[Gasification] [Bioenergy] What do you think of theNoahproject? OT

[Michael Redler]

Hi everyone,

I wish the focus was explicitly on American big business, synonymous 
with American government. (IMO), the debate started when generalizations 
were made about "American culture", some of which looked a lot like 
negative stereotypes.

As an American, I can tell you that our country is in a serious crisis, 
with a government paralyzed by the temptations of big business. If 
anyone wants to know how much corporate greed is going unchecked in the 
US, go to http://www.corpwatch.org and simply pick a company name.

As a product design engineer and active member of The American Society 
of Mechanical Engineers, I can tell you that my colleagues are telling 
their children NOT to choose engineering as a career because (real 
engineering) work is scarce. Manufacturing is the only job growth 
statistic listed in the Bureau of  Labor Statistics as a negative number.

So, I become especially irate when the actions of US 
corporations/government somehow become a reflection of "American 
culture". BTW: when someone tells me that the government IS a reflection 
of "American culture", we can have a lengthy, off-line discussion on the 
two party system, or as Ralph Nader likes to call it, our "duopoly". 
Then, we can discuss the electoral college and the difference between 
that and a popular vote.

Mike

Pels, J.R. (Jan) wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> The only thing I did was answering the question in the title: What do
> you think of the Noah Project. I used the link provided in the posting.
>
> Sorry for sparking a discussion on appropriate use of country names. It
> was my intention - exactly as formulated by Max, see below - to describe
> the information provided on the Noah Project as indicative for the hype
> that many American companies create around themselves. 
>
> Thanks for the lecture on USA business models. I lived for 3 year in
> North America (1 year Canada, 2 years USA), so I know more or less how
> it works. From those years I have kept a healthy suspicion (and
> aversion) against companies with 'too good to be true' stories and
> claims about their products. Time after time the balloon deflates when
> you punch the smallest hole in the PR bubble. 
>
> The really sad thing is that not everyone in Europe knows how it works
> in North America. It happens that investors/sponsors believe the
> American's bluff and waste their money while a "PR conservative"
> European company would have been the better choice. I know it is the
> free market; I know it is their own choice where to invest; I know that
> they should have done their homework. But I have seen it happening from
> nearby in fuel cells. And the same can easily happen in gasification. I
> have already heard some inexperienced people, who want to invest in
> biomass and who know that the demonstration plant here is experiencing
> some problems. They have read a few webpages of 'successful' US
> companies much like the Noah Project and asked me why 'we' keep on
> struggling and not importing 'their' technology? 
>
> Jan Pels
>
> PS I won't go into details of the example above. 
>
> ========================================
> Dr. Jan R. Pels
> ECN - Biomass, Coals and Environmental Research
> P.O. Box 1, 1755 ZG Petten, The Netherlands
> telephone: +31-224-564884; fax: +31-224-568487
> mobile: +31-6-10923218
> e-mail: pels at ecn.nl
> ========================================
>  
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