Comments on: Richard Heinberg: Trying to save the world http://www.marcgunther.com/2009/12/04/richard-heinberg-trying-to-save-the-world/ This blog is about the impact of business on society. Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:43:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Professor Carbon http://www.marcgunther.com/2009/12/04/richard-heinberg-trying-to-save-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-283950 Professor Carbon Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:05:57 +0000 http://www.marcgunther.com/?p=3130#comment-283950 Great article by Marc Gunther. So many problems…so many different ways to look at each problem...and no basic agreements on policy. Well….I for one believe in carbon trading…and not only because a tax-based system is a political “non-starter.” We’re going to have to force people to alter their behavior…and the invisible hand of monetary policy is better than the odious hand of the tax collector. There will be enough government intervention (verification mechanisms) even in the best case scenario of cap and trade to cause some degree of political problems. Somehow we have to avoid partisanship in this struggle. If we could wave a magic wand and have all “liberals” and “conservatives” at least agree on the basic facts then what we have to do will be easier. (What we need is a year of REALLY BAD hurricanes or other climate-change induced phenomena as soon as possible to alter the emotional understanding of this issue by the average human.) If we ratchet down the cap increasingly HARD….then the marketplace will function better, and self-interest will create positive change rather than government edicts from above. The higher the price of carbon the better. This is what we have to emphasize. As per the fear that: a market in carbon permits will result in “futures contracts to deliver carbon that carry a relatively high risk of not being fulfilled,” leading to a carbon bubble… as a 20 year derivatives trader I know that a system CAN be devised that will be rational, transparent, and functional. Government regulation of the financial markets worked well for many years, before it was jettisoned by ideologues. (Of BOTH parties….) Great article by Marc Gunther.

So many problems…so many different ways to look at each problem…and no basic agreements on policy.

Well….I for one believe in carbon trading…and not only because a tax-based system is a political “non-starter.” We’re going to have to force people to alter their behavior…and the invisible hand of monetary policy is better than the odious hand of the tax collector. There will be enough government intervention (verification mechanisms) even in the best case scenario of cap and trade to cause some degree of political problems.

Somehow we have to avoid partisanship in this struggle. If we could wave a magic wand and have all “liberals” and “conservatives” at least agree on the basic facts then what we have to do will be easier. (What we need is a year of REALLY BAD hurricanes or other climate-change induced phenomena as soon as possible to alter the emotional understanding of this issue by the average human.)

If we ratchet down the cap increasingly HARD….then the marketplace will function better, and self-interest will create positive change rather than government edicts from above.

The higher the price of carbon the better. This is what we have to emphasize.

As per the fear that: a market in carbon permits will result in “futures contracts to deliver carbon that carry a relatively high risk of not being fulfilled,” leading to a carbon bubble… as a 20 year derivatives trader I know that a system CAN be devised that will be rational, transparent, and functional. Government regulation of the financial markets worked well for many years, before it was jettisoned by ideologues. (Of BOTH parties….)

]]> By: Katie http://www.marcgunther.com/2009/12/04/richard-heinberg-trying-to-save-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-283944 Katie Sat, 05 Dec 2009 16:07:45 +0000 http://www.marcgunther.com/?p=3130#comment-283944 Your diplomacy helps your message get heard. i appreciate your acknowledgement of the awkward challenges between politics, policy, public relations, and the sense of urgency. well-written. Your diplomacy helps your message get heard. i appreciate your acknowledgement of the awkward challenges between politics, policy, public relations, and the sense of urgency. well-written.

]]> By: Dave Gardner http://www.marcgunther.com/2009/12/04/richard-heinberg-trying-to-save-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-283943 Dave Gardner Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:30:31 +0000 http://www.marcgunther.com/?p=3130#comment-283943 Reading this was one of those cosmic moments for me. Richard Heinberg has brilliantly articulated everything I'm wrestling with as I produce my documentary, Hooked on Growth. Richard, thank you for saying what so few have figured out how to say. Now I realize I must interview you for the film. You get it - not just the big issues of peak energy and the unsustainability of our economic goals, but the backroom issues fogging the glasses of activists around the world as we try to figure out the best approach and waste time and energy nitpicking each other about tactics -especially with regard to truth-telling or spin! (I vote against spin, too) Call me or email me, Richard. We must get together for an on-camera heart-to-heart! Dave Gardner Producer/Director Hooked on Growth: Our Misguided Quest for Prosperity Reading this was one of those cosmic moments for me. Richard Heinberg has brilliantly articulated everything I’m wrestling with as I produce my documentary, Hooked on Growth.

Richard, thank you for saying what so few have figured out how to say. Now I realize I must interview you for the film. You get it – not just the big issues of peak energy and the unsustainability of our economic goals, but the backroom issues fogging the glasses of activists around the world as we try to figure out the best approach and waste time and energy nitpicking each other about tactics -especially with regard to truth-telling or spin! (I vote against spin, too)

Call me or email me, Richard. We must get together for an on-camera heart-to-heart!

Dave Gardner
Producer/Director
Hooked on Growth: Our Misguided Quest for Prosperity

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