Opinion: The Goracle Ain’t No Chicken Little

Manufacturing News, Source : The Manufacturer US
Published : 26 Mar 2007 14:33

by Dr. David Blond
Al Gore testified before Congress about global warming. At the same time a new study coming out of Australia showed that the Antarctic ice cap, along with the Greenland ice cap, is melting at an alarming rate. This reduces salinity of the northern and southern oceans.

If this continues then it could cause a slowing or stop to the ocean currents which control the weather and the wind. Any disruption in the Atlantic conveyor would send Europe into a mini-ice age. In the same week it was announced that China will likely pass the United States as the world’s leading supplier of green house gases. Listening to the conservatives in Congress talk, you would think that the rest of the world must be crazy to worry about the problem. This is, however, the Alfred E. Newman defense. For the past six years the Republican Congress and President didn’t hesitate to pile debt on the American people so why not pass on to our children melting polar ice caps and Category 5 hurricanes.

Most of the critics of– our “know nothing lobby” – suggest that attacking the problem will cost billions and millions of American jobs. The argument reflects the belief that abatement will impact the bottom line, reduce competitiveness of American companies, and increase imports from countries not bound by Kyoto, i.e. China and India. The result will be more greenhouse gases, not less, as these countries are not bound by Kyoto standards. Now don’t get me wrong, Kyoto was flawed for many reasons, not the least of them being the failure to impose standards on all industries whether in rich or poor countries alike. Trading abatement certificates is tricky and many of the credits earned are phantom abatement credits created by private corporations based on faulty science. Still limits are necessary and voluntary efforts are unlikely to yield meaningful results.

The argument that standards for abatement will lead to higher costs and less manufacturing is false. Green buildings are more efficient than conventional buildings. Hybrids ultimately will pay for themselves in savings on fuel. Energy efficient factories and power generation facilities can be less costly to build and run than existing older plants. And, the last time I looked we control our borders at least with respect to what gets imported. Free trade isn’t a God given right. If we wanted to we could calculate the green house gases we are allowed on the basis of domestic production and imports. This might induce countries like China and India to conform to Kyoto without signing the treaty if for no other reason than to remain competitive in the American market. A more direct way to limit the negative impact of abatement on US manufacturing is to tax exports of coal here. Again this would force the Chinese to find alternative energy sources, raise production costs there, and thus reduce the competitive advantage of producing in China. .

We can change our world and we can continue to prosper, even thrive. Free markets are excellent at adjusting to changes in the rules of the game. And to those skeptics to put their head in the sand and don’t believe that the world is heating up, the ice caps are melting, and the droughts and floods are on their way, then let me say – don’t say it too loud if a Polar Bear is around.

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