re: Its the actual deployment of the infrastructure that needs to be done and that is what should be done by the private sector. Its fine for the government to do basic research with distant and/or very uncertain pay off, but actually efficient delivery of alternate sources of energy will be better done by the forces of the market.
Tim, everything is political, get over it. In your utopian free market world, companies would be the first to seize upon the threat of rising energy prices, and would invest now to save later. The reality of the market is that they don't look past the next quarterly earnings, and most won't spend a nickle now to save a dime in three years.
And the problem is not just economic, it's political and strategic. They have us by the balls. We are being forced to fight oil wars, and with the mess we've whipped up in the ME, there is a significant risk that oil flow from the region could be interrupted by unforeseen events, at a moments notice.
No, this is the perfect time and place for government intervention in the free market, in the form of incentives and jawboning. Energy is already one of the most regulated industries, it not like your fooling around with an Ayn Rand capitalist utopia.
It's economic, political and strategic. And it will take a massive rethink in our consumption based society. It needs courageous political leadership. (And that seems to be our biggest resource shortage).
John |
