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Old 03-30-2009 | 11:37 PM
  #77  
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HSLD
APC co-founder
 
Joined: Feb 2005
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From: B777
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Here's a good read on the topic of implementation on a large scale:

Amazon.com: Getting Green Done: Hard Truths from the Front Lines of the Sustainability Revolution: Auden Schendler: Books

Excerpt:
Prius drivers and recyclers take note: according to debut author Schendler, your efforts to be environmentally correct are admirable, but are hardly the kind of urgent, unified action we need to really make an impact on global climate change. In fact, he says, by focusing on small individual actions, you may be actually harming the environmental movement. A pioneer in the sustainability movement, Schendler points out that "there is a hangover from the 1970s that continues to hamper the environmental movement today." Using examples from his own consulting work as the executive director of Community and Environmental Responsibility at Aspen Skiing Company, he asserts that real change can only come from tough decisions by big businesses and through legislation. Rather than sacrificing ROI to integrate green practices, Schendler says that companies must make profit-driven decisions that complement their business models in order to carry out meaningful and lasting environmental change. By challenging status quo thinking about sustainability and taking the point of view of the business executive and the worker in the field, Schendler offers a perspective that is refreshingly realistic and pragmatic.

I think there is ample evidence of climate change, the cause of course is open for dispute. However, what if the country began projects to revamp the national power grid to make it automated and autonomous? At the same time funding work to solve electricity storage and distribution problems from solar and wind generation?

The worst case as I see it is putting hundreds of thousands to work (think TVA), setting the stage for a smart grid, and tapping into grassroots innovation to solve technical problems that we're pretty close on.
  • Putting Americans to work
  • Developing non-polluting renewable energy
  • Shedding dependence of Foreign Energy sources
I can't see a downside to any of those points really. The technology WILL be developed, it's just a question of will American companies be selling the intellectual property or buying it?
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