5 ms·
Research in this direction could provide us cleaner air in the cities and more health. Just one small change like this, nuclear instead of gasoline in the cars
by givan 14y ago
Research in this direction could provide us cleaner air in the cities and more health.
Just one small change like this, nuclear instead of gasoline in the cars could make a tremendous impact on our lives.
I think adding a new variable to the existing capitalist system along with existing one and only, profit, something that takes into account health or the ecosystem could change our lives dramatically.
Entrepeuners competing not only on cost and profit but also on health and ecosystem impact could make a big difference to us and our planet.
It will be great that we finally realize how important stuff like this is and focus more on research instead of using 100 year old polluting technologies because there is no obvious pressure to move forward.
- mbreese 14y ago> Just one small change like this I hardly think that this would qualify as a small change.
- miahi 14y agoIt's easy to forget that for a cleaner air in a city you can choose between rendering half a city inhabitable because two cars collided (if they are nuclear cars) or rendering a far away country inhabitable because of the byproducts the clean car's components produced (lithium extraction, neodymium magnets production, aluminium extraction and so on).
- mseebach 14y agoHardly. First, there's a lot of research into cleaner cars. A modern car produces very little emissions that count towards unclean air. Of course, there's carbon, but that doesn't cause unclean or unhealthy air. Second, the new variable you're thinking of is called "externalities" and isn't all that new. A common way to offset it is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigovian_tax http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigovian_tax - a such is leveraged on gasoline in most countries, including the US, although to a much steeper degree in Europe. Expensive gas is a major driver towards more fuel efficient cars, hybrids and electric cars. All brought to you (mostly) by a profit driven capitalist system. The reason gasoline hasn't disappeared in favour of more environmentally friendly alternatives is that it's an insanely effective way of storing and transporting vast quantities of energy. Even with the steep taxes in Europe, no-one has been able to come up with a better alternative -- yet. I am certain this will change soon.
- rwallace 14y agoRunning cars on nuclear energy instead of oil is a great idea, but putting reactors in the cars is neither necessary nor desirable. Keep the reactors in big central power stations where they can be properly shielded and use grid power to charge electric cars.