This diary is inspired by an article written by a very passionate Libertarian blogger who posts in my blog at Immizen.com in which he describes his view of how the US should approach pollution and renewable energy solutions: Through mass usage!
One can certainly do a ton of R&D and testing in a lab, but nothing takes the place of mass usage as with mass usage one discovers all sorts of bugs and technical problems that may not have ever been thought of by the scientists.
Sure that is the way it works with Microsoft, but Microsoft is not an example in how to develop bug-free software… anyone remember
the blue screen of death?
We don’t need a blue screen of death when driving our electric car at 50MPH and then having it suddenly stall and then have the car or truck behind us crashing into our car.
That is what science is for, to test the science and that is what government is for, to invest in science.
That is not how groundbreaking technologies were born – through mass use.
Technologies were born in the lab through scientific research and discovery. In science, the scientist has to prove through thorough statistical analysis that his technique is sound and more efficient than others (be it drugs, solar panels, etc). It is through this exercise that it gets adopted by the masses and the masses are not duped into buying something that does not work.
Libertarians, who may care about the environment, are nevertheless looking for a way to leave the government out of it and have "the masses", that is the citizen fix everything by paying for products themselves and testing them themselves. That is an extremist ideology and it does not work. I know it does not work because I have seen it not work in Latin American countries, where it happens all the time. I know. I lived there 18 years of my life.
Libertarians and GOPers share the same intense fear of a government debt increase. But there are other things that are much worse that should be feared. For example, the government of China investing billions in renewable energies. China investing in education. And the US staying behind and being blocked by scared, irresponsible and partisan politicians from investing in the future of this country.