The reader comments -in today's Wall Street Journal- on a recent article about carbon credits are quite instructive. Here are some interesting responses. One reader points out that the high European tax on gasoline is in fact a tax on carbon emissions. He claims a $1 per gallon gas tax is equivalent to a $100 per ton carbon tax. So far so good. I am in favor of higher gas prices and experience shows that higher prices do reduce consumption and are very beneficial in the battle against global warming.
But now the reader claims that since Europe charges anywhere from $2-3 tax per gallon, but consumption nonetheless went up by 26% from 1990 to 2004, that is proof that of a failed policy. The raise is irrelevant of course. What we really need to know is how much consumption would have gone up without the extra tax. And to get an idea of whether this works or not, just take a look at gas consumption per capita in Europe versus the US. Clearly Europeans use a lot less. Now you will probably say, distances are shorter in Europe, but that is a meaningless argument. Distances are what people make them to be. If Americans think it is acceptable to live 50 miles from work and commute that far by car everyday, then low gas prices surely have something to do with it.
I am sure you will find another argument to counter this, such as high home prices or something like it. But remember that high housing prices are also an artifact. They are high because the government subsidizes housing by letting people deduct their mortgage interest. Furthermore, Americans can buy homes with a little as 5% down. In Europe, even 20% is rare to find and most mortgages require at least 40-50%. Secondly, with abundant cheap energy, builders prefer to build huge houses so they can charge more. Suburbia is a totally subsidized and artificial living arrangement. It cannot persist without abundant cheap energy and water. Nobody could afford to live in Palm Desert without extensive support. Even Sacramento would be a wasteland with cheap gas and plenty of dam building.
On to another instructive comment. One reader says, Who would be ignorant enough to sign onto something that China and India don't participate in? Fair enough and many readers make similar observations. These basically say that we should not foot the bill for others, or that we should not use our hard-earned dollars to help others. There is a strong sense in all these that the readers are not prepared to cooperate with others -even others who have an inferior standard of living- to save our habitat. We would rather die rich than share.
And finally, the most telling of all. It reads, It's not that we are in love with petroleum; not that we are wasteful and "dislike" nature. It's that we do not want the federal government giving away our tax money and global competitiveness.
This one puts it all together in one nice package. And let's take it at face value. Let's assume the reader does not think he is in love with petroleum. Let's assume he does not dislike nature and that he truly believes he is not wasteful. Then, more than any other comment this one illustrates the profound ignorance of our citizenry. Our maybe the spectacular success of our Madison Avenue brain washing.
Let's set the following test. Maybe the reader can stop using petroleum for a week. Both directly -as in driving, heating and cooling- and indirectly -as in using only local food grown without fertilizers, pesticides, and artificially pumped in water. Food shipped in by bicycle. Let him do this and then tell us with a straight face that he is not in love with petroleum. Because the truth is, he has no clue how deeply addicted and dependent he, and all of us really are. Without petroleum, most of us would starve.
As for being wasteful. Let's take a look at his electricity, gas, and water bills. Let's see how many gallons of water he needs to get through the day. Let's check how many kWh of electricity, and how many therms of gas. Let's multiply that by the current world population and see how big the shortfall is. Not wasteful, give me a break.
It is comments like these that often make me wonder if there is any hope left for humanity.
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