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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
Ironclad
Published Letters: 68 Editor's Choice: 19
The energy transformation - that means a conversion from the current oil based HC supply to "alternative sources" - need several technological breakthroughs to become truly viable. And as was pointed out in several other posts, they need the force of economics, or a very strong will, to push them forward.
The main technical problem is storage of energy - if you produce energy from solar or wind - how do you store it so that you can use it at a later time? Conventional power plants operate 24/7 to provide power to a grid and have smaller "boost" facilities to ramp up during peak demand times. If you are using wind or solar - where do you "store" the clean power for those times when you cannot generate (such as a calm night?) Right now you "use it or lose it" superconductor rings?, giant capacitors? conversion into a chemically usable form? Something is needed.
The other big problem is distribution - how do you move the energy around. You lose it if you have to move it long distances and the best places to generate are normally far from the places you need it most. Using liquid fuels (like ethanol) preserves the existing distribution networks (gas stations). Storing exotic materials - like hydrogen - in a form that is concentrated and safe still is not a viable technology.
It would be nice to see the government step in and pay to ramp up some of these technlogies. The problem is that many would fail or be dead ends. Someone would also end the end figure out how to make a ton of money and there would be cries of "corruption" when someone took advantage and bet the right horse. Big problems take big solutions and trying to spread the effort by small tax breaks on your roof top solar panels is not going to get us out of this hole.
The fundamental principle of Roe v Wade was that a woman could not be forced to carry an unwanted child. Period. But laws around birth and parentage that have focused on the responsibility of the father toward the child have not changed.
So we have a simple matrix:
Father wants child - Mother Wants child - Keep
Father wants child - Mother Does not want child - Abort*
Father Does not want child - Mother Does not want child - Abort
Father Does not want child - Mother wants child - Keep & pay
The question posed here is: can a woman force a man to have an unwanted child? I am not meaning to be provacative here, but arguments of who is responsible for birth control are meaningless to me - mainly because any form of birth control coupled with sex runs a risk of pregnancy. Both sides risk the consequences when they have sex and both should be willing to accept responsibilites.
I agree that #2 in the matrix above may be unfair to a prospective father , but the woman has the veto. But #4, the subject of the article is much more grey. If a man cannot force a woman to abort, then why should he be responsible for the full maintenance of the child? He certainly has some responsibility that he should accept - from the risk of having had sex with the woman. But full in this case? Grey, very grey area.
It almost makes you wish that both parties had to put up deposits before you were allowed to have sex - to cover the case where these disputes happen. At least it would make people think - with their heads and not their gonads so much.
The tragedy is that the victim is the kid - aborted or half unwanted. And bitterness and resentment all around. The subject deserves debate and is certainly not a distraction.
Hey out there! - This is old news and frankly, trying to make saints out of these guys is like putting lipstick on a pig.
But more to the point - Why this and no Cartoons? Or is that a bridge of reporting too far to cross? They are still rioting in Pakistan over them - when they can spare the time from killing each other with kites. (It's death kite time over there too)
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
219 Democrats and one Republican join in favor of the legislation, which passed by a narrow margin
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Salon headlines in your mailbox
