Staff Contributors
Guest Contributors

Tracking Lieberman-Warner

Boxer statement

Posted by Brian Beutler (Guest Contributor) at 8:55 PM on 05 Dec 2007

Barbara Boxer is, of course, glowing:

The vote of the Environment and Public Works Committee in favor of the Climate Security Act was a historic moment for our country and for my Committee.

For me, it was the greatest legislative accomplishment of my political career of thirty years.

Finally, America is taking bold steps to avert the catastrophe that awaits our children and grandchildren if we do nothing.

Our bill has two goals ... to fight global warming and to do it in a way that keeps our economy strong. That will be my focus in the coming weeks and months as we move the bill forward to the Senate floor.

This bill is the most far reaching global warming bill in the world and I am grateful to Senators Lieberman and Warner for breaching the partisan divide and unleashing a spirit of cooperation that puts the wind at our backs.

What a waste!

It is very unlikely that mankind will cut their emissions so fast and drastically that either abrupt climate change or runaway global warming is avoided.  A rapidly growing population and world economy is expected to grow emissions.

Besides, US emissions would have to be cut much more than the Lieberman-Warner bill mandates because Asian countries with very low per capita carbon footprints are expected to rapidly increase their emissions regardless of any future Koyoto protocol.

Furthermore, soon climate change is expected to reduce resources available around the world to honor mandated drastic emission cut goals.

In other words, any money spent trying to rebuild our energy infrastructure will almost certainly be too little too late.

Instead, any feasible planetary rescue plan must include a method of removing some of the excess CO2 in the air.  I suggest the low cost method of biosequestration (see my blog at www.myspace.com/dobermanmacleod for more information).  Otherwise, there exists a practical mechancial method of removing CO2 from sea water.

Soon a warming earth will cause carbon sinks to become carbon emitters, increasing natural emissions and overwhelming any feasible cuts we will make.  Unless a method is deployed to remove a significant amount of CO2 from the air, our climate will return to the hothouse state of 55 million years ago when most life died.

Instead, our legislators are trying to mandate unrealistic drastic emission cuts that will waste valuable resources that could be used to engineer and deploy a much less costly strategy that will have a far greater probability of success.

You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have an account, log in. If you don't have an account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five.
sign in
Search Gristmill
Subscribe
  • subscribe via RSSStay updated with the Gristmill RSS feed.
  • Add to My Yahoo!
  • Subscribe with Bloglines
  • Subscribe in NewsGator Online
  • Subscribe in Netvibes
  • Subscribe in Google
Using Gristmill
  • What is Gristmill?
  • Posting rules
The comments of Gristmill users reflect the opinions of those individuals only, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of Grist, its staff, its board members, their psychotherapists, or their aestheticians. Got it?

Gristmill is powered by Scoop.

ADVERTISING POLICY


About Grist | Support Grist | Job Board | Archives | Grist by Email | RSS | Podcast
Gristmill Blog | In the News | Ask Umbra | Muckraker | Victual Reality | 'Tis the Season | The Grist List | The Bottom Line



Grist: Environmental News and Commentary
a beacon in the smog (tm) ©2008. Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Gloom and doom with a sense of humor®.
Webmaster | Sitemap | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Trademarks