Reply To: T-shirt designers unite and take over

[Brian H]

Aeronaut wrote:

There are two main reasons. First, if we wait until the completion of this experiment to publicize FF and raise money for ther next phase, there will ineivitbaly be a gap and delay. Better we publicize now, paving the way for getting money either privately or from the government. Second, it is only reasonable to expect that there will be resistance to FF, even once proven, from a lot of powerful interests connected with existing energy sources. We need a broad educational effort to counter this resistance and that means a big organization. It will take years to organize that, so we better start now!

Hopefully we can skip the several years to public awareness part and get private donations to pay for the engineering phase in the process.

Part of the reason I set my site up the way I did is to pre-sell new visitors so they aren’t overwhelmed like I was for several months. Closely aligning with http://stabenow.senate.gov/infocus/index.htm is another.

The links are in my site now. A few more will be added when I re-proof tomorrow morning. You’re going to get a kick out of the venture capital and career path contextual links. Enjoy!

Private contributions aka investments, probably; private donations are not something I’d count on being sufficient, though I might be wrong.

As far as government legislators and regulators, “Put not your faith in Princes” (or priests, for that matter! 😉 ) Your effort to appeal to self-preservation by warning them they will be left behind and turfed if they don’t get with the program is likely to be received with considerable skepticism, given a) that the technology is still speculative, b) that public awareness is still minute, and c) the pressure to stick with the current paradigm is unceasing and intense. Some awareness, growing as the project moves closer to fruition, is probably the most that will be possible.

I find it hard to envisage any public official putting career, reputation, or neck on the line to advance FF before consensus and demonstration are achieved. Especially when there are no lobbyists throwing about bribes, perks, and pork!

Which brings to mind a contrast between this and any other technology and economic shift I can think of. There will be a (relatively speaking) infinitestimal ramp-up period. Once the ultra-clean, ultra-low-cost energy option is on the table, the move to change over will be blazingly fast. The payoff speed, as we discussed earlier, is so quick that economic barriers to entry will be tissue thin, notwithstanding the stranded assets issue.