[mdlug-discuss] Ethanol vs gasoline economy [Was: [mdlug] Automotive technical info ...]

[Robert Adkins]

Ingles, Raymond wrote:
>> From: Robert Adkins
>>     
>>     If understanding the potential need to be able to defend 
>> oneself by having an industry that could be retooled makes someone a 
>> warmonger... I just don't know what to say. Really, that's an absurd 
>> position to hold.
>>     
>
>  I don't see that as a significant issue when our defense budget is
> greater than that of the rest of the world combined. Right now, any
> nation would be stupid to oppose us militarily - it would be suicidal.
> (Transnational groups with no fixed base of operations - like Al Quaeda - 
> are a different story. But they don't have a real military of the kind
> that could attack the U.S. anyway.)
>   
    Not all of that budget is spent on making/developing hardware solely 
in the US. If it was, this might be a significantly different issue.

    A manufacturing base has far more benefits to a nation than simply 
being able to retool in the event of war.

>>     Right now, that base is on a major decline and we need to stop that 
>> just to ensure that if needed ourselves or our children or their 
>> children will have the tools to be able to defend the lifestyle we have 
>> built for ourselves in this nation. Is that a wrong position to hold?
>>     
>
>  I think rather we should be working on a more advanced manufacturing
> capability that can take plans and synthesize finished products in an
> automated but economical way. Then we can retool far more rapidly yet.
>   
    How exactly will that be done, in the US, if nobody has the know-how 
or interest (Because there are no to few jobs in manufacturing) to have 
a reason to pursue such a course of action?

    We already did much of that work, back since the beginning of the 
automotive industry:

    Assembly Lines
    Robotics
    Component-Based Manufacturing with Sub-Assemblies

    All of these were a direct result of having a major industrial base 
with people who had reason to develop better methods to produce goods.

    -Rob