http://climateprogress.org/2006/08/19/people-who-live-in-greenhouses/ The Latest on Climate Science, Solutions, and Politics Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:33:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1 http://climateprogress.org/2006/08/19/people-who-live-in-greenhouses/#comment-7380 Charles Thu, 20 Dec 2007 21:18:49 +0000 http://climateprogress.org/2006/08/19/people-who-live-in-greenhouses/#comment-7380 Great discussion, and I agree. The main thing that Gore is doing is being a great messager, and that is extremely important. He also walks the walk himself. It is impossible to be the kind of messenger he is and also be carbon zero in the current world. That requires him to offset carbon, as I do, through programs that subsidize the development of wind power. It may not be a perfect solution, but is the best available now, and if everyone did it, we'd see fossil fuel replaced overnight. You can't paint all offset programs as useless, as some critics do. Some are better than others. Of course, everyone will not do it, which is the major point. Voluntary measures of all kinds that do actual good should be lauded, especially, I concede, ones based on energy efficiency, but a problem like this is so big it cannot be solved by voluntary individual choices, but through tough and enforced international laws. The environment is the ultimate common good, and laws are needed to protect it. We had practice doing that with CFC's, and the world was saved by our efforts. Now we're faced with a even more monsterous threat which requires even more determined action. Great discussion, and I agree. The main thing that Gore is doing is being a great messager, and that is extremely important. He also walks the walk himself. It is impossible to be the kind of messenger he is and also be carbon zero in the current world. That requires him to offset carbon, as I do, through programs that subsidize the development of wind power. It may not be a perfect solution, but is the best available now, and if everyone did it, we’d see fossil fuel replaced overnight. You can’t paint all offset programs as useless, as some critics do. Some are better than others. Of course, everyone will not do it, which is the major point. Voluntary measures of all kinds that do actual good should be lauded, especially, I concede, ones based on energy efficiency, but a problem like this is so big it cannot be solved by voluntary individual choices, but through tough and enforced international laws. The environment is the ultimate common good, and laws are needed to protect it. We had practice doing that with CFC’s, and the world was saved by our efforts. Now we’re faced with a even more monsterous threat which requires even more determined action.

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