Today’s New York Times has an editorial titled Taming King Coal which reveals the dirty reality of global warming: it’s getting worse before it gets better. The article reports on China’s incredible pace of growth in CO2 emissions, indicating plans to build numerous coal plants that burn coal the cheap and dirty way, not cleaner coal technology. Contrast TXU, an American company building 11 new coal-fired plants. Using good old American values and technologies, TXU will also not build cleaner coal plants: they are more expensive.
We seem to fail almost completely to recognize, as a country or world, that the impact of global warming has a staggering cost. The problem is, that cost is non-specific and will be paid in the future thus is not borne by coal plants or any other producer of CO2 emissions as part of their business. It’s an externality: a cost not measured by the “invisible hand” of economics. Our recently departed radical (right) economist, Milton Friedman, was adamantly against governmental regulation and taxation … except in order to internalize externalities. It’s time we put a price on CO2 and made everyone who emits it pay their share of the cost now. If we captured that future cost as a tax, two things would happen: 1) we would collect revenue that could help mitigate the problem, such as R&D in alternative fuels, and 2) we would change the balance of supply and demand.
Is it really that simple? It couldn’t be, could it? My answer is … almost. (more…)
About a year ago, I wrote about my efforts to stop junk mail. It took two rounds of calling, emailing and then a couple of months before the volume slowed. It did slow and most of the places we requested list removal for honored the request. But it was a lot of work, and it was far from complete. Every time we order something from a new company, we get on a new list (or lists). And now as the Christmas season is upon us, some are back. It seems unstoppable. But the folks at IdealBite found a great service that I have signed up to stop junk mail with GreenDimes: for a dime a day, not only will they remove your name from junk mail lists, but also plant a new tree each month. (more…)
Cliches were rampant last night on CNN and MSNBC, the only stations I could find that covered the election, even though it was clearly as important as the last two presidential elections. One pundit lamely pulled out the “revenge is a dish best served cold” quote which I thought missed the point. Yesterday’s election was more about justice, and justice was served.
But is justice what we need? (more…)
Halloween: it’s up there with Christmas as the most egregious of consumption/greed oriented holidays here in the US of A. Ok, I’m being a buzz-kill again, but look, while the kids had a great time dressing up and walking around getting candy, there was a distinct moment in the process in which I became aware of an ulterior motive: to get candy. And to sell candy.
The aftermath is now staring us, and the rest of the overweight, over-fed, over-eating world in the face. We’re teaching our kids that candy is a regular part of life. We have bowls and bowls of the stuff. Is “just one a day” a good message? For me, “perhaps once a week if you’re willing to give up ice cream night”. 3 out of 4 kids with fathers would not choose me.
No, the kids sure didn’t want to part with their hard earned booty. A radical candectomy was the prescription. (more…)
