NOTE: I will insert short segments from both SIMPLE SOLUTION books, starting tomorrow from the Introduction, and stepping through all twelve chapters and Epilogue over the next couple of weeks.
WHY SIMPLE SOLUTIONS
Is there such a thing as a simple solution? Yes, and no. If a person is considerably overweight, the simple solution would be to lose weight. Thus, how to attain that solution becomes the operative challenge. Is there a simple solution for the dual hammer of Peak Oil and Global Warming? Some would say no, because it is already too late. If we only had made a full court press soon after the second energy crisis of 1979, we would today be in relatively good shape. Unfortunately, what happened was that Ronald Reagan became president in 1981 and he scuttled the national solar program. He is credited, though, for helping end the Cold War, probably the greatest threat humanity has ever had to survival, so let’s give him some recognition. See Epilogue in SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity—
http://www.simplesolutionsbook2.com/
In any case, there is a controlling element in the USA, coalesced around the White House and corporate boards, where the prevailing attitude seems to be one of protecting the continued use of fossil fuels to maintain a strong economy. So far, this policy seems to have worked. The U.S. is the most powerful country ever, so how can you argue against success? Well, what about the health of this globe? Anyway, this group questions the validity of global heating and feel comfortable hallucinating that oil will be around for many decades to come, or at least long enough so that they can cash in their golden parachute.
So, why bother, if our leaders have no worries and the doomsdayers are saying it is already too late. Why? Because both factions could be wrong. Too much is at stake and doing nothing is not an option. That was the premise for writing SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Planet Earth—
http://www.simplesolutionsbook1.com/
What, then, might work? Capping and trading carbon dioxide rights seem to have caught on. Here, free enterprise is entrusted to control the problem. But I have the uneasy feeling that cap/trade will only act as an excuse to further pollute the atmosphere.
We need something a lot more foolproof. What would work is a 10 cents/pound carbon dioxide tax on the combustion of fossil fuel. Our society will, then, very quickly shift away from using coal, oil and natural gas. But this tax is draconian and the world economy will most probably be jeopardized.
However, it almost doesn’t matter, for enactment of such an extreme solution seems beyond the capability of our society. The G8 Nations can make a stand, but their gathering in Heiligendamm last year only resulted in a “let’s do something by 2050” waffle, plus a nuclear power agreement. In a little more than a month, they meet this year on Hokkaido, with an environmental theme. If you have any media credentials, you can participate:
http://www.g8summit.go.jp/eng/press/index.html
Or can the United Nations move quickly and boldly enough to make a difference? The UN, quickly and boldly? Come on. Yet, they did inspire the Kyoto Protocol and had a hand in the control of halocarbons for ozone. Don’t hold your breath, but after G8 Japan 2008, maybe this will become the only pathway to ultimate rationality.
FLASH: Yikes, the price of NYMEX Crude Future for petroleum, at 11:40AM Hawaii time, is up to $123.80.
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