There's an interesting
article in The Atlantic by Jonathan Adler, a professor at Case Western, that discusses a possible approach to combating climate change. I've always been of the opinion that innovation is essential to lowering the cost of low-carbon energy and gradually reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. Adler lays out a series of policies to do this, including federal support of prizes that encourage the development of low-carbon technology, reducing red-tape and other barriers to the development of alternative energy, migration to a revenue-neutral carbon tax (i.e., a carbon-tax that is offset by tax reductions in other areas), and finally, adaptation.
Take a look and see if the article is compelling from your perspective.
While I happen to believe that climate sensitivity to CO2 increases is fairly low, if something is to be done I think this approach would be much better than most of what has been suggested. I agree that it is technology and innovation that will eventually make other types of energy more affordable, not government over-regulation of energy. As for warming, I think more research should be done as to the effects of dust and soot on melting of ice/snow cover, which may be much easier to reduce than greenhouse gases.
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