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posted by martyb on Sunday December 13 2015, @07:35PM   Printer-friendly
from the a-Republican-speaking-sense-to-other-Republicans-and-others dept.

The Center for American Progress reports:

Arnold Schwarzenegger posted a note on Facebook on [December 7] that made a very good point about climate change and renewable energy: It really doesn't matter what you believe.

The former California governor addressed people who think climate change is a conspiracy or a hoax, and asked them whether the deaths from pollution are acceptable, whether fossil fuels will last forever, and--to paraphrase greatly--what kind of world they want to live in. This excerpt pretty much sums up his argument to climate deniers.

There are two doors. Behind Door Number One is a completely sealed room, with a regular, gasoline-fueled car. Behind Door Number Two is an identical, completely sealed room, with an electric car. Both engines are running full blast.

I want you to pick a door to open, and enter the room and shut the door behind you. You have to stay in the room you choose for one hour. You cannot turn off the engine. You do not get a gas mask.

I'm guessing you chose the Door Number Two, with the electric car, right? Door number one is a fatal choice--who would ever want to breathe those fumes?

It's a strong point, but even more importantly, it's a bipartisan point. We are in an era where addressing climate change is largely split down party lines, especially in Congress. Moderate Republicans like Schwarzenegger, who believe a healthy environment and climate are public goods, haven't yet been able to sway people who think that clean energy is going to kill the economy.

But Schwarzenegger should know that a green economy can work. As governor of California, he worked with the Democratic-led legislature to enact the nation's first comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions reduction law and the nation's first low-carbon fuel standard. Now California is the nation's leader in both solar installations and solar jobs.

2 nitpicks: If it's electric, it's called a motor, not an engine. "Power plant" would have been more apt.
The electric car would need a way to allow the wheels to turn without the car going anywhere.
...and if the gasoline car's engine is "running full blast", you'll need a load (dynamometer).
Otherwise: Brilliant.


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  • (Score: 2) by iWantToKeepAnon on Monday December 14 2015, @04:50PM

    by iWantToKeepAnon (686) on Monday December 14 2015, @04:50PM (#276177) Homepage Journal

    You did not get the point, or at least, you didn't scale up to it. The sealed room represents a closed system like our planet, the car engines are the way we use energy.

    I got the point exactly which is why the missing power source for room #2 is so conspicuous! That's why this IS a strawman argument, he set up the Environment Hating Gas Burners and ran a bayonet through them while holding up the peace loving Environment Loving EC drivers.

    Don't misunderstand my comment tho, I live close to work and drive far less than my peers and I drive a very efficient car. I'd love to have a Tesla; once they get into my price range. But I don't think tricking people into caring is the right way. Once people find out they've been tricked, there could be a backlash worse than taking the time to convince them in the first place.

    --
    "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." -- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
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  • (Score: 2) by urza9814 on Monday December 14 2015, @06:50PM

    by urza9814 (3954) on Monday December 14 2015, @06:50PM (#276248) Journal

    You still miss the point. It's not about cars, it's about the entire system. The cars are just an analogy. It's not meant to be taken literally. It's not "Everyone go buy electric cars! No pollution!" -- it's "Hey, maybe we should switch to technology that pollutes less, because we're trapped in here with whatever pollution we produce."

    And if you want to get really technical, you can't say the power source is missing because *he didn't specify which model of cars*. You can find electric cars with solar panels at least. Sure, the ones fully powered by the solar panels aren't ones you'd be driving around town on a daily basis...but they're still electric cars. So at worst, it's rather vague. Which is generally what you'd expect for a metaphor...

    • (Score: 2) by iWantToKeepAnon on Tuesday December 15 2015, @09:27PM

      by iWantToKeepAnon (686) on Tuesday December 15 2015, @09:27PM (#276815) Homepage Journal
      Ahh, YOU still think I miss the point. "because *he didn't specify which model of cars*"; but he did. In implying the gas car is functional he also implies the electric car is the same. Anything different and the argument is more fubar that it already is.
      --
      "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." -- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
      • (Score: 2) by urza9814 on Wednesday December 16 2015, @04:34PM

        by urza9814 (3954) on Wednesday December 16 2015, @04:34PM (#277182) Journal

        And I gave an example of a functional electric car. I don't see your point...