Thread: Power

Issues which disturb me specifically are the complete disregard for the long-term welfare of the country that politicians are showing where I live, in Britain.

I have never seen a single politician talk about any issue which is not immediately relevant; however these issues are the ones which are extremely crucial.

In particular there is our dependence on crude, which very soon is going to become scarce. There is simply no infrastructure in place to cope with any disruption at all, and when it really starts to hurt, it's going to be far too late. I'm predicting some severe social disruption whilst I'm still young.

The amount of electrical power generated by renewables is currently less than 1%, which is absolutely appalling, as we have some very fortuitous conditions; there's a single dam we could build over that Severn Estuary which could generate something like 5% of our power. 5 percent! But nobody in government gives a toss, because by the time it starts to matter, their political careers will have come to an end.

The Prime Minister's reckless spending of our country's accumulated wealth in times of economic health so as to manufacture a boom and so get him the title is another case of somebody further crippling the country for entirely selfish reasons - he did it for personal power, and that was it. And now, surprise surprise, everybody hates him. Why are people this stupid?? Why would you put yourself in that position?

"First, you gotta get the money. Then when you got the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, you get the women." - Al Pacino, Scarface

With enough power, you get whatever you want. Without any power, you don't get much of you want.

EDIT: As for politics... I'm not really involved in anything political, so I don't really know.

I know, Xei, and I hear you on the renewables and what's going to go down when our current infrastructure begins to starve. The oil industry has much influence when it comes to political affairs. Who do you think funds the candidates? Well, I don't know the details about political workings in the UK, but the way it works out here is that candidates are backed by corporate entities that want their interests protected. Corporate interests are never public interests. We both know that, though.

Although this is a bit of a side note, I feel it's important to point out that dams are particularly harmful to both the life sustaining capabilities of the river and to the nutritional gain of the surrounding land. There's more, I know, but there's no need to go on about it. We still have wind and solar as viable options too, and perhaps geothermal, but I'm still not clear about any potential long term ramifications about widespread use of the technology (if there are any).

Originally Posted by Xei

Issues which disturb me specifically are the complete disregard for the long-term welfare of the country that politicians are showing where I live, in Britain.

I have never seen a single politician talk about any issue which is not immediately relevant; however these issues are the ones which are extremely crucial.

This is about maintaining power obviously. If one party isn't busy exploiting short term problems for gaining power, they are busy countering another parties attempt to do so. Somebody talking about a serious long term issue that can be dealt with "later" is going to be slaughtered in popularity by a serious short term threat, or short term hype if the population isn't educated enough to tell the difference. That just begs the question though.

Originally Posted by Xei

In particular there is our dependence on crude, which very soon is going to become scarce. There is simply no infrastructure in place to cope with any disruption at all, and when it really starts to hurt, it's going to be far too late. I'm predicting some severe social disruption whilst I'm still young.

This is the above effect and political corruption working in concert, straight up.

I think that the primary reason for the lust for power is the instinct for social influence that is present in pretty much all social mammals, though perhaps not all individuals within a particular species. I see no other reason for it that convinces me as being able to stand on its own. To be sure, other forces can exacerbate the situation but I think that they would be pretty powerless and easily spotted in the absence of this core cause. Regardless of what the politicians do, the populace tolerates it.

Originally Posted by Invader

Although this is a bit of a side note, I feel it's important to point out that dams are particularly harmful to both the life sustaining capabilities of the river and to the nutritional gain of the surrounding land.

Although it is a bit of a side note, I'll second that. It's especially important because estuaries are critical breeding grounds for the marine ecosystem and once we get our heavy metals under control (they're blown out of proportion as it is, but the situation is still far less than ideal), the marine ecosystem will be critical in providing healthy, environmentally sound meat to a larger populace.