Do the right thing
Advertisements paid for by the energy industry warn of hefty price increases, if any type of cap-and-trade proposal on carbon pollution is adopted by Congress.
Right-wing radio and television hosts outline the vast left-wing conspiracy behind the “hoax” of global warming, which, they say, is a plot to destroy our economy and compel the U.S. to adopt socialist policies.
Such is the climate surrounding climate change and what to do about it, an issue now being debated in Washington.
The potential impact any climate-change legislation will have is evident by the fact that over the past five years, the number of climate-change lobbyists on Capitol Hill has increased by 300 percent. There were almost 2,500 such lobbyists last year, before President Obama was elected.
Understandably, the oil, gas, and coal industries have kicked in millions to either block climate-change legislation or substantially alter it to mitigate the damage to their bottom line. Using the current economic crisis as a backdrop, the energy companies claim that placing any kind of price on carbon emissions will be disastrous for average Americans, who will inevitably see a rise in energy prices. But in some forms of cap and trade, the regressive nature of any price increases could be offset by redistributing to low-income earners some of the revenues from “emission permits” sold by the government.
Regardless, if big energy is successful and we timidly confront the carbon problem, a larger and more devastating impact will likely follow. While there is some uncertainty in determining the extent and effects of climate change, most scientists believe the results of continued global warming would include a rise in sea levels, which will affect precipitation patterns and expand desert areas, and a continuation of the diminution of glaciers like those found in Glacier National Park in Montana. Some of the larger glaciers are a third of their 1850 size, while many have disappeared altogether.
Here in the heartland, the effects of doing little or nothing about greenhouse gas emissions will likely have adverse affects on weather-dependent agricultural yields and cause even more extreme weather events than we already experience, events that have their own economic impact.
So, while a move to limit our carbon emissions will no doubt cause energy prices to rise, the long-term benefits are incalculable. The interests of energy giants and the paranoia of conspiracists on the radio and television should not deter us from doing the right thing for our planet and posterity.
R. Duane Graham lives in Joplin. His blog is “Erstwhile Conservative.”
Columns
May 16, 2009
Emissions policy up for debate: Globe blogger R. Duane Grahm offers his opinion
Editor’s note: Three Joplin Globe bloggers weigh in with their viewpoints. For more from these bloggers and others, log on to www.joplinglobe.com
- Columns
-
-
Federal stimulus money allows Cherokee County to buy foreclosed houses
COLUMBUS, Kan. — A grant through the federal stimulus program will allow the Cherokee County Commission to buy three foreclosed houses from a county bank.
Nancy Lamb, deputy emergency management director for the county, provided information Monday about that grant and other grants on which she has been working. - Guest column, Allen Shirley: Copy a winning example Last October, I published a column in The Joplin Globe documenting three failed attempts involving the states of Maine, Massachusetts and Tennessee and their efforts to implement “Obamacare” in their states.
-
Anson burlingame, guest columnist: Living within our means
“Mainly, we are going to have to live within our means and be very careful.”
That is the most resounding sound bite I have heard from a politician in a long time. If only that sentiment can grow and resonate, politically, to turn the tide of incessant and extraordinarily dangerous growth beyond our means in government. - Jim Stone, guest columnist: Paranoia shouldn’t impede freedom The afternoon of Dec. 30 brought news that eight American CIA agents and four Canadian soldiers at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Afghanistan had been killed by a suicide bomber.
- Dan Ray, guest columnist: Bills can still be terminated We still have an opportunity to terminate the health care bills that have been passed in the Senate and the House.
-
Dave Woods: Global warming fires up debate
on Adams doesn’t believe in global warming.
I have to say, when it’s 3 degrees below zero outside in Joplin and we’re headed for our third week without a thaw, global warming theory is a tough concept to wrap my head around. -
Jack Kaminsky, guest columnist: Remembering a ‘classic’
Last week Editor Carol Stark asked me to write something about my dad and the Kaminsky Classic, the annual Joplin High School basketball tournament which ended on Saturday.
Even as I started writing, I began crying, and have had tears in my eyes all day. - Carol Stark: We all need someone’s hand to hold I was always a nervous little kid and while others my age went through life without a care, I held back, imagining that the worst was about to happen.
- Dave Woods: Harsh note sounds over parade trip By the time you read this column, the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif., will only be a memory.
- Bob Steere, guest columnist: Still looking for some answers Don Ray’s frustration in obtaining answers from his leaders in Congress (Globe, Dec. 22) is certainly shared by this letter sender.
- More Columns Headlines
-
Federal stimulus money allows Cherokee County to buy foreclosed houses
COLUMBUS, Kan. — A grant through the federal stimulus program will allow the Cherokee County Commission to buy three foreclosed houses from a county bank.
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
