Has everyone has been asking all the wrong questions?
By now we all are feeling the effects of an economy in crisis! Since WWII the American population has maintained a materials economy. Consumption is the bloodline that fuels our current economy. Extracting, manufacturing, and distributing goods provide jobs, while consumers keep cycle moving.
Disposal also provides jobs. Unfortunately, we are running out of places to dump our trash. Landfills are filling and the great pacific garbage patch really shouldn’t be an option. The faster we pollute our earth, the better the economy does. This realization has brought forth the revelation for a “green awakening”.
Is climate change a problem? Or is that a really dumb question? When producing goods we extract, manufacture, and pollute through the entire process. Pollution releases harmful toxins into the atmosphere. The atmosphere allows us to survive (simply put). When the United States declared itself a developed country and did not want to deal with the pollution we sent it to developing China and India (along with low paying jobs, and cheaper standards of living). It wasn’t going to solve the problem, just delay it. However, we all belong to the same planet and with jet streams and wind currents soon there problem will be everyone’s problem. For years the problem has existed and delayed and we now face a time of great economic, social, and cultural change. With projections of countries underwater in five years from melting glaciers, to overfishing causing tuna to be extinct in 20 years the only way to sustain human development is unity through non-anarchic international regulations and more than a few great ideas. Every action has a reaction and the human footprint on this plant is so significant that we are in danger of upsetting a very delicate balance.
With these realizations in mind the Copenhagen convention was created. The masterminds behind Enron and mortgage backed securities created the idea of Cap and Trade. Although this is a strong first step in the right direction, it also leaves room for corruption and human greed. Cap and Trade is the idea that companies will be given licenses to pollute. Those companies that move towards more environmentally friendly energy alternatives will have extra licenses that they can sell to other companies. The idea is to award less licenses every year until we dramatically reduce our greenhouse gasses. Thus each year the licenses will become exceedingly more valuable. Some people such as Al Gore are capitalizing on this and are acting as license brokers.
Companies such as Goldman Sachs owns 10% stake in the exchange of cap and trade deals and pays no federal taxes, which forces taxes to fall back on citizens. People are finding ways to exploit the economic climate crisis and generate billions.
Others who have built there industries on natural resources such as oil foresee there future turning towards unemployment. These already extremely wealthy companies have significant influence in our current government system. This has brought forth the climate gate scandal where corruption is telling the news that climate change is not a problem. It is a problem. The first step is admitting we have a problem and the next is to find a way to solve this problem. Will Cap and Trade work? Will it create steady jobs, or simply temporary ones? Any other ideas? Globalize, socialize, merge government and private sector, currency change, revolution…anything?
By now we all are feeling the effects of an economy in crisis! Since WWII the American population has maintained a materials economy. Consumption is the bloodline that fuels our current economy. Extracting, manufacturing, and distributing goods provide jobs, while consumers keep cycle moving.
Disposal also provides jobs. Unfortunately, we are running out of places to dump our trash. Landfills are filling and the great pacific garbage patch really shouldn’t be an option. The faster we pollute our earth, the better the economy does. This realization has brought forth the revelation for a “green awakening”.
Is climate change a problem? Or is that a really dumb question? When producing goods we extract, manufacture, and pollute through the entire process. Pollution releases harmful toxins into the atmosphere. The atmosphere allows us to survive (simply put). When the United States declared itself a developed country and did not want to deal with the pollution we sent it to developing China and India (along with low paying jobs, and cheaper standards of living). It wasn’t going to solve the problem, just delay it. However, we all belong to the same planet and with jet streams and wind currents soon there problem will be everyone’s problem. For years the problem has existed and delayed and we now face a time of great economic, social, and cultural change. With projections of countries underwater in five years from melting glaciers, to overfishing causing tuna to be extinct in 20 years the only way to sustain human development is unity through non-anarchic international regulations and more than a few great ideas. Every action has a reaction and the human footprint on this plant is so significant that we are in danger of upsetting a very delicate balance.
With these realizations in mind the Copenhagen convention was created. The masterminds behind Enron and mortgage backed securities created the idea of Cap and Trade. Although this is a strong first step in the right direction, it also leaves room for corruption and human greed. Cap and Trade is the idea that companies will be given licenses to pollute. Those companies that move towards more environmentally friendly energy alternatives will have extra licenses that they can sell to other companies. The idea is to award less licenses every year until we dramatically reduce our greenhouse gasses. Thus each year the licenses will become exceedingly more valuable. Some people such as Al Gore are capitalizing on this and are acting as license brokers.
Companies such as Goldman Sachs owns 10% stake in the exchange of cap and trade deals and pays no federal taxes, which forces taxes to fall back on citizens. People are finding ways to exploit the economic climate crisis and generate billions.
Others who have built there industries on natural resources such as oil foresee there future turning towards unemployment. These already extremely wealthy companies have significant influence in our current government system. This has brought forth the climate gate scandal where corruption is telling the news that climate change is not a problem. It is a problem. The first step is admitting we have a problem and the next is to find a way to solve this problem. Will Cap and Trade work? Will it create steady jobs, or simply temporary ones? Any other ideas? Globalize, socialize, merge government and private sector, currency change, revolution…anything?