Oregon Daily Emerald, OR
10-16-07
Al Gore's hypocrisy hides how illogical solutions are
In my opinion Conservatively Speaking
By: Nik Antovich, Columnist
With Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize, the global warming trend is hotter
than ever. I find it a stretch to relate global warming and peace on earth, but we'll
just leave those tough questions for the Nobel Committee to answer. For the
sake of moving on to other aspects of global warming, such as the proposed
solutions, I will reserve my criticism of Al to one sentence. Al, you're a hypocrite, I
appreciate the fact that you care about the earth, but don't tell me I have to walk
to work so that you can fly a private jet and suck up 20 times more energy than
the average person - and I don't want to hear about carbon offsets.
Al has told the world that global warming will cause sea levels to rise by 20 feet
in 40 years. This will result in the destruction, no, elimination of, Florida,
Louisiana and Manhattan. I don't believe you Al… but that is scary, and because
I am into self-preservation, I'll listen to solutions just in case.
There have been many quick fixes presented with the intent of tackling this
proposed problem. However, many of these solutions have drastic unintended
consequences, including: greater power for a global government that does not
represent us (United Nations), negative effects on third-world countries, and
greater government control over industry here in the United States.
Automobiles constantly bombard our earth's atmosphere with CO2, one of the
many greenhouse gases we hear so much about that also include methane,
nitrous oxide, hydro fluorocarbons, per fluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.
Special interests have provided us with two popular solutions that look to mitigate
this pollution. Ethanol, which is produced from common agricultural products, hit
the scene in the late '80s and became popular in the late '90s. Despite the use of
ethanol, oil consumption has hardly hesitated. To the contrary, unintended
consequences are widespread. Iowa State University conducted a study
looking at the effects of ethanol production. They found that not only is the price
of corn rising, but so is the price of meat and eggs, since cows and chickens are
raised on corn. Other crops rise in price as well because of the shift farmers
make to corn production due to the rising demand. Ethanol doesn't seem
practical.
Another solution to the destruction automobiles cause is electric or hybrid cars.
Electric cars sound great, they burn nothing, are quiet, and convenient. I only
have one question: where does electricity come from? Last time I checked, most
electricity comes from coal-burning plants, about 56 percent of it. The same coal
burning plants that pump billions of tons of carbon dioxide into the air power our
electric cars. Just because the pollution can't be seen, doesn't mean it isn't there.
Electric cars don't seem practical.
The Kyoto Protocol is popular among environmentalists. These emissions
requirements, created and enforced by the holier-than-thou United Nations, have
been ratified by most, but not us. This protocol calls for the United States to
reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 7 percent less than what they were in
1990, by 2008. So far we have increased GHG emissions by 10 percent since
1990. In other words, the U.S. population, as well as economy, has grown since
the '90s, thankfully. Kyoto is simply an attempt to cap economic output. If we
cannot produce energy then we cannot produce anything. And when economic
production is stifled, so are standards of living. This is a classic knee-jerk
reaction that large governmental bodies generally submit to: We, the governors,
don't like something that you simple-minded folk are doing, so we will punish you
by suffocating innovation, raising taxes, and increasing regulation. Setting aside
my personal belief that only problems, not solutions, arise from the UN,
government still does not understand how a free market works. Incentives are all
that is needed; if we would stop focusing on punishment and instead focus on
reward, we may get something done. Kyoto is certainly not practical.
I don't mean to sound like a cynic; I just want to be realistic. If we really want to
reduce CO2 emissions we must think logically. Nuclear power plants are logical expensive but logical - and a solution that even Gore agrees with. Expanding the
use of current natural energy sources like hydropower, photovoltaic solar
technology, and wind power is logical. Human fat is 76 percent carbon; maybe
we should all gain some weight to sequester emissions.
The most important thing to remember is that greater government control is not
the answer. Don't let Al Gore scare you into awarding politicians increased
control of industry, or of the way we live. After all, he would be happy if everyone
lived like a caveman, except himself of course.
nantovich@dailyemerald.com