This won't work. We need real regulation that penalizes polluters so much that it's no longer profitable to destroy the planet. We need social and cultural changes so that it's no longer hip and cool to fly around on jet planes and cars. This is mostly a political issue, not an issue of private industries in search of profits.
I could not disagree more. The second that renewable energy is a more economic and reliable way to consume energy it will easily become the default because there will be no reason not to. Private companies that could develop/build/scale such technologies and deploy them who seek profit are a viable method because the profit motive can deploy capital to that effect.
Government research and regulations could help speed the development of these technologies and hasten their tipping point through adjusting the cost. This is certainly not just a political issue and culture most often follows the past of least resistance. Telling people to stop consuming energy is a more quixotic endeavor than developing more economic renewables
>Telling people to stop consuming energy is a more quixotic endeavor than developing more economic renewables
Appropriately taxing energy consumption in order to force people to appropriately ration energy consumption for productive endeavors is more realistic than assuming humans are going to discover a preferable energy source than fossil fuels to move mass in a short enough timeframe to make an impact on climate change and pollution.
“ The second that renewable energy is a more economic and reliable way to consume energy it will easily become the default because there will be no reason not to.”
You ignore the realpolitik of climate change. FYI certain fossil fuel producing states invest heavily to disrupt the transition to renewables.
Ask yourself why the Green Climate Fund, probably the most important fund of its type, is based is based in the arse-end or nowhere.
Certain ones do, sure. But not all, or even most. The vast majority of countries do not produce fossil fuels, so they all have an interest in reducing dependence on oil.
I know nothing about the GCF or the geography of Korea, but ~2 hours from Seoul doesn't really seem like the "arse-end of nowhere"?
The biggest incentive for fossil fuel generated electricity is 0.06-0.10 cents per Kwh fossil fuel generated electricity. Electricity is cheap.
There's two ways to make a renewables economy, it's not complicated. The quick way, 200% tax on all fossil fuel generated electricity. The slow way, wait for technology to evolve that renewables become cheaper than fossil fuel. Government could help companies and utilities transition.
Good luck with that. I assume you live in a hut made from naturally fallen trees some where with no heating, air conditioning, running water, sewers, paved streets, computers, etc...
I'm kidding, of course you're not. You're standing on the shoulders of giants, but you think you're flying.
I came to the US from Canada under TN status, and later switched to an H1B so I could get a green card. I used to think it was a good thing, but I have since changed my mind.
The Wikipedia article for the H1B outlines most of the problems, but I'll talk about my experience.
When I moved from Canada to the US (for a software engineering role), I thought I getting a huge raise. It was about twice what I was earning in Canada prior, so for me personally it was a big step up, but what I didn't realize at the time is that they were actually paying me about 50% below the market rate in the US. At the time I was making about $56k/year in Canada (in CAD, about $40k USD), and I was hired at around $85k/year in the US. This was in 2009. What I realized soon after, was that someone with my experience was making about twice that much in the US.
It wasn't until I got a green card (which took 5 years) that my salary adjusted upward to the market rate. The company that helped me get my green card was Airbnb, but even back then they hired me (while I was still on a TN) well below the market rate. I managed to negotiate my salary up, but I was still anchored near the bottom of my cohort.
While working at these companies (including Airbnb), I felt trapped because I could not easily quit or search for a better paying job. My employers knew this, since according to the rules I'm required to leave the country if I lose or quit my job. Many companies also don't want to deal with H1Bs or TNs because they don't want the fuss of dealing with immigration problems.
While waiting for my green card to arrive, I was trapped at Airbnb for about 2 years. They actually fired me from my job before my green card arrived, and were kind enough to let me wait a few more months until I had the card in hand before I officially left the company. In those months I pretty much just sat around, enjoyed the nice lunches and dinners, and hung out with coworkers.
I think immigration is great, but I think these employment based visas only work well for employers. They make it easy to hire cheap workers at below market rates, and have them stick around because they can't leave. I think we need real immigration reform, or, better yet, allow companies to hire the best people and make it illegal to discriminate based on nationality. The TN/H1B system is just legalized discrimination.
We have labor laws forbidding discrimination based on national origin, and yes, some corporations use H1-B and related visa systems as a loophole around those laws to discriminate based on national origin and more than likely the rest such as race, ethnicity, etc. In my time spent in tech-related fields I have certainly seen companies provide more favorable benefits and overall treatment to say, Ukrainian SysOps vs their counterparts from India or Bangladesh.
