Pragmatist
Rookie
- Jan 11, 2009
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If we are going to spend a trillion additional dollars on stimulus with an emphasis on creating and/or updating our infrastructure (which I believe is the best approach to get something enduring for our money/efforts), we should focus on the big things that will not get done if the Federal Government doesn't do them. Lets not squander the opportunity on things state and local governments are supposed to be doing, like building schools, bridges, etc. Obviously schools and bridges (other than nationally significant bridges such as those that improve ports, etc.) are important, but spending federal money on them will just mean states and local governments will spend less on them, and more on something else. We will go further into debt and won't have significant or lasting impacts on education or our transportation systems.
Here are a few suggestions of important things that will pay back huge dividends, and which only the Federal Government can do:
Create a nationwide hydrogen production and distribution system. Use wind and solar for the energy to separate the hydrogen from water. This could dramatically lesson our dependence on oil in the relative short term, and could accelerate getting us to a 100% renewable energy economy in the long term, while eliminating the stranglehold large corporations and political despots have on energy as a side benefit. If the government pays for the facilities and distribution system, and if we don't need to mine or pump anything from countries/companies to get the hydrogen, and if consuming the energy doesn't pollute or contribute to global warming, why not make energy to individuals and industry free? Talk about a competitive advantage! (Free energy could balance out the huge cost of manpower disadvantage we have with the developing world economies and possibly solve the riddle of how you can have 'free trade' without destroying the standard of living in the developed countries.)
Create large-scale desalination facilities in coastal areas and a national pileline system to bring water to wherever it is needed.
That we continue to have droughts and large areas where crops can't be grown on a planet mostly covered by water is inexcusable. If Global Warming is even vaguely the threat we have been told it is, this one had better be a priority.
Create a large-scale atmospheric CO2 removal system. (I'm not even a big global warming type, but this makes sense for all sorts of reasons, even if GW turns out to be far less of a threat.) Instead of shooting for 'CO2 Sequestration,' set the system up to 'mine' the atmosphere for carbon, which industry has many uses for, and which could be used much more extensively, for things like building materials (carbon bricks, carbon composite structural members & panels), aircraft and automative frames, light weight engines, etc.).
Lastly, improve the national electrical grid. Create the improved arteries to move power regionally and leave it to states, utilities, etc. to make the local improvements.
These would obviously be very big and costly programs, but they would clearly emply millions, would pay back much more than they cost, and would leave us immeasurably stronger and able to face the challenges of the future.
Thanks for listening,
Bob Geary
Here are a few suggestions of important things that will pay back huge dividends, and which only the Federal Government can do:
Create a nationwide hydrogen production and distribution system. Use wind and solar for the energy to separate the hydrogen from water. This could dramatically lesson our dependence on oil in the relative short term, and could accelerate getting us to a 100% renewable energy economy in the long term, while eliminating the stranglehold large corporations and political despots have on energy as a side benefit. If the government pays for the facilities and distribution system, and if we don't need to mine or pump anything from countries/companies to get the hydrogen, and if consuming the energy doesn't pollute or contribute to global warming, why not make energy to individuals and industry free? Talk about a competitive advantage! (Free energy could balance out the huge cost of manpower disadvantage we have with the developing world economies and possibly solve the riddle of how you can have 'free trade' without destroying the standard of living in the developed countries.)
Create large-scale desalination facilities in coastal areas and a national pileline system to bring water to wherever it is needed.
That we continue to have droughts and large areas where crops can't be grown on a planet mostly covered by water is inexcusable. If Global Warming is even vaguely the threat we have been told it is, this one had better be a priority.
Create a large-scale atmospheric CO2 removal system. (I'm not even a big global warming type, but this makes sense for all sorts of reasons, even if GW turns out to be far less of a threat.) Instead of shooting for 'CO2 Sequestration,' set the system up to 'mine' the atmosphere for carbon, which industry has many uses for, and which could be used much more extensively, for things like building materials (carbon bricks, carbon composite structural members & panels), aircraft and automative frames, light weight engines, etc.).
Lastly, improve the national electrical grid. Create the improved arteries to move power regionally and leave it to states, utilities, etc. to make the local improvements.
These would obviously be very big and costly programs, but they would clearly emply millions, would pay back much more than they cost, and would leave us immeasurably stronger and able to face the challenges of the future.
Thanks for listening,
Bob Geary
