Will the next German election be a referendum on nuclear energy? | 30 comments (30 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Now, is anyone even slightly surprised? (4.00 / 3)

Nah. It tells the story of the painless-in-the-short-term alternatives.

Do you seriously think we will see any real, painful, change before the proverbial shit hits the proverbial fan?

It took the 1973 oil crisis to get Sweden and France going, and for the rest of the world, even that crisis wasn't enough.

make people pay for all the externalities in electricity production (see the EU report I have pointed to many times, from ExternE - no link, I'm on dialup);

That's a great study, more people should read it.

mandate more wind - stop doing it on a one windturbine per one windturbine basis as they've done so far.

I'd rather see a total ban on new fossil-fired heating, industry and power systems, but the general idea is the same.

get serious about car energy consumption. No new cars with mpg below 50, full stop (hey, that should be good for high tech manufacturers - or are these only in France and Italy?)

How do we get people to buy them? The 78 mpg AudiA2 wasn't really a smash hit...

And some people actually do need heavy vehicles. So I'd much rather see another policy, a doubling of the tax on gasoline and diesel fuel.

get serious about priorities re train infrastructure vs roads.

In Sweden that would be "get serious about building (and maintaining!) infrastrucuture". We don't only need new and better rail, but also new and better roads, but most importantly the current systems need more maintenance. A single investment in maintenace of €10 billion should take care of that. (Like that's fortcoming...)

get serious about housing insulation. No new building without top notch standards, and a crash programme to refurbish older stock (hey, that should be good for business)

Not that important around here where no one heats with fossil fuel and the grid is fossil-free. Furthermore, there have been a couple of scandals lately in Sweden, where energy efficient housing practices that were deployed on a vast scale seems to cause rot, also that on a vast scale. Ooops.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

by Starvid on Sun Jul 8th, 2007 at 09:51:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Now, is anyone even slightly surprised? (4.00 / 3)

How do we get people to buy them? The 78 mpg AudiA2 wasn't really a smash hit...

Well, youcan ban cars with worse MPG outright, or, if you're keen to let people free to pollute all they want, put a massive tax on cars with worse consumption: this should be done on a liters per 100km basis: put a 10,000 euro tax per liter/100km above 5 in a standardized test run by an independent body.)

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Sun Jul 8th, 2007 at 10:10:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Now, is anyone even slightly surprised? (none / 1)

Why not tax fuel instead of mileage? After all, a person who drives his 1 l/10 km SUV 1000 km pollutes just as much (or little) as someone who drives 2000 km with his 0,5 l/10 km compact car.

It's only reasonable if these pay the same amount of tax as they pollut the same.

I believe all special taxes on cars should be eliminated and replaced with taxes on the fuel.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

by Starvid on Sun Jul 8th, 2007 at 10:19:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Slightly different purpose (4.00 / 2)

This is about giving an overwhelming incentive to car manufacturers to focus on fuel efficiency and not on other things like a 12th airbag, 50kg more of fancy electronics, a few seconds less on the 0-100kph run,etc.... Make your cars fuel efficient, or you will sell them only to a small minority. Full stop.

As to taxes, I'd be partisan to jack up fuel taxes by 50c/l (i.e. 2$/gal) every year AND giving back the same amount of money equally to each owner of a car. In France, it's easy, as you need a carte grise (id paper for your car) - just divvy up the expected tax income by the number of non-corporate owned cartes grises, et voilà.

People with smaller cars or fuel efficient cars or who drive little will get more money out of the trade; those with big cars or big amounts of driving will lose out even if they don't change behavior and all will be incentivised by the higher fuel prices to drive less.

And that would actually be mildy redistributive, I expect.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Sun Jul 8th, 2007 at 11:54:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Now, is anyone even slightly surprised? (4.00 / 2)

The British government taxes petrol. At one time they were putting up the tax by more than the rate of inflation, to discourage the growth of car use.

Then a group of disgruntled farmers and truckers began demonstrating and ever since the Labour government has been terrified of another fuel protest.

by Gary J on Mon Jul 9th, 2007 at 08:28:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Now, is anyone even slightly surprised? (none / 1)

The Swedish center-right government just said they will raise taxes on gasoline and diesel. They also said it would be good if a litre of gas costed a little more than €2, but they promised they wouldn't raise taxes that much. For now.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

by Starvid on Mon Jul 9th, 2007 at 08:56:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Now, is anyone even slightly surprised? (4.00 / 2)

Collect a carbon tax into an "Energy Pool".

The Energy Pool then makes interest-free loans to anyone who wants them (subject to due diligence on the projects or expenditure) and repayable to the Pool by:
(a) renewable energy projects - out of the energy production thereby financed;
(b) energy saving projects - by repaying their "energy debt" by paying the market price in respect of some of the energy they have saved.

Unlike $, £ and € financing, this energy financing has no "cost of money".

In truth, money has no "cost".

"The future is already here -- it's just not very evenly distributed" William Gibson

by ChrisCook (cojockathotmaildotcom) on Sun Jul 8th, 2007 at 10:51:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Will the next German election be a referendum on nuclear energy? | 30 comments (30 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Top Diaries

Energy (and Other) Events Monthly - December 2023

Clean Energy Wire's Fact Sheet on Upcoming Dutch Election

Recent Diaries

Mark Rutte: Using the Nation to Become Secretary General

December 2023

Netanyahu Tells Biden Fu*k Off

Keeping Up with COP28

A Sort-a Truce Extended 24 Hours

Energy (and Other) Events Monthly - December 2023

NeXiT the Trump Era of Dutch PM Wilders

Erasure of Palestinians the Zionist Dream

21st Century Pax Americana and Violence

Dublin Far Right Riots After Knife Attack

Clean Break From Peace to War

Woodrow Wilson's Collapse and the Peace Movement

A Children's Sing-Along Annihilate Everyone In Gaza

Xi - Joe Launch a New Communication Probe

The Israeli War Hoax of 40 Beheaded Babies

If Palestinians Are 'Animals'? What Are the Israelis?

Gaza Atrocities and the UN Fail

Clean Energy Wire's Fact Sheet on Upcoming Dutch Election

Broadening the War to Lebanon and Syria-Iraq

Dishonest Hope and Trust In a Two-State Option

Occasional Series