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This kind of technical view is religious but is usually not called religion. Of course it is OK and important - especially for the poorer countries - to make power cheaper. But NEVER at all costs. The problem with renewable energies is that they need itself rare materials that will not be available for all times. We need a circular flow of recycable materials. The way companies are looking for cheap energy is predisposed to come to a dead-end, because they exploit materials that can be exhausted and so will cause new - global - conflicts.


So explain why it is a "religion".

I am looking at human nature and saying that you are not going to change it and therefore you are going to need to work around it.

"We need a circular flow of recycable materials" is a technical solution too. And perhaps is the right answer.

Then only thing I am saying is that this lovely green view of us all living in harmony with the planet is complete rubbish. Because it does not take into account human nature. Yes I agree that some people can live like that - some very well indeed. But you can not make all do so.

You also have a very fixed idea of what cheap energy involves: "because they exploit materials that can be exhausted". I had in mind things like photovoltaics, wind - I live surrounded in all directions by wind farms and there is an immense amount of investment going on, modern nuclear tech - have you seen Bill Gates talk on this?

This is not a dogmatic view. If you came to me and could show that you could genuinely do it in a different way without relying on mass education and changing the way people normally behave then cool - I'll be on board.

Your idea that my views are a religion is a dogma in itself

What is worse is that this is why we are likely to be more screwed than we should be this problem: for a lot of solutions they some how need to stop all of the other solutions because they don't match ideals. I am not advocating a single solution - I want as many people as possible trying. I am not even saying don't try to get everyone living in a sustainable way - I recycle, when I finally get round to buying a house I have every intention of having a crack at doing my own power generation. All I am saying is that any plan that involves changing the behaviour of every single human being on this planet is not going to work under any circumstances - and when the failure mode of that being your only plan is so serious then people need to be pointing this out.




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