So Much for the Recovery

[burk48237]

Damn Burk, I didn't expect you to pull out a post railing against class warfare.

There is one class I believe that "class warfare" is legitimate on, it's the bureaucratic class.

I have no problem when a commodity goes up because of market demand or supply, that is reality. I have a lot of problems when prices go up because a bureaucrat decides it's good for me. Because I can assure you very few bureaucrats know very little about anything besides what's good for themselves.

 

[avvie]

Late to the party, but oddly enough my contribution ties the first post to this lost post.

Here in Hawaii gas prices seriously impact EVERYTHING.... shipping and production costs are marked up every step of the way to get things to us.

The sad part of it all is that Hawaii gets it's electricity from diesel engines and coal burners We are in the best location eva eva to use solar, wind, wave and geothermal energy to power our homes, but we're still burning fossil fuels and sugar cane waste. Our power bills jump exponentially and actually push people out of their homes.

One can only assume that somebody higher up is profiting from the fuel sales or that electrical unions are stalling advancement (or maybe the infrastructure.... There's more temporary power outages here than you can sake a stick at). I can't stand sounding like a conspiracy theorist wacko, but really... there is no reason that Hawaii shouldn't be leading the world in alternative energies, and there's only one guy who appears interested in doing something about it.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

There is one class I believe that "class warfare" is legitimate on, it's the bureaucratic class.

I have no problem when a commodity goes up because of market demand or supply, that is reality. I have a lot of problems when prices go up because a bureaucrat decides it's good for me. Because I can assure you very few bureaucrats know very little about anything besides what's good for themselves.

What about when market supply is affected by said company bureaucrats to nudge prices (and thus, their margins) higher? They do know what's good for them.

 

[AntekStalich]

Here in Hawaii (...) we're still burning (...) sugar cane waste.

But, you see, this part is "green" and ecological. Whatever you burn of the sugar cane waste, gets back into the new sugar cane. I wish more countries could burn renewable fuels. Sugar cane waste is not fossil fuel.

 

[TheVoiceless]

Late to the party, but oddly enough my contribution ties the first post to this lost post.

Here in Hawaii gas prices seriously impact EVERYTHING.... shipping and production costs are marked up every step of the way to get things to us.

The sad part of it all is that Hawaii gets it's electricity from diesel engines and coal burners We are in the best location eva eva to use solar, wind, wave and geothermal energy to power our homes, but we're still burning fossil fuels and sugar cane waste. Our power bills jump exponentially and actually push people out of their homes.

One can only assume that somebody higher up is profiting from the fuel sales or that electrical unions are stalling advancement (or maybe the infrastructure.... There's more temporary power outages here than you can sake a stick at). I can't stand sounding like a conspiracy theorist wacko, but really... there is no reason that Hawaii shouldn't be leading the world in alternative energies, and there's only one guy who appears interested in doing something about it.

You sound completely sane and very intelligent. The truth is sitting there in front of us, you see it, I see it. But what are you going to do about it? Same thing I can, nothing. Until the very small tight knit group of people in power decide to, we will never move on to the next power source. Otherwise all of our lawn mowers would run on something besides gas. You would see actual progress forward, like wind farms being built. Yes these things are happening now, but only on the smallest scale.

It is not an easy task to make the change to alternative sources of energy, but when the time is right the flood gates will open. You will see a landslide of new technologies being offered.

 

[Ívar Þórólfsson]

Perhaps you buy some economic car, Ivar?

Blasphemy!

I drive a SUV, Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Sport, handy to travel in country and to get to mountains. Not as practical in the city.
But I would like to get an SUV, preferably with diesel engine which gets better mileage.

 

[AntekStalich]

Blasphemy!

I drive a SUV, Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Sport, handy to travel in country and to get to mountains. Not as practical in the city.
But I would like to get an SUV, preferably with diesel engine which gets better mileage.

Eh, blasphemy?
You says you drive in the city, so you need a city car, dontcha? Drive your SUV to get to the glaciers

By the way, I hope Iceland could be the pioneer in electric cars, since Iceland can get so much energy out of geysers... and I'm not joking right now...

 

[avvie]

But, you see, this part is "green" and ecological. Whatever you burn of the sugar cane waste, gets back into the new sugar cane. I wish more countries could burn renewable fuels. Sugar cane waste is not fossil fuel.

True dat. However, it's only a small percentage, and it's basically the main thing keeping the industry alive and employees working. If we followed what the market dictates, then the cane fields here would be a barren desert and all your sugar would be coming from central and south America. So even though it's a great renewable energy answer, it's barely hanging by a thread and could be quickly removed at any time without warning.

To illustrate further: Two years ago the last pineapple grower here went bankrupt... been operating at a loss for years. They shut down completely, and a much smaller company emerged to tend a few fields. We grow just enough Maui Gold pineapples for a few markets and tourist souvenirs. Outside of that, there is no more Hawaiian Dole pineapple.
Sucks.... the Maui Gold is my favorite fruit in the world...but the last one I had sucked badly...