What is Digg?371 Comments
- INDOAZZ, on 01/02/2008, -9/+96In 1973 Denmark was 99% dependent on foreign oil? Now they have got all the energy to cover all their own needs and sell the extra to other countries, the only European nation to do so.
DENMARK = MODEL COUNTRY for the WORLD! - sclifford, on 01/02/2008, -6/+66With the trillions spent on the war in Iraq, imagine how far along we'd be today had we invested in energy independence instead.
- cyberdork, on 01/02/2008, -12/+62"Still, although Denmark has among the highest taxes in the world, it also has one of the highest standards of living. And polls show that a majority of Danes would pay even higher taxes to remain self-sufficient and live free of fossil-fuel dependence."
Pssst... don't tell this to the Ron Paul folks... - coltrane68, on 01/02/2008, -7/+45Denmark is a fantastic country. Denmark's energy policy is just another reason to love it.
- gtluke, on 01/02/2008, -10/+43problems are much easier to tackle when your country is the size of pennsylvania
- PhantomRogue, on 01/02/2008, -3/+35Of course, their Taxes dont go to funding world wars and the national defenses of 100 other countries that they 'protect'
If my Taxes actually went to bettering this country, I would be all for actually paying them, but not when its benefiting the World War Three Inducing Interventionist position our Gov't has. - jbenson2, on 01/02/2008, -1/+27Denmark built wind generators. Denmark does not have a hypocritical NIMBY politician like Ted Kennedy who opposes wind generators that are anywhere near his mansion off of Cape Cod!
- jamesallen74, on 01/02/2008, -6/+31Are you kidding, America will NEVER follow the lead of another country. We always have to do things our own way, the American way. Stupid, yes, but it's true. Plus, coal and oil companies pay BIG time to buy out any congress moves toward actions that mirror Denmark. There will always be a strong dependence on oil and coal in this country, as long as money can influence those in charge of making the decisions. On top of that, the American consumer is not willing to pay more, and give up more to change our cozy lives.
- cyberdork, on 01/02/2008, -2/+25It's not the only European nation, don't forget Norway! They pump 3million barrel per day and consume only 0.25 million barrel per day. Almost all their electricity is produced by hydropower.
- rollem, on 01/02/2008, -4/+24But the Danes, and many other countries with higher taxes, have a higher standard of living than Americans. It's sad that conservatives can convince so many people that those European ways are so evil when all the evidence suggests otherwise.
- felchdonkey, on 01/02/2008, -3/+22Well, it's not trillions yet, but over $483 billion is still a hell of a lot.
Sadly, if we'd spent even half of that on energy independence, we wouldn't have to give two ***** about how Saddam or any of the rest of them were up to. We could bring our troops home, close our ports and borders to any and all from the Middle East, and let them have their medieval blood feuds to their heart's content, without us involved in any way. - v0yeur, on 01/02/2008, -1/+20 mmmm.... Danish....
- FluffyWolf, on 01/02/2008, -0/+17They kicked their foreign oil dependency mostly by discovering oil in the North Sea. Now they only need to quit the domestic oil dependency.
But their heavy taxation on cars is probably a smart move from a national economic perspective, any new shining car is going to be a not so shining pile of junk in about 10 years and therefore every dollar spent on cars is a wasted dollar in the long run, and that dollar would be better spent on more lasting things. - Bhima, on 01/02/2008, -1/+18Care to back your claims up? I lived in the US and now I live in Europe and I convinced you're flat wrong.
Disposable income does not equate to higher standard of living but rather it is one factor of many.
And higher taxes do not always correlate with lower economic growth, again that is one factor in many. - SwissCamel, on 01/02/2008, -6/+23Whilst it's cool what Denmark has done, it's really quite difficult to translate to countries which are have larger populations, are larger geographically, have different cultures, have different natural resources at their disposal, have differently structured economies etc etc.
- the6thReplicant, on 01/02/2008, -4/+20So you have more land, more resources and more economic incentive and then you say it's harder?
With that logic you would never have a road more than 50 miles long. "Ohh, it's too hard to make a long road. Boo hoo hooo" - jmpeagle, on 01/02/2008, -7/+22maybe if we had $7 per gallon gas like they do but we don't because people will bitch and bitch about its effect on poor people.
Also there is a Car registration tax of 180% of the car and the VAT (the first 45.000 kr. (6,000 euros) are taxed "only" at 90%, and there are deductions for some safety equipment). Note that this includes a "tax tax" because the registration tax is also calculated on the VAT.
At least the roads would be a lot clearer for the rich who want to drive their sports cars and luxury vehicles unhindered by traffic. - SimonGray, on 01/02/2008, -0/+15Very odd hearing this when Denmark has been criticised internationally in recent years because of its tough immigration laws. You might have us confused for Sweden which has extremely lax laws in this area. Try researching this a bit more before you make such a claim, otherwise you just make a fool of yourself.
- aptiva, on 01/02/2008, -3/+18Purchasing power of Denmark: $202.1 billion
Purchasing power of United States: $13.06 trillion
... display ALL the facts, not just the ones that fit your argument - jeuhrn, on 01/02/2008, -0/+15Some say wind farms are a blight on the scenery, but I think it looks pretty neat with the rows of wind mills when driving through Denmark.
Also the entire country is completely flat (the "highest mountain" is like 250 feet tall), which makes it ideal for wind-harvesting. There's really nothing to block off the winds coming in from the sea. - poiuytrewq44, on 01/02/2008, -2/+17Those Scandinavian nations continually amaze us with their ingenuity and innovation. When will we learn that there's a pattern there.
- Tippis, on 01/02/2008, -5/+19So, in other words, if Pennsylvania tried to do this, it would work...
...which might inspire, other, similar-sized states to tried.
...which might cause bigger states to go "hey, we can't be upstaged by these smalltimers".
...which might cause the entire coutry to do it, because it's actually not that hard.
Avoiding to do thing because they're not easy means never doing anything at all, and means you will end up at the back of pack as everyone and anyone with an ounce of ambition screams past you. - rotten777, on 01/02/2008, -0/+13Yeah? Which states are these, oh wise one?
note: Provide proof of living standards. - rotten777, on 01/02/2008, -0/+12Good. All that "hate" for the US will make me smile when I'm driving a plug-in electric car to my home thats covered in solar panels... checking out all the windmills on the side of the road the whole way there.
- diggduggDOOM, on 01/02/2008, -0/+12Is that 'disposable income' pre- or post-health care costs?
- v0yeur, on 01/02/2008, -1/+13instead of looking at (the U.S. in this example) an entire country, start on a smaller scale. No reason why individual States can't start leading the way. Before you know it, the whole country is better off, putting pressure on the States which refuse, or are slow, to follow.
I don't think Denmark flipped a switch and converted the entire country overnight. - boflaade, on 01/02/2008, -0/+12A country that small can do it, but a large country can't? Why? Lack of money or incentive?
- SimonGray, on 01/02/2008, -1/+12That is actually incorrect. Sweden has the highest taxation level in the world. Denmark comes in second: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_ ...
Also, Denmark is not the only European country to be a net energy exporter (Norway built its wealth on vast oil resources), however I believe it is the only EU country to do so.
/Dane - inactive, on 01/02/2008, -1/+11doesn't Denmark also have the highest "satisfaction of living" as well?
Jyllands-Posten ftw - SimonGray, on 01/02/2008, -0/+10Mild? Well, I'd say we're about equal to the Northern parts of America / Southern parts of Canada in terms of climate.
- Carlsen, on 01/02/2008, -0/+10Taxes which pay for hospital care, maintenance, social care, free education and even getting a monthly cheque during your free college education.
That's a high living standard. Flat screen TVs, blenders and popcorn machines are just fluff.
Get sick in America without insurance and you're ruined for life. - muckemuck, on 01/02/2008, -0/+10In Denmark you can, yes, but come to the US and try riding a bike to the store. In most places it's a 10+ mile suicidal journey to a place with no bike racks. I've ridden a bike in Denmark and I've ridden a bike for transportation in the US for 3 years.
It starts with urban planners, city council, mayors, etc in the US so if you want things to change you need to act locally and get the local planners and politicians to see that planning around the car is not a good thing. - inactive, on 01/02/2008, -2/+11Brazil is also a model for the rest of the world... by mandating all cars have flexfuel (so they can support Ethanol-based fuels), the country now EXPORTS oil.
- Zap2, on 01/02/2008, -5/+14so a country with 5.5M people took 30 years to kick their oil habit...so basicly the US is screwed?
- Badtastic, on 01/02/2008, -0/+9......which is one of the reasons why Danes aren't plagued with obesity problems!
- roodammy44, on 01/02/2008, -0/+9Disposable income isn't the best way to measure standard of living.
Standard of living includes the amount of people who get care when they're sick, the amount who are highly educated, childcare, crime rate, pollution, etc.
I think you'll agree that these tend to be more important than the amount of disposable income - unless you think being able to buy an iphone is more important than whether you'll be stabbed for it when you go outside. - boflaade, on 01/02/2008, -0/+8The idea is not how much oil you can burn, but how much oil you don't use.
- BlackJackJester, on 01/02/2008, -1/+9There is lots of reasons the States can't start leading the way. The feds have to put their greedy little fingers in States cookie jars on every endeavor. Then congress passes BS legislation like 35mpg average by 2020. Quite pathetic. The market should be deciding these things, not the government.
- SimonGray, on 01/02/2008, -0/+7It's not $10.000, more like $6.500, but I'll play along with you... although GDP is not really a reliable statistic for representing income (it represents money flow, not actual production - for example: someone earning money to spend on vegetables will inflate the figures while someone spending time growing his own vegetables will deflate them). The United States is _obviously_ a very rich country, but some statistics have also shown that real wages in the USA have been deteriorating for several years now so can a simple measurement of money flow actually be trusted?
Interestingly, Denmark is also the most equal country in terms of income (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_ ... while the USA is one of the least equal countries. This is due to our system of unions (almost all jobs have union negotiated wages - Denmark doesn't have a minimum wage because of this fact), our social security system, and recently - our low unemployment. So if you look at how much regular people are earning, maybe it's actually the other way around...? - SimonGray, on 01/02/2008, -0/+7I think it's pretty clear to most people that Royal Dutch Shell is not a Danish company... the name sort of gives it away.
- sponeil, on 01/02/2008, -0/+7Don't be an ass. No one said it was easy, just that the business model has been tested and proven. Of course it would take the US decades longer, but it can be done. The fact that we haven't really started is disgraceful, and shows where this administration's priorities lie.
What really bugs me is how many people complain about "unsightly" windmills being near their property. They look (and smell) a lot nicer than coal-burning smokestacks to me. Unless they make some kind of noise that keeps people awake at night, the government needs to tell idiots like that to STFU and GTFO of the way. - rhyss, on 01/02/2008, -0/+7Yeah, I kind of agree with you, but I kind of don't.
Being a conservative, I knee jerk agree with your premise of freedom loving, but when you live in a community, there has to be reasonable limits as in the case of the noisy neighbor. Similarly, allowing everyone to buy bigger and bigger cars can a) pose a safety issue to smaller cars, b) not too good for the environment (sans any major technological breakthroughs).
Yes, as a freedom loving american, you have natural rights to do what you please, but that needs to be balanced against the communities rights too.
No peeing in the pool! - jesperhh, on 01/02/2008, -0/+7True that, I'm from Denmark and we still talk about it..
- Gryffydd, on 01/02/2008, -0/+7I thought this was going to be a picture of a ton of people on bicycles....
- blacktriangle, on 01/02/2008, -0/+7Everyone rides a bike!
- digjam, on 01/02/2008, -0/+7Its easier and more efficient to do it on a larger landscape (though def expensive.. but you have trillions spent on war why not on this ) since you can harness more wind power and more solar energy if you have vast lands... as voyuer said.. start on small scale and keep upgrading one city at a time...
I would loveto buy a solar powered heater or something that uses solar energy .. biut have no clue where to find them... and how expensive they are...
This is the reason we are not moving towards energy efficient alternatives.... - torontoliam, on 01/02/2008, -0/+7Population is no excuse. Larger 1st world countries have (or could have) proportionally high taxes bases to fund such projects. Although, things could be done privately without relying as heavily on taxpayers. OK, so your next argument could be: but Denmark has more land per person for alternative energy than the US, for example --- Wrong. Denmark's density is double that of the US. While the US may have less suitable off-shore sites for wind, they certainly have better sites for solar energy.
- torontoliam, on 01/02/2008, -0/+7Other than for a sense of national pride, there is little to be said for being energy independent (as the US strives for). The fact is that we live in a global economy. Japan has the right idea. They realize that there's no shame in importing energy when you're turning the energy into high-grade products that can be sold for a lot of money.
- digjam, on 01/02/2008, -0/+7Per capita income of DenmarK : 47,984 (#6 in the world)
Per capita income of USA: 42,000 (#8 in the world)
Even tho they are heavily taxed in Denmark, they still make more than in US... - Coven, on 01/02/2008, -0/+71 Billion people? We just broke 300 million, chump.
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