[ExI] Ignorant fear mongering (was Re: Doomsday Oil Price: (was RIP: Peak Oil))

[Mike Dougherty]

2012/2/26 spike <spike66 at att.net>:
> Secondly, we could build low speed lanes to the far right of existing roads
> which are specifically restricted to sub-500 kg class vehicles which cannot
> keep up with Mister V8 and present a danger to their drivers, if required to
> share a lane.  That lane can be restricted to a 50 kph, and shared by human
> powered vehicles and such.

I don't know what the landscape around your commute looks like but the
majority of apes hauling themselves to and fro are doing so in
metropolitan areas.  We can't even repair the deplorable state of
existing roads (because there is no alternate route during the repair
perioid) much less create addition lane(s) of "low speed"(!) travel.
I think for the cost investment and social acceptability of your
proposal you might as well campaign for a flying-car in every garage.
Equally likely would be to suggest unicorn-drawn carriages.  Ok, that
was facetious but my point is that engineering feasibility alone is
not enough.  Owning a cabinet full of politicians is not enough.
You'll also need to solve the problem of public opinion.  Talk about
an unstable reactant; there's enough volatility to surely blow your
face off.

I'm still hoping for virtualizing the ape-haul for those of us apes
who work via telepresence even when physically located at the
employer's zoo.  We don't need new engineering to make that happen;
just financial incentives to convince the old-boys that leaving people
at home is more cost effective than putting them in cube farms.  The
big boss still likes to survey his or her "floor" of workers as a
measure of power and influence.