“The answer to climate change is not to be punitive (raise the price of existing energy with taxes and emissions trading), but to launch an accelerated program to commercialize alternative sources of energy, including nuclear. That’s the only answer Americans will accept in a time of economic distress: Show you can improve their standard of living, not make it worse.”

That is exactly what we should do, be punitive against polluting forms of energy. They profit from what they produce while the externalities are paid by society or government. That’s not right and makes coal artificially cheaper than it should be.

A solar-and-wind-only bill won’t be passed, and it shouldn’t be passed.

Why? Why are you letting perfect be the enemy of good? If we can use gov’t subsidies to promote wind and solar, why are you going to oppose that just because it doesn’t have something “from the other side”? I don’t see why a good bill should be derailed just because the public opinion has swung against the GOP’s position on off-shore drilling. Because the climate bill will be delayed now until after the elections, and if the GOP picks up seats / control of Congress you’re going to see a drilling bill come out that has a neutered wind/solar component. Here’s a better idea, pass wind and solar now, and when the GOP gets into control pass an offshore drilling bill.

http://apture.s3.amazonaws.com/00000129f64171db8c5f265b007f000000000001.yearly_graph.jpg

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/07/research_desk_graphs_more_fili.html

The cap-and-trade bill didn’t fail because of lobbying by coal.

Originally, the bill had a decent chance of garnering moderate GOP support, with its sweeteners for offshore drilling and nuclear power.

Then the BP disaster happened, and out went those sweeteners.

A solar-and-wind-only bill won’t be passed, and it shouldn’t be passed.

If coal can really take care of its externalities (and not just give the appearance that it is), then it deserves to survive:

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/carbon-capture-on-the-cheap/

However, I’m deeply skeptical that coal companies will do anything besides meet the immediate need of their shareholders. And meeting those needs will include confusing the public with greenwashing campaigns, etc.

The answer to climate change is not to be punitive (raise the price of existing energy with taxes and emissions trading), but to launch an accelerated program to commercialize alternative sources of energy, including nuclear. That’s the only answer Americans will accept in a time of economic distress: Show you can improve their standard of living, not make it worse.

I had submitted to FrumForum a diary on the new miniaturized nuclear reactors, which would enable even towns to get electricity from their own safe nuclear reactors and profit by selling the excess electricity to the national grid. Unfortunately, FrumForum chose not to publish this diary.

You can read about this exciting development for yourself:

http://www.hyperionpowergeneration.com/product.html

(Disclaimer: I’m not affiliated with them)

To get the airlines to switch from propeller-driven airliners to jet airliners, it didn’t require a government tax on propellers. The airliners switched as soon as jet planes were shown to be safe and affordable, by Boeing with its 707.

Oh, and to Claude, go watch King Coal to see how they’re (not) providing a middle class income to the populations around the mountain-top mining areas. It’s wholesale destruction on an unprecedented level, and since it’s much less labor-intensive than traditional mining, they need far fewer people to do it. It’s a pretty eye-opening documentary, and shows that even if you burn it “clean”, there’s the entire process of removing it from the ground that’s nowhere near “clean”.

Maybe it’s just that I grew up about 5 miles from a nuclear power plant, but we definitely need to be building more nuclear plants in this country. Utilize the resources in your area, whether it’s hydro, wind, solar, etc, and augment it with gas or nuclear power plants. Seems pretty simple to me.

For example, by throwing the cap and trade program under the bus last week, Harry Reid has proven himself once again to be nothing more than a partisan hack who uses environmental policy to bludgeon Republicans but little else.