What Actions Should We Not Take to Respond to Climate Change?
We must respond prudently to the threats from climate change. We live in a global economy, much of it with lower production costs than our own in the developed world. Whether we live in the USA, Japan, Australia, New Zealand or the EU, we know our job losses are draining our countries, making it more difficult to support our retirement programs, health benefits, and even our national defense. We must be careful to not further increase the costs of our products and services. So we —
- Should not commit to actions that put us at a disadvantage, whether it is the Kyoto protocol or some other vehicle. If we increase our taxes on fuels (e.g., a carbon tax) that are inputs to production and services, we will jeopardize US industry. If a taxing regime is implemented it must separate production uses from consumption.
- Should not forget that the most valuable things we have are our health, our lives, and our family, and place them at risk by driving, or riding in, vehicles that put them at risk in order to save energy or other costs. If there are larger vehicles where you drive, don’t get priorities confused.
- Should not stop breathing even though it would be one of the most immediate steps to slow CO2 emissions.
- Should not do things without thinking. There are many ideas that may not have merit. For example, buying local vegetables to reduce transportation costs may actually increase energy use if the far off producer is a more efficient, and this is likely, if its costs are lower even after getting its goods to the local market. Another example is in using biofuels that have a high fossil energy input in fertilizer or machinery, or planting trees to reduce CO2, but finding out they also absorb solar radiation more than what they replace.