The"Tech tree".

kmccune

kmccune

Well-Known Member
It hit me one day when browsing a science fiction site, there was a photoshopped picture of Arthur C Clarke in a crowd of people wearing "Flash Gordan" style clothes- how different would things be now if we hadn't taken the "Fossi Fuel' route. For instance, if some esoteric(or not particularly exotic culture )had evolved with different power sources and more physical participation in daily life ( forgetting the rule that few at the top will always end up with the most) perhaps more lenient environmental laws a bit more socialism and perhaps common sense( maybe more "steampunk"?) just a thought. Not the nightmare of 1984 or even 'Animal Farm' smaller communities closer together, etc.
 
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I haven't read much sci fi in a long time, but I used to be addicted to it. Recently during the "pest", I reread some that I kept through the years and have to admit my "younger self" liked some real schlock, but there were some real gems as well. I really liked the idea that the future was open to any possibility...
 
I suppose that really the future is "still open to many possibilities".

Some technology just takes a bit longer to adapt than others. We landed on the moon in about 20 years, IIRC, but the electric bike was patented in 1897, and Edison was driving across the USA in an electric car soon after that.
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Like the "tree" in your title, technology has branches that grow independently.

If we go all out on the branch labeled "fossil fuels", the branch labeled "renewables" may wither.
Like the way heavier than air flight took off and zeppelins didn't, or Physics research got funded by the military and Biology didn't.

Maybe it's time to correct some of that imbalance.
 
Art Deco said:
Like the "tree" in your title, technology has branches that grow independently.

If we go all out on the branch labeled "fossil fuels", the branch labeled "renewables" may wither.
Like the way heavier than air flight took off and zeppelins didn't, or Physics research got funded by the military and Biology didn't.

Maybe it's time to correct some of that imbalance.
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First you must convince people to accept change. Today, on another forum in a discussion about high gas prices, I posted pictures of my bicycles. No words, just pictures. Gawd. I took a beating. No way was anybody going to consider riding a bicycle and I was just another snooty liberal who was going to force people to live in cities. All that from posting a picture of each e-bike I have. The only voice in the bunch who wrote about riding his bike around was a European.

I don't advocate throwing away the family vehicle and replacing it with a bike. Heck, I have a pickup I use to haul stuff. Just biking once or twice a week instead of driving makes an impact if enough people do it.

I really think we are doomed unless the young people can stay alive long enough to change things.
 
It's not just cars - here's something to consider about gas inside the home:

 
Cowlitz said:
First you must convince people to accept change. Today, on another forum in a discussion about high gas prices, I posted pictures of my bicycles. No words, just pictures. Gawd. I took a beating. No way was anybody going to consider riding a bicycle and I was just another snooty liberal who was going to force people to live in cities. All that from posting a picture of each e-bike I have. The only voice in the bunch who wrote about riding his bike around was a European.

I don't advocate throwing away the family vehicle and replacing it with a bike. Heck, I have a pickup I use to haul stuff. Just biking once or twice a week instead of driving makes an impact if enough people do it.

I really think we are doomed unless the young people can stay alive long enough to change things.
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"I think we are doomed." Nah. Suburbs and SUVs are probably doomed, but they haven't really been around for very long anyway, no longer than me . 😀 And I'm not THAT old.

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And humans are a really tough species...
 
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PatriciaK said:
It's not just cars - here's something to consider about gas inside the home:

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I've been using a single burner Nuwave induction cooktop for a couple years and pretty happy with it, but I bought it for camping and don't really know anything about it except it's fast.
 
We don't have gas to cook with unless we have propane. I have one of those cookers and I use it quite a bit. It does chicken very well and I have cooked a few turkey breasts in it. The con part is that I don't have storage space for it so it takes up more counter space.

It's an air fryer/convection oven.
 
What is it with some people? It's either all or nothing. For instance, I have a pickup that I use to go long distances or haul bulky stuff in. Whenever bike riding is mentioned, folks start assuming that you are telling them to get rid of their car or truck and only ride a bike. They don't get it. By riding just a few times a week instead of driving, it helps.
 
Cowlitz said:
What is it with some people? It's either all or nothing. For instance, I have a pickup that I use to go long distances or haul bulky stuff in. Whenever bike riding is mentioned, folks start assuming that you are telling them to get rid of their car or truck and only ride a bike. They don't get it. By riding just a few times a week instead of driving, it helps.
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"all or nothing" the opposite of a really bad idea is usually another really bad idea ...
 
We have electric stoves at the moment... When it's time to replace, we'll do induction. I may get a portable unit in the meantime to try out.

There is a lot that people can do that isn't all or nothing that would significantly reduce fossil fuel usage, but that all or nothing thinking helps avoid considering doing anything that might be inconvenient.
 
The devil tells me that I would really, really like a propane fireplace installed.

Having lived in areas of the country where winter storms caused power outages, I am nervous about my all electric house. I don't want the mess of firewood and I've sold my chainsaws.

Some trivia: Back in the 50s and 60s, it was cool to have all electric houses in this part of the country, and some towns strived to be chimneyless. All this was due to the dam building on the Columbia River.
 
Our power was out for 12&1/2 days once. Very glad to have had a woodstove and a propane stove.
 
I lived in an all electric house in the redwoods overlooking the Pacific. It was built in 1969 when a nuclear power plant was planned for Bodega Bay, CA. Sanity prevailed. The Sea Ranch was intended to be 'back to nature' but in reality everyone there is car dependent. The closest real town for supplies is 40 miles of twisting roads away. With outdoor dining I see a lot of this, with no one around. The propane just burns.
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I just hate seeing those outdoor heaters. "So we're heating up the great outdoors so self-centered diners can eat outside without actually being outside, while simultaneously burning away petroleum which we are sending soldiers to die for in the Middle East?? Like, REALLY??" (This was in the Before Time.)
 
ChezCheese:) said:
Our power was out for 12&1/2 days once. Very glad to have had a woodstove and a propane stove.
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This is another area where all or nothing thinking tends to dominate. One can have wood/propane back up in case of emergency, without using it on a daily basis. Just like one can have (or rent!) a large vehicle/truck when needed, without using one on a daily basis when not necessary (I do realize many people actually do need and use daily, but not nearly as many as just have them for show).
 
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