Economic Development and Fossil Fuels are Making the Planet Greener

Problem is that regulations may limit business in the short term, but lack of regulation has a long-term cost that may have even more detrimental effect on the global economy.

Rising sea levels and less farmable land could indeed rearrange the world order. What is the cost of rebuilding cities more inland? Or turning every city into New Orleans?

In my opinion, it's way too late anyway. We need to look to solutions to this versus anything else. I don't know if it's a world project to develop fusion power in the next 20 years ala man on the moon mission, or figure out a way to cover every building in white paint to increase the albedo effect. But people really need to start thinking about solutions very soon.

 

True...but if we do not ensure our economic stability in the short term, we won't get to the long term.

 

Environmental regulation isn't what's hurting our economy. It's the super cheap labor overseas.

You want economic stability? Inject more cash into the middle class like it was in the 60's and and require our trading partners ensure safe working conditions for any product imported into the U.S.

Do I think carbon limits is going to solve anything? Not at this point. But cleaner air and water definitely can help ease the cost of a crippling health system.

 

I definitely think that laws designed to encourage manufacturing jobs returning to the US is a big component of the answer. As another benefit, all manufacturing processes returned to the US would be subject to our emissions standards. The emissions standards may be less stringent overseas in developing economies.

 

As prices go up they will move to fuel efficient cars which puts you at best where we are now while eating an oil shock. Not pretty.


"Demand destruction" is a broad term that embraces everything from a short-term, temporary loss of oil consumption as a result of cyclical factors, such as a recession; behavioural changes, like buying a more fuel efficient car or using public transport; to more long-lasting and irreversible changes, such as replacing an oil-fired boiler with a gas or coal-fired one.

It also appears demand destruction can happen either way.

"Demand destruction takes places across a variety of time-scales and the permanence of its impact is highly variable.

The simplest and fastest forms, such as taking fewer journeys or using public transport, tend to be the easiest to reverse once oil prices fall and the economy starts growing again. By contrast, structural changes, requiring heavy investment in expensive and long-lived equipment, like new boilers and engines, or mandated by regulation, occur slowly, but once costs are sunk are essentially irreversible."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/12/column-kemp-oil-efficiency-idUSL6N0C4B1Y20130312

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US carbon emissions down big time thanks to free markets.

Europe not so much.

 

1. What are the statistics that show the decline in the US but not Europe?
2. Wouldn't it bear out that the developing economies in Asia are increasing their emissions?