Law

I am with Sven on this. I'm perfectly happy to recommend things if it gets people talking.

And, for what it's worth, I am still on the list!

WS

On Dec 28, 2011, at 6:44 PM, citisven wrote:

> well, I admit to recommending the diary simply because it's so
> difficult to get any eco diaries on the rec list these days. I
> figured, if nothing else, it at least gets people talking about these
> issues, and any concerns about the speculative nature could be
> addressed in the comments. I didn't have time to participate in the
> discussion, but figured others would and my rec would contribute to
> keeping the discussion alive for a bit longer.
>
> In a perfect blogging world, all the most nutritious and well-
> researched posts would make it to the recommend list, but as we all
> know that is not always the case. So acknowledging the reality that
> posts with catchy exaggerated titles and bold provocative assertions
> tend to get more attention, it seems that having a hearty discussion
> in a mediocre or fact-challenged diary can be just as effective than
> crickets in a masterpiece.
>
> I guess the recommend button means different things to different
> people. I'm fairly generous with it, but everyone has their own
> reasons for reccing a diary.
>
> On another note, I'm not sure how many folks are still actively
> subscribing to this group, so discussions like these might get more
> traction in the diary's comments.
>
> I hope this answers some of your questions, Adam.
>
> Sven
>
>
>
> I'm not sure how many folks are still subscribers on this list, Adam,
>
> On Dec 28, 7:19 am, Adam Siegel <sieg...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> This troubles me ...
>>
>> Too often, it seems to me, diaries about highly speculative (often based on
>> university press releases about laboratory activity) items re energy
>> advances end up spending serious time on the recommended list.
>>
>> In my perhaps faulty conception, huge enthusiasm for such 'press release'
>> discussions where there is (too often) downplaying (if not simply failure
>> to note) the speculative nature of the announcement (in terms of it ever
>> having an impact in the real world) help contribute to 'technology will
>> save us' and 'wait for the breakthrough' mentality which is one of the (too
>> many) serious challenges we face in fostering a shift toward a smarter
>> energy system.
>>
>> The wind power diary (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/27/1049178/-Wind-Power-Breakthr...)
>> that has over 300 recommendations is an example of such a discussion. Look
>> at the title: "Wind Power Breakthrough". Look at the first sentence:
>>
>> Electrical engineers all over the country must be slapping themselves in
>> the forehead in a "Why didn't I think of that?" moment after the
>> announcement of an elegant high-tech fix for a persistent wind energy
>> efficiency problem that has plagued the electric wind turbine industry and
>> retarded the growth of wind farms.
>>
>> It wasn't until the diary had made the recommended list that this was
>> added:
>>
>> The story is a little old and the design shows no sign yet of a market
>> breakthrough
>>
>> The story is from 2008 and, as far as I (and others who looked) can tell at
>> the moment, the claimed 'next steps' don't seem to have occurred.
>>
>> Is this an interesting concept that might have promise? Yes. Is it an
>> incredibly hard thing to accomplish? From what I can tell, yes. Is this
>> anything like a near-term 'solution' that will have impact on our energy /
>> environmental / economic challenges and opportunities? No.
>>
>> Yet, this is the type of energy story that gets boosted up to the attention
>> of 100s/1000s that do not seem to pay attention, in detail, to energy
>> issues and discussions.
>>
>> Note that my handle is not on the 'recommended' ...
>>
>> But many in this list group are ...
>>
>> Thus, perspective? Reaction? Concepts for how to foster more robust
>> discussions of energy while helping place speculative (even as often
>> exciting) announcements in context? ???
>
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