[ausev] Some thoughts about ROI

[gregmckay at aol.com]

You want to did your well before you get thirsty....


-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Bonard <mbonard at gmail.com>
To: Carey King <careyking1 at gmail.com>
Cc: AustinEV News Announcements and General Discussion <ausev at austinev.org>
Sent: Fri, 8 Aug 2008 10:19 am
Subject: Re: [ausev] Some thoughts about ROI



Thank you Carey!

Very relevant article which I read in my Scientific American issue.

In this article, they missed a huge issue, and it is hard for me to 
understand such an omission: the energy crisis is going to hit us in the 
US much earlier and much deeper (initially) than global warming. We are 
already seriously affected by the gas prices, and this is only a 
beginning, with no end in sight. Global warming will take decades to 
really affect our lives. Ironically, the worldwide shortage of oil may 
in fact reduce our carbon emission more effectively than all the current 
treaties!

This article says that if the world economies grow, future generations 
will be richer than us. I would not bet on the assumption that world 
economies will grow significantly in the absence of inexpensive and 
widely available energy!

Hence the urgent NEED to develop renewable energy sources (this 
ultimately means solar energy) and convert our entire ground 
transportation system to electric!


Michael



Carey King wrote:
> I find the ROI discussion slightly relevant to EV conversions given 
> their up front cost and the multitude of reasons people have for 
> pursuing them. For a general article on the 'ethics' of ROI and the 
> discount rate that dictates the ROI, the following article is a good 
> summary:
>
> http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-ethics-of-climate-change
>
> carey
>
> Michael Bonard wrote:
>> John,
>>
>> If you look at ROI in everything you buy, you are ABSOLUTELY right if 
>> you consider your _personal_ interest for the _short term_.
>>
>> However, we have to think about the future, and if we do not take 
>> drastic measures now, we, as well as our children and grandchildren, 
>> will be the victims of our present behavior.
>>
>> If you have children, you have certainly invested large sums of money 
>> in their education: $100,000 per child is currently the lowest cost I 
>> can find. We do that for their well being in the future. Were is the 
>> ROI there?
>>
>> Why not considering investments in e
nergy independence and for the 
>> fight against global warming _as an investment for our children, 
>> grandchildren and future generations_? We do not need to look at the 
>> ROI here, we cannot even define it!!
>>
>> For me, any other view is a complete contradiction: if I am willing 
>> to pay for my children education to make sure that they have a better 
>> chance of living a happy life and, at the same time, if I refuse to 
>> invest in energy independence because of ROI, I am preparing for them 
>> a future that will be terrible. This does not make sense!
>>
>> On the moral side, I find that ignoring the future generations is 
>> horribly selfish.
>>
>> By the way, what is the ROI of buying a $75,000 sports car? ROI is an 
>> invention of bean counters, and ROI has no consideration for human 
>> life. ROI is a tool for businesses and corporations, not for every 
>> day's personal life!
>>
>> We should think about the consequences of our actions, not only for 
>> ourselves, but for the rest of the society and for the future. We 
>> need to open our mind and grasp the big picture!
>>
>>
>> Michael Bonard
>> Washington DC
>>
>> By the way, ROI means "king" in French. We live in the country where 
>> ROI is king!
>>
>>
>>
>> John Penry at TransTexasTrucks wrote:
>>  
>>> I object to the "green tax" that companies charge.
>>> I buy Folgers by the pound, not Starbucks by the cup.  I look for 
>>> value.
>>> I object to calling it "Windtricity" when it is the same electricity 
>>> my neighbor gets, but I have to pay more.
>>> Now if they called it a "rate lock", I would buy it.
>>> So why should I buy it if it costs more?
>>> Is it up to me as a consumer, or is it up to our elected officials?
>>> These types of questions could go on forever, but the fact is, I DO 
>>> look at ROI in everything I buy.
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rush" <Rush at ironandwood.org>
>>> To: "Dustin" <ullearn at gmail.com>; "AustinEV News Announcements and 
>>> General Discussion" <ausev at austinev.org>
>>> Sent: Thursday, Augu
st 07, 2008 8:28 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [ausev] Residental Solar Power
>>>
>>>
>>>      
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> I'm way west of you all, but I find lots of interesting stuff on 
>>>> the list...
>>>> besides I used to live in Austin, on Congress.
>>>>
>>>> I often wonder how people figure pay back on shoes, on washing 
>>>> machines, on
>>>> cars... Why all of a sudden is there this big need to say it will 
>>>> or it
>>>> won't pay me back. Why does that become the motivating factor for 
>>>> so many
>>>> people? The need for people to justify an expenditure that puts 
>>>> oneself
>>>> ahead of the curve on responsibility seems pretty lame to me...
>>>>
>>>> Just my .06 kWh worth.
>>>>
>>>> Rush
>>>> Tucson, AZ
>>>> 2000 Insight, 62lmpg, #4965
>>>> www.ironandwood.org
>>>> www.Airphibian.com
>>>> www.TEVA2.com
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> AusEV mailing list
>>>> AusEV at austinev.org
>>>> http://www.austinev.org/mailman/listinfo/ausev
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>           
>>>       
>> _______________________________________________
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>>   
>
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