President Obama, desperate to find an issue to make himself look presidential, has seized on that favorite chestnut of the left, global warming. It's urgent, we're told.
Well, if it's urgent then stop lying about it and start doing something. Be honest! Liberals keep telling us that we need to cut carbon emissions, yet methane is a far more effective greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Although methane accounts for only eight percent of greenhouse gasses, it is 21 times more effective at trapping solar radiation than carbon dioxide. And methane has increased far more than carbon dioxide over the past 300 years.
And the primary source of methane in the atmosphere? Cow flatulence and cow burps. So reduce beef consumption and methane production drops automatically. Of course, this doesn't allow the United Nations the opportunity to levy huge taxes on highly developed energy-consuming nations to send to the pest holes of the world, which is what a lot of this global warming blather is about.
Game theory tells us that getting everyone to cut carbon or methane emissions is virtually impossible. Unless every single nation and person on the planet participates, those who voluntarily cut emissions will be at a competitive disadvantage. But that doesn't mean we are helpless in the face of global warming.
The book Superfreakanomics has a chapter which describes numerous very inexpensive solutions to the global warming problem. Oddly enough, no one seems interested in solutions.
For example, in the 1970s the fear was that the planet was cooling. This was because high levels of sulfur dioxide pollution were indeed filtering out solar radiation. As this pollution was eliminated, the planet warmed.
One scientist has proposed pumping sulfur dioxide into the upper atmosphere to offset global warming. This could be done relatively cheaply, with no negative pollution effects. Many other solutions have been suggested, such as putting biodegradable reflective confetti in the upper atmosphere to provide temporary cooling without permanently altering the biosphere. No one is interested. Liberals just want to tax and transfer.
Of course, not everyone loses from global warming, as both The Washington Post and The Atlantic have noted. Many parts of the United States are currently too cold to be livable to the average person. If they warmed a bit that wouldn't be a bad thing.
And people do have feet. When the federal government ruins a local school system, people slowly move away to areas with better schools. If an area should develop an unpleasant climate, people will drift to more pleasant locales. If less of the planet is inhabited, fewer greenhouse gasses will be produced. It's self-regulating.
So let's quit with all the liberal hot air. It's warming the atmosphere!
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Liberals reject solutions in favor of hot air in global warming debate
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