Image via WikipediaWired: What Solar Needs: Its Own Karl Rove: Eighty percent of Americans rated solar power favorably, compared to 39 percent for nuclear and 32 percent for oil. Seventy-four percent believe that solar is a “long-term solution for the country’s energy needs.” ..... 94 percent of Americans see solar as important and 80 percent want to see subsidies transferred from fossil fuel to solar...... Unfortunately, the public also said solar is too expensive, will remain an intermittent source of power, and can’t really directly compete with coal or natural gas. Only 41 percent thought solar was affordable, and only 34 percent thought it was reliable..... Seventeen percent said solar would “never” be the largest source of new electricity for whole cities. Most of those polled were largely in the dark about the subsidies provided to oil and gas. Just 19 percent correctly estimated that the fossil fuel industry gets more than $10 billion in subsidies.Freedom is not free. The trucking industry killed trains in this country decades ago, and the country is still reeling from it. The best does not always get done because this is a democracy. The people have to actively make the choice, and if they don't actively opt for the best, they don't get the best. Because this is a democracy.
The status quo, by definition, will not give up easily, not at all voluntarily. Even people for whom change is in their self interest tend to resist change. It is an inertia thing. But people who actually have a stake in preventing the change, for them it is not inertia. For them it is a bread and butter issue. Or, more accurately, a yacht issue.
But just like the people have a right to believe the lies, they have a right to get educated on the issues. It is the responsibility of the people who are at the forefront of net neutrality and clean tech to bring the rest of the crowd along. We have the will, we have the resources, victory can be made certain. But victory will not come about on its own. It might not even come about if we sit back and look the other way.
Net Neutrality Reworded
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