Re: Off Topic - "An Inconvenient Truth"


kevinmccabe@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

Transportation counts for about a third of CO2. Its a simple equation -
increase efficiency, decrease emmisions. Of course, if people feel some
kind of weird-ass compensatory need to drive the Nineties version of a
station wagon, only their wallets will stop you. The real trick is
making it hurt. But, really, it is also simple. Just tax the hell out
of carbon. Their is no reason why anyone should be able to externalize
their costs.

I agree with you on the merits of a carbon tax. The advantage of doing
it by a fee on the pollution of the common resource (our atmosphere) is
that it lets the power of the market promote creative solutions to the
problem.

Even electric and hybrid cars don't improve matters if the power to
charge them up comes from a coal or oil plant.

Oil is almost non-existant as a generator of electricity. 'Cept in
Hawaii. The next big thing in carbon are probably:

1) LNG (which will have the same geopolitical instabilities as oil, in
due time)
2) Gassfied Coal (which they will tell us can be sequestered, but won't
be able to pull off)

Coal is the biggest problem because it not only puts CO2 in the
atmosphere but also a lot of really nasty pollutants, including CO and
SO2. Oh, and the emissions are more radioactive than those of any
nuclear plant that isn't actually melting down.

Solar needs to come down by a factor of five. That is in the cards, but
not in time. the real green contender right now is wind. But, it has an
obvious need for a backup.

Solar will become a big player when we bring launch costs down to the
point that we can start seriously deploying solar power satellites.
Until then it's basically an auxiliary power system for home use.

Again, a carbon tax will address that problem. Pretty soon, that
decision won't be left to the U.S. The rest of the world will be
trading carbon dollars and they'll simply tariff U.S. products.

Possibly -- I fear that America might use its influence to prevent this
development. "Fear," because I think it is one thing that could help
to turn the carbon emissions problem around.

Mind you, we're in for some more melting icecaps no matter what we do
(within our current capabilities), because there is a tremendous
inherent lag in the atmospheric system's response to changes in gas
inputs. The Earth isn't that easy to steer.

Sincerely Yours,
Jordan

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Off Topic - "An Inconvenient Truth"
    ... it by a fee on the pollution of the common resource (our atmosphere) is ... The next big thing in carbon are probably: ... point that we can start seriously deploying solar power satellites. ... They realize their market isn't solely the US, ...
    (rec.arts.sf.written)
  • Re: Mr Rayners views of Electrification.
    ... and tidal power will all have a role to play as well. ... But the basic problem that burning coal boils down to carbon + oxygen ... just as burning gas or oil products ... (CO2 and H20) ...
    (uk.railway)
  • Re: Off Topic - "An Inconvenient Truth"
    ... A market that suffered a setback, a week or two ago, when Europe came ... Oil is almost non-existant as a generator of electricity. ... The next big thing in carbon are probably: ... point that we can start seriously deploying solar power satellites. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.written)
  • Re: OT: Price gouging?
    ... That would be good news if we just had a nice big source of methane ... end up with light mass elements in our atmosphere and on the outside on ... Methane formed by combining the carbon in calcite with the ... later manifesting itself in the forms of coal, oil and diamonds. ...
    (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)
  • Re: OT: Cheaper fuel
    ... Er - isn't it that you are merely recycling carbon instead of adding it? ... The plants take carbon from the atmosphere. ... Some goes into the oil ...
    (uk.religion.christian)