"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
Andy Hall wrote:

On Mon, 7 Jun 2004 10:09:27 +0100, "IMM" wrote:


The same for the car makers. Why do they persist in using
outdated polluting technology when proven alternatives are around.


Same point exactly. Electric cars. manufacturers like GM and Toyota
launched them in the U.S. and made them available on lease, then had
second thoughts and terminated the leases.


Its worse than that Andy.

The automotive industry has huge plant spread around many major
subcontractors dedicated to producing the bits and pieces that comprise
a car.

VIRTUALLY NONE OF THESE BITS with the exception of wheels, suspension
and brakes, have any applicability in an electric car.

No established manufacturer is going to spend billions on an electric
car when it means the complete death of the industry, its workers and
the investment in plant that they have made over the years.

Big businesses have their own inertia. In many cases its virtually
impossible for a company making e.g. CRT's to re-invest in producing
e.g. LCD screens or plasma screens.

At the very best, what we may see in car technology, is some
enterprising small manufacturer- brand new - making a halfway decent
model that achieves some market penetration, and then is bought up by
one of the giants.

There is zero chance that they themselves would be able to produce one.

As far as building go, things do move,
but slowly.

They actually move? Where? The only innovation I can see is the recent TJI
beams, which were introduced in 1964 in the USA; 40 years ago.

IMM is an idealistic
fantasist,

A realist me boy. eco home are cheap and work. No pie in the sky.

but but by bit the market learns from elsewhere,

The British market does not learn. That is one of the points. That is why
the government is having to force them to change. By not intervening the
government would be irresponsible, as irresponsible as the builders.

and gradually adapts to changing conditions.
You cannot retrain an industry
of ill educated bodges to use different
techniques overnight.

Eco is not new. it has been around in a big way since the 1970s oil
shortages, and then pollution forced them through even further.

But in due course people with good ideas
that save money and make better products
become examples to others, and progress happens.

What tripe. In the building game there have been many brilliant innovations,
all foreign of course, few have been taken up in the UK. They will not
adapt, that is why Prescott is threatening them.

You can't legislate FOR progress:
At best you can legislate to remove
some of the obstacles. Progress comes
from a very small group of
individuals with vision.

That is true.

Not from governments, and not from armchair
fantasists.

But if governments see innovations that are common elsewhere that are not
being used here they have to act. Sitting there and hoping these money
making dinosaurs will see the light is irresponsible government. They will
not change, they do not want change for the good of the consumer. They have
to force them to change for the benefit of the people they represent, as the
US did with car emissions in the early 1970s. If the US government had your
attitude most of the USA now would be dead or dying with poisonous car
fumes.

The car industries did not want to change and were not going to wither. The
same applies with car safety. The car giants did not care one iota about
people being needlessly killed in their crap cars. Only when governments
came in did we get safer cars forcing standards on these rip-off merchants.
The private sector can solve many problems; the housing problem of the UK is
one if land was made available. If it does not deliver then government HAVE
to come in as car emissions and safety have proven, and now the British
construction industry.

You have to get the big picture and get this snotty uni Tory ******** from
washing around your conditioned brain.