It's the Sun, stupid!

[darrelx]

More recent observations indicate that Mars' south pole is continuing to melt. "It's evaporating right now at a prodigious rate," says Michael Malin, principal investigator for the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC). The pits in the ice are growing by about 3 meters per year. Malin states that conditions on Mars are not currently conductive to the

Comments

[buddykat]

Congress introduced several bills today to limit emissions from factories, cars, etc... with mandatory compliance by 2030. That's just what we need: something else to make it harder on businesses in the U.S. to compete... NOT!

Call your Representative... Call your Senator... Tell them: "It's the Sun, stupid!"

I don't care one way or the other if they are using global warming as justification for these bills; they are flat out good for the environment in general. I personally *like* to breathe clean air that I don't feel like I'm chewing, I like being able to breathe without needing a respirator or mask to filter out nasty particulates.

Do I believe that man is completely causing global warming? I don't think it's likely; I do think that there is a natural warming/cooling cycle that we are seeing. However, I *do* think that it is very likely that man is *accelerating* that cycle. Since we don't have precise records on all the various factors for enough years, we don't have any way of knowing for sure if it is a completely natural cycle that we are seeing, or if man is accelerating that cycle.

And which countries are these going to make it harder to compete with? Since we aren't the only industrialized nation to enact these types of laws, I'd say it's a fair assumption that the countries we are going to have the most trouble competing with are *developing* countries. Well, we already have several strikes against us for competing against developing countries; safe working conditions standards, fair labor standards, higher wages, etc.

Since it's highly unlikely that those laws are going to change or go away anytime soon, maybe we shouldn't be targeting developing countries as our main competition, since it's unlikely that we *will* be able to compete with them.

[roycalbeck]

I do agree that reduction of pollution is a good thing, and I fully support it. I'm sure Darrel does too. What we're against is developing national policies that pooch the economy in the name of "feelgood" ideology.

[darrelx]

That's a better way of putting it than I did... my statement was a bit more off-the-cuff, but yeah, you got my meaning.

When I said that Al Gore can kiss my SUV-driving, Air-conditioned patootie, I meant that I like my SUV, but I don't drive when I can take the trolley to work... I like my air conditioning, but I've got a programmable thermostat that only turns the air on when I'm likely to be home. All the lights in my house are flourescent, except the track-lights that are specifically for showing off my artwork, which are Halogens, but they are on a dimmer switch so that when it's just me in the house, they don't use as much power. I've installed double-paned windows all around and beefed up the insulation so that my house uses less power to stay comfortable. I only do my laundry in large loads. I redeem beverage containers for their CRV value.

What I am against is stupid blanket policies that will take away my ability to even *have* an SUV, or to even *have* air conditioning when I want it, or to even *have* halogen lights in my ceiling. Policies like that don't help nearly as much as they hurt, and the ones they hurt the most are small businesses that have to compete with foreign imports, who don't have to abide by the same policies, and therefore can operate more cheaply.

[jbriggs]

At least we agree on these things (^:

[esprix]

What I am against is stupid blanket policies that will take away my ability to even *have* an SUV, or to even *have* air conditioning when I want it, or to even *have* halogen lights in my ceiling.

Wow, that would be some heavy legislation. What is the bill #? Even I'd call my congressperson about that kind of drastic sweeping reform.

[roycalbeck]

Um, pretty much that's Kyoto in a nutshell. The entire idea being that the US would be forced to reduce emissions so far that such draconian measures would be almost certain. And all for the singular reason of allowing industrially-developing countries to pollute MORE.

[esprix]

Well then gee, it's a good thing we didn't sign it then, isn't it?

[darrelx]

These are currently being debated in the house and senate: The Senate just passed a requirement that by 2020 all cars need to get a minimum 35 mpg. It's up to the House to ratify the bill. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Arlen Specter introduced a Bill yesterday that requires that by 2030 all companies need to reduce carbon emissions by 20%. There are more, but a simple search of current bills undergoing debate or sent to committee will uncover them.

A whole slew of them were introduced yesterday in both the house and senate, which is why I started this thread.

[esprix]

I'm sorry, where in those bills does it say you have to give up your SUV?

So is it BAD that we're moving towards more fuel-efficient cars and less noxious emissions? I don't think so at all. Your arguments that it will be bad for the economy have been used every time some major changes have come along, and yet, despite a few bumps, we're still here and thriving. Capitalism has this wonderful way of fostering innovation for the simple reason that the consumer demands it. Why do you think the Prius has done so well? If industry is smart, they'll use the opportunity to expand and improve their business, or they will die out, as tends to happen in business.

Besides, environmental issues aside, I think it's an amazingly good idea to reduce our dependency on oil - it's politically sound to stop buying oil from other countries, and it's economically sound since oil is not a renewable resource.

[esprix]

"Feel good" or not, they're good policies.

[darrelx]

Not if they hurt small business, which in turn exponentially hurts the economy. What's bad for the economy is bad for all of us.

[esprix]

And I posit change in this case will ultimately be fantastic for the economy. So nyeh. :P