Quote:
Originally Posted by camaraderie
Osmund
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Cam, that wasn't exactly what I said. I don't buy into the "rising water" debate because I, like you, believe there is room for healthy skepticism. It may happen, but I'm not prepared to claim so.
From what I've seen, the carbon in ocean observation is
not projected, but observed already in some of the most fragile locations. At some point one may also lean on common sense and the past history of pollution, including factors we fortunately put behind us (at an immediate cost each time): lead in petrol and the many illnesses caused; smog and associated allergies (alleviated in some places, not others); and so forth. To believe we can continue to dump carbons into the sea is, to put it cautiously, somewhat brave?
To paraphrase you: the argument about cost is debilitating and spurious. For a start, the thing that matters is
relative cost in a world trading context, and the proposed US legislation is way behind that already in place elsewhere, China etc. excepted. If more countries fall into line, competitiveness is not skewed. On the other hand, what the
absence of such legislation has lost for USA is, to name some: the decimation of the auto industry living under a self-delusional umbrella and eventually falling behind; growth potential in the energy saving industries - I had double-glazed windows since the 1960s and today triple-glazing is mandatory; traditional light bulbs will be prohibited in two years' time, and so forth; this in a climate much milder than the entire northern third of USA. As a result, homes are more comfortable, demand for mechanical heating/air condition has dropped markedly, energy production can be diverted for more productive manufacturing purposes. I should think nobody needs a lecture about this.
Every time changes in production appear, howls go out over the cost, and how many times has it not proven wrong? In national accounts what goes around tends to come around, so sporting figures like $9,6 trillion are artefacts.
I suppose this could be said simpler: Yes, let's keep on producing like we have in the old-fashioned way while others who already feel the pinch learn to modernize - we won't have to see the total bankruptcy of that strategy in our time - let the next generation worry.