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« Thanks for the Giggles | Main | On the Road Again »

November 23, 2007

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Jerry Mitchell

"We simply can't go on pretending that we don't have to deal with this problem for awhile yet, that "the market" or "the government" or "new technologies" will fix everything in time, that we aren't responsible."

My particular view is that "new technologies" are indeed the answer, as long as they can be made economically superior to current choices. Few will drive hybrids if they cost vastly more then normal cars, but make them cheaper to purchase and operate and maybe you have progress. I wouldn't so flippantly discount "new technologies" and the market. These two concepts are the creation and implementation of that personal responsibility you speak of.

Jamais Cascio

I'm hardly "flippantly discounting" markets and technologies, I'm saying that -- in and of themselves -- they aren't enough. Markets, as they exist in the real world (and not in idealized models) can bias towards short-term thinking in ways that are often antithetical to dealing with long-term, complex problems; new technologies, while obviously of great potential value, are not certain in terms of applicability or (as you yourself point out) uptake. They may well play an important role in dealing with climate disasters, but we simply can't assume that they will solve all of the problems.

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