31.01.2007 09:54:27
31.01.2007 10:10:54
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easy_rider911 said:
Why isn't Angela Merkel speaking up?? This will kill German carmakers in one feel swoop. Wake up Angela!
31.01.2007 10:30:02
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easy_rider911 said:
I'm certainly no expert at chemistry but you're confusing CO2 (the carbon dioxide which plants consume giving off oxygen) with CO (the carbon monoxide which is a harmful pollutant).
31.01.2007 10:44:28
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oliver said:
but I think that if they don't change drastically they will one day become cars for idiots, I mean environnement unconscious people
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colonel said:
it seems like every car on the road has 300hp nowadays. Granted, cars are getting heavier and heavier due to all the gadgets we want. As a p-car owner, I want to have fun and drive my car. But we can all be less wasteful and be conscious of the environment. I see all the time driver sits in their cars, trucks or buses with their engine running for a long period of time. I think this is really waste of gas and polluting the air.
31.01.2007 15:50:52
31.01.2007 17:05:42
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BlackSparrow said:
The fact is that we need more science involved in this whole process. Everyone needs a math table that will explain how much in % of global warming certain gadgets/actions/... cause. Corporations have to understand that same thing. Governments have to understand the same thing and has to start giving tax incentives for corporations to become less pollutive. Then in a 10-year period governments should start increasing tax for the polluting corporations.
We need not have an abrupt change of laws. Whenever an abrupt change happens, someone always gets richer. We should work slow, but effective to first understand global warming and then only start making laws regarding it.
Of course big-time polluters sending toxic waste down rivers, etc should be punished right away.
Let us take another view though. Mercedes keeps making their cars bigger every year. The new C class is what E class looked like 5 yrs ago. The new E class is like what S class used to be 5 yrs ago. No matter how great the comfort is to be in one of these cars, there should be a feeling of social responsibility. We are running out of oil. Stop making machines to consume more and more of it.
31.01.2007 18:57:40
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Leawood911 said:
Math table - not even certain there is 'global warming' (much less caused by cars) at this point.
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Leawood911 said:
Lastly, there have been many estimates regarding our oil supply and not all agree we are going to run out any time soon.
Chances are that long before we run out of oil some much better alternative will come along - and not as a result of taxes and wars, just plain economics and ingenuity.
31.01.2007 19:14:39
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The Groom said:
It is the duty of the state to plan ahead in case there is no solution. Consider it as an insurance policy. Did you insure your house against fire and tornadoes? If so, you should welcome a raise in energy taxes and increased spending into mass transit and alternative sources of energy. It's a small price to pay when Civilization is at stake.
01.02.2007 01:20:08
01.02.2007 02:12:36
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Alex (UK) said:
Frankly, I don't think anyone really knows what's going on. However, the car seems to be the latest scapegoat for pushing the blame away from the real polluters!
01.02.2007 10:18:54
01.02.2007 11:07:42
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Leawood911 said:
3)40 years to remodel cities? Our cities are very dynamic and will continue to be remodeled. I really doubt all the development we have seen is due to the need to adapt to cheap energy
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Leawood911 said:
I suspect strongly that this trend will continue - that damn flexible market will make certain of this to the point of providing energy at a fraction of today's price in the next 20 years. Keep in mind that consumption will skyrocket during this time - and this is why the price of energy will go down - although it may no longer be oil - so what.
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Leawood911 said:
Certainly you can introduce enough taxes in the EU to ensure the cost outstrips inflation but that is not the market (real world) determining the price now is it?
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Leawood911 said:
5) The standard of living in this world has been improving since the dawn for friggin time. The pace in the last 50 years has been astounding. I do not see the next 20 years as slowing down much less turning around.
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Leawood911 said:
6) Your argument against the Dow is that only one company name is the same and all the others are gone? What has been the average rate of return for market investments? What other 'market system' do you propose? One which is part of the 'real world'?
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Leawood911 said:
I agree that there is some place for the State to see to the common good and to ensure our safety. I do not think they can solve scientific and economic problems.
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Leawood911 said:
IMHO the best thing the State can/should do is to offer some tax relief or collaborative help to companies willing to develop solutions to alternative energy needs and enviromental clean-up where required.
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Leawood911 said:
Porsche selling 'slower models' in the EU (and sending the 'fast' one to the US)
01.02.2007 13:31:43
01.02.2007 18:37:54
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Leawood911 said:Take care Groom - hope we are amusing the other members.
01.02.2007 18:49:18
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Leawood911 said:
I found you a mantra - 'past performance is no predictor of future gains'
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Leawood911 said:
We just see things differently. I hope I am right and somehow I also believe that my viewpoint is more likely to be of use in solving the problem. Just my opinion.
Energy will be cheap and it will not pollute.
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Leawood911 said:
Perhaps you would like to review the result of the recent American tax cut on the growth of the economy and the increase in revenue. It's been done time and time again.
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Leawood911 said:
Anytime you think you will need to raise taxes as a result of such a tax incentive you have basically admitted that you expect your 'tax investment' to be a net failure.
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Leawood911 said:
I have noticed that the US commissions private companies to build the roads and they are built FAST. State road projects in Austria (where I grew up) took years to complete. That was in the 70's, maybe it's changed now.
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Leawood911 said:
Take care Groom - hope we are amusing the other members.
02.02.2007 01:11:21
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ADias said:
You certainly are. This the classical Milton Friedman / John Keynes argument. Milton was right.
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ADias said:
The EU is making the state the big daddy and burying itself in taxes to pay for that. I go to Europe once a year, and everywhere I go I see the gap between the US and the EU bigger all the time (make sure you understand that means the EU's standard of living and economy vibrance is lower than the US and going lower).
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The Groom said:Quote:
ADias said:
The EU is making the state the big daddy and burying itself in taxes to pay for that. I go to Europe once a year, and everywhere I go I see the gap between the US and the EU bigger all the time (make sure you understand that means the EU's standard of living and economy vibrance is lower than the US and going lower).
I agree on the vibrance part, but not the standard of living part. Every time I go back to the US, I feel like I'm going to a Thirld World country. Everything feels so cheap because of the exchange rate.
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Don't underestimate the importance of the dollar crash. In dollar terms, the average yearly growth rate in Western Europe must be in the 13% range. We're "growing" even faster than China collecting our unemployment checks.
Of course, it does not mean that Europe is doing gangbusters, it just means purchasing power of the dollar has gone way down the tubes.
02.02.2007 12:47:53
02.02.2007 14:26:51
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SoCal Alan said:Quote:
JimFlat6 said:
The U.N. report says almost a fifth of global warming emissions come from livestock.
So whats next? Catalytic converters for cows?
We have to become vegetarians!
By the way, do you have a breakdown of where the other 80% comes from?
03.02.2007 03:24:50
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Leawood911 said:
The weak dollar helps our exports and brings lots of tourists. What I find amusing is that we still pay 30-40% less for a Porsche than a German. Thanks Porsche! If that's 3rd world then I'm there.
By the way, I don't see my standard of living slipping nor anyone else's who is working. I agree that the standard of living for the unemployed in Europe is better! (How is that working for you? US = tourist destination, EU = retirement destination for teenagers.)
I think you confuse standard of living with cost of living and state sponsorship.
Why the great fear of deficit spending in the US (which is being reduced, by the way)?
I think the EU likes to point this out as some big US failure as a way to keep raising taxes on its citizens. They hate that tax cuts raised revenue here! At the same time they raise taxes, watch revenue drop, people with the BIG money to tax leave shore and they are not even challenging why. Instead the EU asks how much more should we tax (to reduce our deficit)?
As soon as the US deficit spending is down (or the hypocrisy is eliminated by recognizing EU deficit spending) the $ will go up. I agree the drop in the $ is not accounted for currently except perhaps for the Chinese not indexing by the $ any more. By the way - as a percent of GDP the EU deficit is much greater (about 2X) than the US. Watch out for a Tax increase!
When I hear of the Grooms energy fears I recall the dependence on Whale Oil we used to have. I'm certain there were folks spreading fear about running out of Whales. I get satisfaction knowing that someday the Middle East will be stuck with a bunch of 'Whales'. I bet the Middle East is planning for what to do when that 'next' energy source comes along.
Later, from the 3rd world US.
Mod- Note the mention of Porsche!