Mikalac Norman S NSSC wrote:
>
>
> i'm curious how mark arrives at this conclusion. capitalism can't exist w/o
> fossil fuels? why can't it just switch to other fuels: nuclear, solar,
> hydrogen, biomass, etc.?
I don't think Mark is on Pen-l but I think this is what he would say:
there are no alternatives to fossil fuels. Nuclear power is an energy
sink. Hydrogen is not a naturally occuring compound (on earth), it has
to be manufactured with...fossil fuels. Biomass ethanol might be an
energy sink and if it isn't it would take too much land out of food
production to grown enough corn to fuel the world's fleet of cars.
Ethanol must also be manufactured with fossil fuels.
so what if fuel costs become higher in the short
> run? can't it just pass them along to the consumer?
Yes, but fossil fuel is one of the main inputs into modern industrial
agriculture. Passing costs on to the consumer will mean higher food
prices, perhaps manageable(without massive uprising) in the northern
countries but will mean starvation in the south where most countries
haveto import their food using FX.
in the longer run,
> alternate fuels might turn out to be cheaper depending on innovations in
> related science and technology.
Waiting for Godot.
Sam Pawlett
