Striking at the root
This entry was posted on 8/6/2008 7:25 PM and is filed under Tax Shifting,Tragedy of the Commons,Global Warming,Leadership,Action.
"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root"
~ Henry David Thoreau
This Thoreau quote applies to the global warming and energy problems we face. The "evil" part may be a bit much, but maybe not. People that are losing their homes in floods or find themselves in war would probably say that evil fits. Anyone that doesn't acknowledge the direct connection between global warming and Iowa 2008-type floods needs to get with the program; even the White House has (see the last link).
Many have different opinions about how to solve the very large problems of global warming and our dependence on fossil fuels. The themes of solutions almost always include conservation and sustainable/renewable energy. Some suggest nuclear power, but that's a bad idea.
How do we really achieve conservation and sustainable/renewable energy solutions? Create incentives and disincentives by phasing-in a federal tax shift from income to non-renewable energy.
For those interested in additional reasons why this is a good idea look at the long-term economic benefit of paying the external costs of our energy use at the time we use it. The "long-term" part of this statement is probably the biggest reason we're in the position we're in. In the short-term there IS an economic benefit to plunder our natural resources - air, water, fossil fuels, etc. It's 'piggy' and creates problems later on, but there is economic benefit. From Garrett Hardin, author of Tragedy of the Commons, :
"In the early stages of the exploitation of a natural resource, when there is no real shortage, an unmanaged commons is the most economical mode of distribution. But human demands increase faster than resources, so there comes a time when a help-yourself policy becomes contrary to the interests of all."
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Let's not waste the time we have, nor our personal energy; let's strike at the root by creating financial incentives and disincentives based on the principal of external cost.
