumus slurry? Fossil fuel is still going to be a major polluter, no matter how you slice it.
Well, its really just to continue to pump out oil, pollution will just have to be dealt with.
Yup. It's all about economics.
Now, if we were rational, we'd at least seriously attempt to charge for all the negative external social costs of using all pollutants. Fossil fuels being a prime example. Then society would attempt to choose far more wisely, having the economic incentive to do so. Far more renewable energy would be wanted and built, etc.
Examples of things that the US should have as part of a fossil fuels tax for crude oil consumption:
1). All the military costs for anything to do with protecting US (and ally) fossil fuel interests. So for starters, the roughly quarter of a $trillion we spend annually "protecting" the Middle East re shipping lanes, etc.
2). All the CO2 creation of any significance, especially the roughly 20 pounds of CO2 we create for each gallon of gasoline burned.
3). All the pollutants created from burning FF's like NOX, SO2, VOC's, etc.
And I'm sure there are plenty of others, but just considering those would mean a VERY SIGNIFICANT tax on crude oil or the end products.
But of course, we're anything but rational, so back to happy motoring and runaway AGW, etc.