Matt Y was just talking about the future of innovation and how yesterday's futurologists had misplaced an emphasis on revolutions in people-moving, in transportation.
FUEL CELL UPDATE
I've found it hard to quickly discover what the current state of technology is for creating the holy-grail of commercial hydrogen fuel-cells filled up using solar power.
On technology, it is not clear whether there are "workable" solutions, but folks are waiting for better solutions they believe are around the corner, from promising research.On costs, it is not clear what is holding up the adoption of workable solutions. Some suggest materials costs and manufacturing complexity. Other opinions suggest scale.
All of these things are ripe for public-policy solutions, especially with oil-companies allowed to retain windfall profits from war but not limited to that. It's not often that there is an obvious source to defray the costs of regulations designed at improving the capital stock. For instance, there is little reason that this money couldn't be used to "jumpstart" the transition.
It would be dropping the ball not to use the current stress as a way to grease the transition to a higher level of productivity, rather than pay it away in consumption or efforts defined by "small thinking".
It would be dropping the ball not to use the current stress as a way to grease the transition to a higher level of productivity, rather than pay it away in consumption or efforts defined by "small thinking".SMART BUILDINGS, APPLIANCES, NOT JUST SMART CARS
I never understand why people are focused just on cars, cars, cars. Sure, they are big, but that's not the whole equation.
How close are we to mandating that office buildings have "solar windows" or a 'smart skin' of some kind? How many residential buildings ought to have some kind of supplemental energy package?
We have cable companies spending billions so that we can get super-speed entertainment (digital movies on demand), mostly. Where is the effort to having 'smart appliances'?
And what should be the phasing of these priorities? How much time/money do we invest in improving efficiencies of old technologies? It's tough to answer, but why not at least try to answer these questions, rather than leave it undone?
Other questions are easier. Clearly, biofuel cannot be seen as much more than a tactical shift, right?
NUCLEAR FUSION?
I have no idea where the quest for this holy grail stands. Do you?
The GOP want to raise defense spending and fund every missile defense mechanism, no matter the costs.
I'd rather have a 100 more people and 10 more labs chasing down different paths, than better ways to intimidate the Russians...
