Global Warming and the Consumer

While the debate on global warming is a contentious one, with some people claiming the whole thing is a fabrication, I do personally believe it is a serious problem. Weather is certainly complicated and affected by many factors. Even though some of the warmest years on record have occurred very recently, it's not unusual for temperatures to drop on a year to year basis -- because the trend isn't always consistent, global warming doubters often dismiss the whole thing as some sort of grand conspiracy. I personally like how the temperature graphs on NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies web site's paints the global warming picture; both sides could find fuel for an argument in the data provided there, but it reinforces my feeling that we can't ignore rising temperatures. What is uncontroversial is that greenhouse gases trap heat and thus that increased levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases caused by human activities will trap more heat. The ultimate question of the global warming debate is a matter of timing: is there really a crisis NOW that must be dealt with immediately or has the issue been overstated by those with political and economic agendas of their own?

Those who see the world as running out of time are pushing for climate change legislation such as the cap and trade bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives. It's fair to call cap and trade a tax on emissions, designed to make polluting more expensive and "going green" less expensive. So long as burning fossil fuels is less expensive than investing in alternative forms of energy, fiscal prudence limits the number of companies that will actively choose to pollute less. Cap and trade creates an incentive to reduce emissions and punishes those who continue to pollute. However, even if over the long-term companies will cut back on emissions in response to the legislation, in the short-term they will likely try to place as much of the financial burden of cap and trade as they can on the consumer. That's not ever going to be good for the economy, though it's reasonable to hope the economic situation in the country will be much better before the effects of cap and trade will really be felt.

What bothers me about cap and trade the most is that it will certainly hurt the consumer to a certain extent even though the consumer hasn't had that much chance to change things on his or her own yet. Fluorescent bulbs have become common place, it's true, but electric cars aside from the expensive dream machines sold by Tesla Motors are still on the way. In the next few years, there'll be more choice in the car market in terms of low emission vehicles as several automakers are planning to unveil electric vehicles...the Nissan Leaf is one that's getting a lot of attention now. Many consumers leaped ahead of the trend by buying hybrids like the Toyota Prius, but electric vehicles are emission free and represent another big step forward for green autos. How green they truly are depends on how your electricity is produced, but even in the worst case scenario they're far greener than the best gas-powered car. Another emerging technology is solar power for small scale uses, such as for recharging cell phone batteries or powering a netbook. There are a number of advantages to these emerging technologies that aren't even environmental. For instance, electric vehicles should require considerably less maintenance than their gas guzzling cousins and they can be fueled at home -- while there are concerns over the lack of a charging infrastructure (this limits long range travel) and the longevity and expense of EV batteries, electric vehicles are a triumph for convenience. The new breed of solar power uses makes it easier than ever to go off the grid but still stay connected to the world. It's a bit more controversial about whether you'll actually save money by going green (no more gas bills for electric cars, reducing your electricity bills by using solar power) but in some cases you certainly will. My solar calculator definitely saved me money on batteries during my college years (and it's still my favorite calculator to this day)!

Basically, there are plenty of reasons for consumers to lead the green revolution. They stand to benefit from green technologies. If they feel they can help save the world in the process, that's an added incentive at the very least...for some, it'll be the dominant reason for making the initial purchase. It will be harder to make companies to change their polluting ways without something like cap and trade(though the consumer can have a big impact here as well) , but at the end of the day even they have every reason to want to preserve the world, too. Black marketeers are the only ones who make money in an apocalypse. Cap and trade isn't necessarily a bad idea, but I think the government could promote energy alternatives more benignly by continuing to make green investments and evangelizing all the positives (not just environmental) emerging technologies that are just now becoming widely available bring to the table. Taxing consumers isn't exactly the best way to create a new breed of environmentally responsible citizens...it will spur resentment to one degree or another and create suspicion that the whole thing is a scam designed to draw big profits. Nobody wins if cap and trade is passed under the current administration and shut down under another. Ultimately, though, we must return to the issue of timing. Cap and trade supporters don't think we have time to let the country voluntarily go green. I personally think they just might be selling the consumer short, however.