Comments calvinjones has made

Jim Manzi & Carbon Tax

First things first. Jim Manzi, he was one of the first neocons to write about climate change as an issue that has to be delt with politically. He did this in the National Review (home to AEI, Herritage Foundation, Adam Smith Institute types) This dosent meen it has to be mitigated; but a strategy somewhat futher forward than denial should--he argues--be adopted. This is a strategy of denying the severity and fighting real measures. His article 'Game Plan' and my response can be found

Here

So i would question why we have a political strategist for the right writing in grist.

On the issue of carbon tax my position is simple. It would be a useful policy measure. What we need is a global cap on emissions but such a scheme works far better along side a carbon tax. Ideally a carbon tax would replace payroll tax or income tax...or part thereof.

My position has changed slightly in recent times, i always thought of carbon tax as a useful tool but i`m thinking of it increasingly as essential. Several reports have pointed out the need for a reasonable cost of carbon in the short term, it would take very bold cuts in co2 quotas under a yet non-existant global cap and trade sheme to achive this.

Interested in climate change? http://climatechangeaction.blogspot.com

Another reason...

All the right wing blogs will explode with bile...this will be ammusing for me and utterly unproductive for them.

This will give the left a break, which would be a great change of fortunes :-)

Weather he deserves it...that would place him against some tough competition, however awarding the honour to him would be like awarding the zietgiest to climate change. The more political attention the better so i hope he wins for the planet!

Interested in climate change? http://climatechangeaction.blogspot.com

EE and CHP

"Then they added CHP/EE and they got the votes."

Can we peal back the gloss please? What does this mean?

A renewable energy target of 20% would be good 15% not nearly as good but progress...what is the curent level?

What is the current level of CHP + Renewables?

How would energy efficiency be measured...i`m asuming the rather solid metric of reduction in deman would not be used, rather there would be refrence to some sort of fictional baseline?

Devil is in the details.

It is entirely possible that current renewables+chp could be only a few % from the target and a poorly a high end baseline could be reduced to a slight imporvement on busines as usuall to give a few more percent (with total demand and carbon going up all the while).

Interested in climate change? http://climatechangeaction.blogspot.com

Biofuelwatch

I find it hard to see how you can talk about biofuels and there dangers without mentioning Biofuelwatch.

http://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk

As for an alterntive, energy efficiency is that solution. You americans are just going to have to get over SUVs and drive cars that dont weigh two tones.

Of course the energy source of the future is renewable energy in all its forms.

Electricity is the transfer storage media...Tesla, need i say more?On So What's Plan C? posted 2 years, 6 months ago 4 Responses

Martin Luther King had a dream not a complaint.

It seems to be a fair question in asfar as people are faily well devided on it but I dont think that there can be much dispute about the answer.

The future is driven by vision not by rebuttal.

If Martin Luther King wasted his time taking apart segregationist arguments then he wouldnt have had time to inspire!

It is painfull and somewhat counterintuative to ignore these attacks, but i believe--and i think of you look at practically any book on social change and physchology you will see this--that it is time to lead from the front. Accepting climate change as an argument won and showing all the reasons that this low carbon future is going to be great!

What did the romans ever do for us?
(asked Monty Python)

In the end...

"All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?"
XERXES:
Brought peace.
REG:
Oh. Peace? Shut up!

Similar picture for climate policy.

"All right but apart from Cleaner air, a fitter population, less foreign oil, more high qaulity jobs, more efficient appliances, safer streets, better qaulity housing, more distributed political and economic power abd closer communities what has climate policy ever done for us?"

Calvin Jones

"Save the planet"

Realisitcally, leading with the first bunch of reasons will enable climate policy to take on a positive energy that people will come to accept as the future, saving the planet is then positive by association...we need to give up the rational and work on the emotional, that is how arguemtns are won in most cases.

Interested in climate change? http://climatechangeaction.blogspot.com

IPCC Webcasts

The IPCC Webcasts of WG2 and WG3 Reports, Impacts and Mitigation respectively, are available on youtube on my account.

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=calvinjones

Interested in climate change? http://climatechangeaction.blogspot.com

China's attitude.

Considering that car ownership in china is at the level it was in the US in 1905 it is remarkable that they are so far forward on climate change mitigation.

In terms of justice they have ample right to keep poluting. Unfortunately this would destroy the planet, i think we must credit them for realising this. It looks likely that china and the US will accept the need for a carbon cap at around the same time, a remarkable state of affairs givien emissions of 4tco2 in chian and 20 in the US and given the huge numbers without basic needs such as clean water and electricity.

As for chinese obstructionism of the IPCC, that isnt the picture comming out of the scientists.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqZvJCHlbowOn Where There's a Way, There's a Will posted 2 years, 6 months ago 7 Responses