Carbon, Climate, and Energy: A Dialogue

Are there reasonable solutions for this matter of climate change?

Let's start with cars that run on batteries. Plug them in at night!

But where does that electricity come from?

Wait. It comes from the energy industry! They are responsible for 2.5 billion tons of CO2 every year! That's bad.

They are producing as much energy as they can at the lowest possible price for consumers. They are in a competitive business. This does cause higher carbon emissions -

So regulate the energy industry! Force them to either build greener generation facilities, like coal gasification plants, or maybe force them to trade carbon pollution allowances. Make those greedy bastards pay.

This price will be passed on to the consumer.

They can take it out of their insanely insane profits.

No they can't. Established, competitive industries are already running at the lowest-possible long term average cost. Investors won't --

Blah blah blah.

You've never taken a microeconomics course, have you?

It's all about profit.

Yes, it is, but profits are only possible when a business is running at maximum efficiency.

But since that also causes CO2, we might as well have the government run the energy industry. No more corporate greed.

But higher taxes.

You have to pay the price somewhere.

So it's okay to soak the average citizen with higher taxes which go into government coffers, and have arguably America's most critical industry run like Amtrak - but if corporations compete to deliver goods and services at a lower price, while also turning a profit, this is not acceptable.

You want to save the planet, right?

Yes, but --

I'll bet you work for big oil or coal.

No, but I'm trying to understand why --

Fascist.

All I'm suggesting is - if you think skepticism about global warming is hard to stomp out now, wait until people in coal-dependent states are staring a huge tax or energy rate hike in the face. They may take a sudden and profound interest in the hardcore science.

Americans are lazy gluttons who take more than their fair share.

That school-marmish attitude would be easier to take if it didn't come along with such a resentful, sneering hatred of the default American way of life. It's that contemptuous attitude, plus a tendency to sweep past any contradictory evidence which makes the whole thing seem grounded more in socialist politics, not practical climate science.

You can your corporate cronies can go stick it.

Thanks for sharing in this thoughtful discussion.