Consumers are too stupid to make good choices

[Hammerskjold]

Regulating energy efficiency in products (cars, light bulbs, refrigerators) is case where government has infringed on the market to decide for itself what makes sense. Congress is doing the thinking for us.

While again, I actually very much agree with you on the basic and general points. When I'm looking at our current market however, it's not that black and white. I think government can have a useful role in setting some standards for efficiency (yeah I know it's hard saying that with a straight face). I think it oversteps it's boundaries when it tries to ban something outright, without giving it too much thought whether it would actually work to address the problem, or even enforceable on a practical level.

So far I think we're both on the same page on that matter, I think.

Where I start to differ is when I look at the aisle, there does seem to be a lack of good selection sometimes. So to me at least, it can be hard to make a sensible decision when the choices are limited.

A small example, there are talks in my area about battery recycling fees. I'm all for better recycling technology and facility. But there are new generation of rechargeable batteries that are quite the improvement over older NiMh and Ni-cads, and less toxic to boot. (Eneloops, Hybrids, generically named Low Self Discharge NIMH batteries.)

I've tried these, and from my own use at least, it's the real deal. To the point where I can severely reduce my need to use alkaline disposable batteries. (Not that I was a big user in the first place, but I can now reduce the need for alkaline disposables down to just a few packs for emergency purposes.)

Yet the recycling initiative mostly deals with alkaline, and while that is a great idea, for me I hope it's not a long term plan. Recycling is great, but I for one want to see alongside that, a continual push for improved technology with the long term goal of either eliminating or at least severely reducing the need for disposable products.

Speaking of electronics and waste, if you think I get hot and bothered by just your hypothetical gazoline bonfire, you should see how I hyperventilate with rage when I see the electronics section. What pisses me off even more, is the insanity of manufacturers in building in even shorter lifespan aka planned obsolescence.

And I'm saying this not as a luddite, but as a frustrated fan of technology. I do use a computer, and enjoy such modern magics as MP3 players and the microwave cabinet.

So while I agree in that government can overstep it's limits if it tries to decide what should be in the marketplace, the market place itself IMO, does not always produce the best and most efficient products. Especially when it's not in the be$t interest to do so at least according to the company's bottom line.

I always thought the 3 R's needed a fourth, and that's Repair. But when I take a look at most of what's available today, it's almost designed to be as Repair-resistant as possible. In the worst sense of the word. Why bother to repair it when it's cheaper to just buy a whole new widget? Except I don't see it as cheaper, at least not in the long run.

http://www.recycle.ubc.ca/ewastemain.htm

I don't know if government intervention alone can undo the damage, though I think it can play a role. But I think what's really needed is a revolution in attitude that extends to all kinds of field from industrial design to economics to biology.

Next thing you know we'll be watering the fields with gatorade, because its got the stuff plants crave.

Hehe, well it does have electrolytes. :) By the way, it might be real.

http://taurinerules.blogspot.com/2008/02/b...ergy-drink.html

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