tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980874911927460995.post886952126842827247..comments2023-10-25T07:54:34.666-07:00Comments on 3CNB: Going GreenScotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12915297057336831151noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8980874911927460995.post-16645638294689729072008-11-13T17:16:00.000-08:002008-11-13T17:16:00.000-08:00I figured I'd just use a long comment instead of a...I figured I'd just use a long comment instead of another post.<BR/><BR/>First, this is an old problem for markets, in that nobody owns the sky, the ocean, etc., so nobody has an interest in maintaining it as their "property." Overfishing, pollution, etc, are all difficult problems in this respect for free markets to solve, and it shouldn't surprise anybody that this is a commonly pointed out failing. We don't have a problem with extremely polluted backyards and living rooms, after all, only those places that nobody owns.<BR/><BR/>So, to get a real market solution, somebody has to own the "sky" that all those smokestacks dump smog into. To me, that's a scary idea. Equally scary to me is having the government regulating it, as we all know what politics does to rational decision making. There will always be a segment of the population that wants us living in loincloths, and their vote counts just as much as yours or mine. And frankly, I don't trust the wisdom of the masses anymore. They are putty in the hands of the demagogues. I'm not a big fan of democracy of late. Look what its got us. We should go back to limited franchise. But that's another discussion.<BR/><BR/>As for infrastructure, I don't think there is quite the case here for . Yes, the present system favors fossil fuels, but it handles ethanol well enough, with some modification, and I can tell you biodiesel will also work in the same lines with only minor modifications. Its not that chemically different.<BR/><BR/>In reality, pretty much any non-corrosive liquid could be handled by the present infrastructure without much difficulty. Gasses cause a problem in that they are difficult and expensive to transport (that's actually the big problem with natural gas, and believe it or not, an awful lot of chemists are working on this problem. If it is solved, it will be a very, very big deal), and solids don't flow. The real issue is cost and volume. We use a lot of fossil fuels, and it is pretty cheap to dig a hole in the ground and pump stuff out, compared to some chemical process or whatever.<BR/><BR/>I'm pretty sure that if somebody came along with a super-cheap process to produce safe, cleanly burning liquids at the volumes required to sustain the present demand, they could make it into the market. The oil companies own all that infrastructure; they would get in on the act, not get wiped out by it. I don't think they pose much of a barrier. Trust me, one of them would sell the others out for a buck and a guaranteed continued existence in the marketplace.<BR/><BR/>For the pollution problem, I really don't have any good open-market solutions for you. Milton Friedman has a very good economic discussion of this problem in his book "Free to Choose," among many other topics. Of course, he's the father of the Chicago school, so you can't trust all his economics, but a lot of it is really quite good. I recommend it.<BR/><BR/>As for all those other things: those are social problems, not economic. We will never "solve" the trade imbalance save through bankruptcy. Nations have always practiced mercantilism. They probably always will. And the best resource allocation comes through open market pricing. If the prices are right, the investment will be right, and things will work out. And our prices will be right if our ethics are right, and we don't meddle in the affairs of others and steal through government redistribution "programs." That's the big question, and I imagine on this front we will fail. God runs the economy better than we could ever hope to, but WE want to be in control. WE want to decide who should get what, not the "arbitrary" forces of the market a.k.a. the laws of the universe and the laws of God. <BR/><BR/>Sorry, it doesn't work that way...<BR/><BR/>Anyway, that's a subject for another post.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12915297057336831151noreply@blogger.com