Baby steps won't save the planet. Neither will huge tax hikes. Investment is the answer.
" 'There is a very common mind-set right now which holds that all that we’re going to need to do to avert the large-scale planetary catastrophes upon us is make slightly different shopping decisions,' said Alex Steffen, the executive editor of Worldchanging.com, a Web site devoted to sustainability issues."
-"Buying Into the Green Movement" by Alex Williams, The New York Times
That's a pretty scathing indictment of the whole "buy an expensive lightbulb, save the world" campaign. So what's the alternative? A carbon tax aimed at forcing people to drive less, buy hybrids, and pressure the power companies to go solar?
Bad idea, at least if done by itself, according to Peter Teague and Jeff Navin of The American Prospect. They argue that the "Step It Up" initiative is horribly wrongheaded: "The 'right-wing populist vs. liberal elite' frame is dropping into place with the help of those calling for the deepest cuts in carbon.The deep-cut mantra, repeated without any real understanding of what might be required to get to 60 or 80 percent reductions in emissions, ignores voters' anxieties" about rising gas and energy prices. Then they powerfully advocate a carrot-and-stick approach with an emphasis on the carrot: more and better-paying jobs, as suggested by the Apollo Alliance plan, which I first mentioned in this post.
So what's so controversial about the whole investment idea? Maybe just that government officials don't like committing to spend lots of money--$300 billion in the case of the Apollo plan. Or then again, maybe too many of us are addicted to the idea that we should all be soldiers in a war against climate change, sacrificing our easy lives and struggling for a hard-won victory. The biggest problem with this model is that poor people, already struggling, will be hurt the most by regulation and, hopefully, helped the most by government investment, which could reinvigorate the middle class.
P.S. Watch Live Earth! Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection has pulled together a tremendous event with concerts on all seven continents (yes, even a five-scientist band in Antarctica!) to kick off a years-long mass-persuasion campagin on global warming. Two billion people are expected to be watching. Check it out--it could be the dawn of a new era!
-"Buying Into the Green Movement" by Alex Williams, The New York Times
That's a pretty scathing indictment of the whole "buy an expensive lightbulb, save the world" campaign. So what's the alternative? A carbon tax aimed at forcing people to drive less, buy hybrids, and pressure the power companies to go solar?
Bad idea, at least if done by itself, according to Peter Teague and Jeff Navin of The American Prospect. They argue that the "Step It Up" initiative is horribly wrongheaded: "The 'right-wing populist vs. liberal elite' frame is dropping into place with the help of those calling for the deepest cuts in carbon.The deep-cut mantra, repeated without any real understanding of what might be required to get to 60 or 80 percent reductions in emissions, ignores voters' anxieties" about rising gas and energy prices. Then they powerfully advocate a carrot-and-stick approach with an emphasis on the carrot: more and better-paying jobs, as suggested by the Apollo Alliance plan, which I first mentioned in this post.
So what's so controversial about the whole investment idea? Maybe just that government officials don't like committing to spend lots of money--$300 billion in the case of the Apollo plan. Or then again, maybe too many of us are addicted to the idea that we should all be soldiers in a war against climate change, sacrificing our easy lives and struggling for a hard-won victory. The biggest problem with this model is that poor people, already struggling, will be hurt the most by regulation and, hopefully, helped the most by government investment, which could reinvigorate the middle class.
P.S. Watch Live Earth! Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection has pulled together a tremendous event with concerts on all seven continents (yes, even a five-scientist band in Antarctica!) to kick off a years-long mass-persuasion campagin on global warming. Two billion people are expected to be watching. Check it out--it could be the dawn of a new era!