Americans prefer energy fix over cure for cancer

fourier jr

I was actually surprised by this. I have always read that Americans are addicted to cars, etc, but I didn't think they were this addicted:

http://www.reuters.com/article/healt...33915320080403

Poop-Loops

How long have we been looking for a "cure" for cancer? People get bored of it easily, and even though HUGE leaps have been made in cancer treatment, your average Joe doesn't see an honest-to-God cure, so it doesn't make that much of an impact.

Whereas energy is the new fad and seems attainable in the short-term (relatively short term...).

lisab

This doesn't surprise me at all.

Our economy runs on oil, and our ever-growing appetite for it is the main reason we're involved in the Middle East. Most Americans would love to have the option of not caring what happens there.

Americans who believe that global warming is caused by burning fossil fuels have another reason want us to transition away from oil.

Jimmy Snyder

Upon learning that they have cancer, your typical American goes through the 'Six Stages Of Grief'.

1. Denial.
2. Anger.
3. Bargaining.
4. Depression.
5. Acceptance
6. Trying to figure out how to get to the cancer center 3 whole blocks away.

Energy trumps cancer every time.

Andre

Consider this, how many Americans have lost a dearly beloved to cancer and how many Americans like to have their houses heated to 70F+ next winter?

Vanadium 50

This doesn't strike me as being at all illogical:

(1) Something like 2/3 of us won't get cancer. We all use electricity.

(2) There is a strong positive correlation between life expectancy and energy usage.

(3) A society with limitless energy is more likely to find a cancer cure than a cancer-free society will find a source of limitless energy. Have your cake and eat it too.

Ivan Seeking

It's not just that we Americans like our cars, the problem is also that many people have no option but to make long commutes to work. At up to 4$ per gallon for gasonline now, people are starting to realize that we need to do something and that the tree-hugging hippies were right all along.

I have known people whose commute was as long as six hours per day! It is not unusual to drive for three hours per day just to get to work and home again, as I did for a few years. I have an uncle whose commute has been about four hours per day for twenty years or more.

People do this because the homes they can afford and the jobs that can pay for those homes are often 100 miles apart or more. Also, the deteriorating conditions of the cities drive people to the suburbs. This is why my family left Los Angeles when I was in high school. My parents didn't want me going to a school where people carried PCP in brief cases [on campus], and the one-mile walk home was a death defying, thrill seeking experience.

Ivan Seeking

fourier jr, where do you live?

Cyrus

Were they right by killing nuclear energy? Driving four hours every day is nuts. I would just opt for a smaller house.

lisab

Four hours is definately crazy! But there are other reasons for a less-than-perfect commuting situation.

My commute is 30 minutes and I think it's way too long. But my daughter is two years from graduating from high school - this would be a terrible time for us to move. Also, from where we live now, my husband is less than 10 minutes from his work. So I have to commute, for the time being.

Ivan Seeking

Yes.

As for buying a smaller house, did I say anything about buying big houses? I am talking about people who are trying to live in a decent neighborhood but still making a living. Although I must say, the loan insanity [creative financing] that lead to the current crisis also lead to the construction of huge homes in many areas.

Ivan Seeking

In the case of my uncle, he has lived in the same house for thirty years. He works in industrial areas in the LA basin and he has to go where the jobs are. There are no decent homes or neighborhoods in many of the areas that he has worked because they are industrial. Then, one often finds that ghettos and very low income housing surround the industrial areas.

turbo

Energy consumption is critical in Maine. We are a very rural state, and commutes can be very long. People who work closer to the coast where the high-tech and military contractors are concentrated cannot possibly afford to live in the towns where they work, so they head inland a couple of hours to areas where real estate prices are reasonable. With the rising price of gasoline, these commutes have become very expensive. At the same time, heating oil prices are through the roof, and this winter has been hard and still has its grip on us.

Ivan Seeking

Oh yes, duh, gotta factor in gridlock. Sometimes the distances aren't all that great, but the time it takes to make the drive is another matter.

Moonbear

Yes, I'm not sure why everyone immediately jumps to the conclusion it's all about cars and commuting to work or driving distances one could walk. The rising fuel costs affect the ability to heat one's house, to afford food (it's not just about buying local either...even the local farmer needs fuel to run the tractors to plow the fields and harvest, and the grocery store still needs to run the refrigerators to keep the food fresh), and to cook food.

I don't think it's so much that people don't want both, but when you're prioritizing how money is spent in the short term, finding an energy solution can't wait any longer before we're ALL in trouble. Without an immediate cure for cancer, the problem isn't going to get any worse than it already is.

G01

Doesn't seem illogical to me. Like previous posters pointed out, we can't find a cure for cancer if we don't have electricity pumping into our science labs...

glondor

To my mind it is just a product of conditioning. Global warming is an impending doom fraught with all kinds of catastrophies and disasters. Our energy consumption is the cause of global warming, there for energy conservation will avert or derail the impending disaster worldwide. How can a mere disease like cancer stand up to the global warming jaugernaught? I would rather they find a cure for cancer and let ol mother earth take care of herself whatever way she sees fit. We are only visitors here afterall. imho. I could go on, but I won't.