By now, you’ve probably heard about the list of things caused by Global Warming produced by British mathematician John Brignell. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out here. It’s an astounding list of all the things that have been attributed to global warming in some media source or another, with links (some are broken). I’m astounded at all the “matching pairs” of mutually exclusive items, such as:
· Atlantic less salty – Atlantic more salty
· Avalanches reduced – Avalanches increased
· Bananas destroyed – Bananas grow
· Coral reefs dying – Coral reefs grow
· Desert advance – Desert retreat
· Earth slowing down – Earth spins faster
· Fish stocks rise – Fish stocks decline
There’s a number more, but that’s enough for now; you’ll have to find the rest on your own. Some of my personal favorites were “circumcision in decline”, “brothels struggle”, “boredom”, “early marriage” and “inflation in China”. Now maybe it’s just me, but it seems this might be something we don’t have a real good handle on if we’re blaming everything under the sun on global warming, including things that directly contradict each other.
And another thing, “Carbon Cap and Trade” schemes have been in the news lately with Democrats wanting to attach them to the latest energy bill. Now basically, this is the Carbon Credits, which I discuss here, on a grand scale. So today on my news reader I get this from HowStuffWorks.com. It’s a great little article expounding the many virtues of a carbon tax… I had a number of issues with this article. First off, there is no real neutrality here. One of the things I’ve liked about HSW in the past was that they were even-handed on things I’d read. This article takes global warming as fact and carbon emissions by humans as the cause. Setting that aside, it says that “Carbon tax is one of two major market-based options to lower emissions, the other being cap-and-trade schemes.” Now maybe it’s just me, but we’re talking about a tax and government regulation. How exactly are those “market-based”? They sound as “market-based” as rent ceilings and the minimum wage… Now let’s look at their arguments as to why this is such a good thing…
First, it encourages people to stop using fossil fuels. Here’s your first tip this isn’t a market-based solution. Government action is changing the behavior of consumers. If the Market was driving this action, it wouldn’t require a tax. Second, “Carbon tax also encourages alternative energy by making it cost-competitive with cheaper fuels.” Note here that all this is going to do is raise energy prices. I don’t know about you, but I would love nothing more than to hand over more of my hard-earned money every time I fill up at the gas station or pay my monthly bills. If you want me to use alternative energy, fine. Come up with an alternative energy that’s cost-effective (oh wait, we already have. It’s called nuclear power). Don’t jack the price of everything up to make alternative energy competitive. And yes, it’s the cost of everything. You’re not the only one that depends on fossil fuels to get to do your job and run your lights. Finally, “don't forget about all the money raised by the tax”. Absolutely. We all know the government is such a good steward of our money. What they need is more of my money to waste. And I don’t see this tax being manipulated like all the other taxes out there. You know, those with the best lobbyists suddenly finding their carbon emissions are “tax-free”. No, that would never happen…
Finally, good news on the environmental front from an unexpected source. It seems we may all be saved by sweet-smelling kangaroos. Well, I’m not sure if they smell sweet, but presumably their farts don’t stink because the bacteria in their digestive tracts don’t create methane, a “potent greenhouse gas”. Now, scientists are going to try and transfer this bacteria to other species, which seems like a great idea. Perhaps this device would serve the same purpose?
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