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71 comments on Conspiracy or Stupidity: The Trouble With Numbers
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71 comments on Conspiracy or Stupidity: The Trouble With Numbers
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Politicians usually do what the voters and interest groups want. It is called democracy, or assocracy. What do the voters and interest groups want? Jobs and a pay check. So politicians deliver. Even if politicians understand Peak Oil, they will act much the same.
In addition, politicians hear about many pie in the sky solutions that will save us. Take your pick: Solar, wind, biofuels, algal biodiesel, hydrogen, methane hydrates, many technofixes, and the latest innovation that is on the cusp of yielding some great power.
Unfortunately, we are ALL prey to the desire to hear "good news". Good news about hugely devastating problems like Peak Oil is wishing it away. Show me a politician (or any democratic "leader") who has been successful over the long term by telling unpleasant truths to his electorate. There are few, if any. Just the number of successful movies in the US with an unhappy ending (very few) is testimony to the "saleability" of good news ("happy endings"). If people voted for politicians who spoke the truth or LIKED hearing "bad news" (unpleasant truths), politicians would use the truth a LOT more often. They don't because we don't like to hear unpleasantness as a general rule. Do you like to read this "bad news"???
Ian (bad news messenger, don't shoot me!)
Didn't a successful politician tell the people "I have nothing to promise you except blood, sweat and tears".
Pity that they are trying to clone dead pets instead of dead Churchills.
In late 2004, I asked my brother, who works in the premiers department of the Victorian government. How aware were they about peak oil. He said he was aware, but as he had no idea about the sense of urgency, he obviously hadn't researched that much. It also meant they hadn't sat down and discussed anything at that stage.
Even though he may have been aware, it was not his job to rock the boat. Peak oil goes against the whole grain of society as we know. Premiers promise new freeways, wealth for all... Imagine how popular he would be telling the premier to sell peak oil to the public. I think they prefer not to know; they cringe from the idea. The philosophy of the day is to let markets take their course.