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Comments:
Eric * - 2005-02-16 11:20:26 The credits would not be there for purchase were it not for other factories operating in a cleaner way than previously. * * * * * * * * * * * * Eric * - 2005-02-16 11:45:38 Actually, that's not entirely true. Kyoto is based on the principle that the world will meet a global target for CO2 and a couple other greenhouse gases. The companies that can sell their excess credit do so not because they have cleaned up their factories, but because they are currenlty cleaner than the target. Those clean factories haven't gotten any cleaner, but by selling their credits they allow dirty factories to stay dirty.* * * * * * * * * * * * LF - 2005-02-16 12:01:32 I'm going to cut the catalytic converter off my truck today and do doughnuts for a couple of hours until the treads fly off my tires. I thought about four-wheeling through a wetland (goddamn amphibians!), but I was afraid I would get stuck and be inconvenienced. I turn my thermostat to 90 so that I can wear shorts AND keep the windows ajar for fresh air. Hell, I took all of the fiberglass batting out of my attic 'cause insulation is for pussies * * * * * * * * * * * * Eric * - 2005-02-16 12:06:50 Wouldn't the more sensible act of definance be to cut down a bunch of trees? Better yet, burn them down? By increasing your heating bills or destroying your car, you are trashing your personal stuff. That doesn't bother me all that much.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-16 12:14:35 awesome, LF, you're really getting into the spirit! Good ideas here!* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-16 12:20:07 Yeah, insulation is for pussies!--hear, hear. Let those other wuss countries worry about conservation. LF, you upped the ante to 90--not bad, but I'll see you and raise you 5.* * * * * * * * * * * * LF - 2005-02-16 12:25:15 Just lampooning the ridiculous lifestyle choices and excessive consumption by 'regular' Americans that contribute heavily to greenhouse gases. They're just as culpable as corporations/manufacturers and the Bush toadies who gutted the power of clean air legislation with loopholes.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-16 12:30:28 Eric, it is incorrect to suggest that the pollution-trading provision of Kyoto "defeats the whole purpose." It is a mechanism by which the European countries will reach their 2010 targets of (an average of) 8 percent reductions in overall emissions. Credits can be accrued not only by clean-running factories but also by making new clean sources of energy or planting trees. Kyoto is a laudable program that will actually achieve something. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-16 12:38:16 I agree with you LF--individuals are just as culpable. * * * * * * * * * * * * LF - 2005-02-16 12:56:29 Hey Laura - considering that the majority of electricity in the US is still generated by burning coal, make sure to waste as much juice as possible. Restart your computer constantly throughout the day. And, of course, any manual task is better done with a powered implement. Grind my coffee by hand - are you insane? A manual toothbrush? Maybe you just want me to chew on a stick, you sadistic creep. IMBO (in my blowhardian opinion) gas powered leaf blowers and the people who use them have their own dedicated level in hell. Noise pollution and green house gasses all at once. Raking is good for your lawn and good for you.* * * * * * * * * * * * lynne - 2005-02-16 13:06:49 The pollution trading works even though it does allow some factories to stay dirty. The way it works is this: Let's just say that it costs a company $5 million to get exactly to whatever pollution regulations there are. But it only costs them another $1 million to get substantially cleaner (this is a likely scenario when you consider fixed costs as opposed to variable costs). In a system where there are simply regulations about how how much pollution a business can produce, firms will get to that level and wont get any cleaner because they have no incentive to do so. But when you allow firms to sell pollution credits, what happens is that while some firms stay dirty by buying credits, other firms get a lot cleaner than they otherwise would be which results in the same *net* pollution as there would be with simple regulations but with more flexibility for firms. Flexibility which theoretically should result in lower costs for them and then ultimately consumers. There is no excuse for the United States not to participate in Kyoto. It is morally wrong for us not to. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-16 13:31:51 LF: The manual-vs.-powered implement question is worth thinking over, and taking a home inventory. I won't buy a powered implement if there's a manual alternative--e.g., my manual pencil sharpener. I would love a hand-cranked coffee grinder, and would love to know where to get one. My Oma had one--a wooden box with a crank on top. Simple. Not too long ago, every chore was manual, so it seems that manual alternatives can be found in many cases. And raking *is* good for you. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-16 13:38:20 Thank you Lynne; a good explanation. And I'm glad I'm not the only one to think it morally wrong for the U.S. not to join the Kyoto Treaty. * * * * * * * * * * * * add your comment: |