meanwhile, @amconmag on climate: it's real, bad things will happen, and nothing can be done, so JUST GIVE UP. bit.ly/Qe68mI- Basically, my objection to major legislative action to curb climate change isn't political exactly. It's that the measures that would have to be taken to actually have a meaningful impact on the climate would have to be more heavy-handed and extreme than the situation warrants. I'm not as convinced as Rod that the potential impact of climate change is catastrophic. Part of that is just my upbringing; my grandfather's a geomorphology professor emeritus at Cornell. Whenever climate change would come up in conversation he'd always point out that the earth, in terms of geological time, is in a relatively cool period at the moment. That aside, it seems hard to measure the cause and effect relationship between carbon caps and climate change.
@RL_Miller Is there any evidence that a gov't program to curb carbon emissions would have a meaningful impact that could be measured?- @j_arthur_bloom No govt program to date, thus no evidence, only projections & estimates.
- So...no.
- @RL_Miller But if one existed its impact couldnt be measured well. You'd be punishing taxpayers and businesses tilting at a massive windmill
- @j_arthur_bloom Cal is beginning the experiment. We know how much carbon we emit. Check back in 5 years to measure effect, economic health.
- @RL_Miller Depending on how onerous the tax is, the economic impact will be more or less (but always bad), climate impact impossible to say.
- @RL_Miller The point is Cal can't, in five years, measure the temperature and say how much they've kept the planet cool.
- @RL_Miller No, but other things do too. Other greenhouse gases, natural trends, etc. Plus impact of CA alone must be tiny.
- @j_arthur_bloom you asked for a govt program. I gave you one. Now you say that Cal program doesn't count because it's tiny?
- @RL_Miller My point was that even at the national level, the impact of such a program would be tough to measure. In one state, impossible.
- @RL_Miller Do you think implementing a bunch of taxes will avert our doom? If doom is coming, better to be doomed & free than doomed & taxed
- @RL_Miller Do you actually think the California program will have a meaningful, measurable impact on climate change?
- @j_arthur_bloom yep. Cal has track record as incubator of good policy (e.g., CAFE standards) and cleantech.
- Notice, this didn't actually address the question.
- @RL_Miller And I'm sure those underwater pension funds are also evidence of good policy.
- @RL_Miller Sorry, that was sassy. But seriously, 'we made good laws in the past so this law must be good too' is not an argument.
- @j_arthur_bloom I think we have a decent shot at transitioning to renewable-based economy; am simply worried we can't do it fast enough.
- @RL_Miller The extension of that argument is "...so we need a bunch of taxes and cronyist green energy subsidies or we're doomed."
- @RL_Miller There are a lot of free-market environmentalists who don't think the answer is turning more money & power over to the gov't
- @j_arthur_bloom really tired of business crying same "wolf!" every time anything enviro is proposed. After a while, credibility is lost.
j_arthur_bloom
Jordan
associate editor @amconmag, music writer @tinymixtapes, jams econo. Go Tribe
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