The Meaning of Life 73
problem, I drive cars, I use more electricity than I should,”
Elon said. “It’s tough to tell people you’re causing long-
term harm to the world, and even if you don’t pay the
penalty, your children or grandchildren will. So essentially
we need to tax it, the way we tax cigarettes and alcohol,
for the public good.”^316
Another way to accelerate the transition from a society
dependent on fossil fuels is to have stronger incentives for
solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro energy. Nuclear power,
which is a cleaner alternative than coal or gas, can be
an alternative. “It’s [nuclear] the lesser of the evils – not
ultimately the best. But not wise for California,” Elon said.
Because California is in an earthquake zone, it’s a less good
area for the construction of nuclear power plants.^66
What we need is a complete system of both sustain-
able power generation and consumption. But we tend to
prioritize smaller solutions, such as recycling of garbage.
“Recycling of garbage and stuff like that is important but
pales in significance to having sustainable clean power
generation and consumption,” Elon said. “The world is not
going to die because of Coke bottles.”^452
Largely because of the financial crisis that began in
2008, several concerned citizens have begun to prepare for
a collapse of our society. This is not something new as it
has happened several times before. The investor Warren
Buffett’s father, Howard Buffett, lost faith in the US dollar