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A New Climate Change Consensus
Other Topics, posted by POGO, a resident of the Woodside: other neighborhood, on Aug 7, 2012 at 8:03 am

A thoughtful and measured opinion piece from Fred Krupp about climate change from today's Wall Street Journal.

Web Link

"If both sides can now begin to agree on some basic propositions, maybe we can restart the discussion. Here are two:

The first will be uncomfortable for skeptics, but it is unfortunately true: Dramatic alterations to the climate are here and likely to get worse—with profound damage to the economy—unless sustained action is taken. As the Economist recently editorialized about the melting Arctic: "It is a stunning illustration of global warming, the cause of the melt. It also contains grave warnings of its dangers. The world would be mad to ignore them."

The second proposition will be uncomfortable for supporters of climate action, but it is also true: Some proposed climate solutions, if not well designed or thoughtfully implemented, could damage the economy and stifle short-term growth. As much as environmentalists feel a justifiable urgency to solve this problem, we cannot ignore the economic impact of any proposed action, especially on those at the bottom of the pyramid. For any policy to succeed, it must work with the market, not against it.

If enough members of the two warring climate camps can acknowledge these basic truths, we can get on with the hard work of forging a bipartisan, multi-stakeholder plan of action to safeguard the natural systems on which our economic future depends."

Both perspectives are equally important. I commend this well written piece to you.

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Comments

Posted by Alfred E Newman, a resident of the Atherton: Lindenwood neighborhood, on Aug 7, 2012 at 8:49 am

Pogo: will read it later this morning. Thanks for the 'rec'.

Being in the 'green' camp, I'm curious of the author's definition of "must work with the market".

Is the term 'market' about the

- overall effect on jobs in the US?

- effect on existing markets in a larger sense, as in GDP?

- or on market segments, ie.. energy? or to really drill down - share price for BP?

- or on the specifics, such as the price of energy down the road

- does the author include broader measures for the term market, such as the price of corn in a drought year induced by climate change?

Look forward to it over a cup of coffee.


Posted by POGO, a resident of the Woodside: other neighborhood, on Aug 7, 2012 at 8:53 am

My take: the author is saying you can't ruin the economy by imposing draconian, impractical measures.

What I like about Krupp is that he points out what needs to be accepted and done by both sides, without resorting to denigrating characterizations.

Refreshing.


Posted by Corn, Beef; Hash & Wine, a resident of the Woodside: Family Farm/Hidden Valley neighborhood, on Aug 13, 2012 at 10:10 am

A two-fer....

Hottest July evah!

Hottest MONTH evah!

"The average temperature for the contiguous U.S. during July was 77.6°F, 3.3°F above the 20th century average, marking the hottest July and the hottest month on record for the nation."

How are those corn and beef prices doing?

Wait until climate changes effect Napa Valley grape growing. I wouldn't spend money on the inflated vineyard prices at this point... Who knows, maybe some cooler climes are going to be great grape growing regions in 25 years. Wonder where?


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