June 5th, 2008 ecoli
Addiction to the internet is a serious problem and becoming worse the more life becomes ‘web-based.’ Apparantly, I’m no exception.
Calculate your own internet addiction score (assusingly) at this site. I scored a 62:
You are experiencing occasional or frequent problems because of the Internet. You should consider their full impact on your life.
I guess I’ll try to do that, right after I play some flash games, stumble upon sites for an hour and check SFN and scienceblogs.com.
Posted in link out, technology | 4 Comments »
June 5th, 2008 ecoli
But having one doesn’t hurt.
Posted in link out, medicine, news | No Comments »
June 5th, 2008 ecoli
This graph from the NY times, kindly provided by Jake Young, at Pure Pedantry provides a good case for letting the market just do it’s thing, when it comes to alternative energies in regards to transportation.
If you’re an environmentalist, or if you don’t work for big oil, high gas prices is a good thing. When costs are artificially low, there’s little incentive for companies to produce alternative energies or hybrids. But, these charts show that inflated prices do, in fact, bring down the rate of fuel consumption (less driving). Now, corporations can only continue to inflate prices so much, before people start opting out of personal automobile use altogether, travel overseas by steamboat and start biking to work. In order for energy companies to keep selling energies, they’ll have to develop alternative sources.
Oil subsidies, paid for out of our taxes, keeps oil prices artifically low and less responsive to the laws of demand. This is harmful to our economy by preventing the development of alternative energies and harmful to our environment in the same respect.
If the gas tax is repealed for the summer, it will have a similiar effect by making gas prices appear cheaper, increasing demand and delying alternative technologies. The gas tax is needed to keep our public roadways in shape. Hillary’s proposal to add a windfall tax to oil companies and then fine companies millions who jack up prices to compensate for the loss is, at best, ridiculous. You can’t fine companies for trying to maintain their profits, and this would never be approved by a Bush appointed FTC administration anyway. Hillary’s plan would screw federal highways, because there’s no altervative source of income for this tax. And, it would delay the production of badly needed alternative energy by messing with the laws of demand. Leave the free market alone!
Posted in environment, link out, musings, politics | No Comments »
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