So I was at the Wisconsin State Bowling Tournament in Green Bay over the weekend, and I'm sitting at the casino next to some folks who work for an energy company. We weren't exactly “throwing it down 200 at a time” so we had the opportunity to talk. They made an argument I've seen more and more lately. Basically it is the old technology curve issue. It goes something like this:
Yes I understand Greenhouse warming, but wouldn't it be better to do simple things now, and spend money on R&D and then really plan for a “big bang” later when technology is better? As our technology gets better we'll be able to deal with these things easier, and doing it now would be a waste. Another variant is the China and India will dwarf our emissions shortly so we'll need to do remediation anyway - or so the story goes.
This diary is my response cleaned up somewhat. The point being, strike while the iron is hot! We should deal with greenhouse gasses starting now, not later.
This is part 3 of my series on Energy Policy. I put off looking at efficiency, because I wanted to write this down to get it clear in my head for the next time it comes up.
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