While there is money to be made and environments to be cleaned up by adopting green technology where appropriate, this type of plan, at this level, would be an economic disaster for the United States and any other countries that adopted it.
Paul R. Epstein: Finding the green solution to global climate crisis
By Paul R. Epstein -
Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, September 21, 2007
With weather turbulence turning heads on Wall Street, an emerging call among evangelicals for "creation care" and a barrage of energy bills on Capitol Hill, are we about to get serious about climate change? Trimming energy use 60 percent to 80 percent, while priming the economy and preserving the environment is the task we face.
California is, as usual, the pacesetter, and can invigorate the Northeast Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative; and other governors are grabbing hold of the mainsheets. But we need a national plan, and may have just months before the next presidential election to craft a solid one. What follows is a suggested framework for overarching principles and financial and policy instruments for implementing the plan.
Comparing life-cycle costs -- health, ecological and economic -- of proposed solutions can separate safe solutions from those warranting further study and those with prohibitive risks. Those serving multiple goals merit a high rating.
Energy conservation, smart growth; a smart grid; plug-in hybrids; heat capture from utilities (known as cogeneration); green buildings; plus walking, biking and public transport can get us halfway there -- and save money.
Distributed generation -- power produced near the point of use -- with solar, wind, wave, geothermal and fuel-cell power can be fed into existing grids -- and generate income. (And geothermal heat pumps provide air conditioning.)
Where energy is scarce, such systems can pump water, power clinics, light homes, cook food and drive development. Clean distributed generation power improves resilience in the face of weather extremes (adaptation), reduces carbon emissions (mitigation) and creates jobs.
