“The Energy Challenge,” by Stephen F. DeAngelis, Enterprise Resilience Management Blog, 12 June 2006, http://enterpriseresilienceblog.typepad.com/enterprise_resilience_man/2006/06/the_energy_chal.html.
First, the reality:
Of course, China could buy state-of-the-art equipment that helps reduce the pollution created by coal-fired plants, but it fears that doing so could put the brakes on its economy, something it believes it can’t do at this stage of its development. As a result, it buys antiquated equipment from local manufacturers, burns indigenous coal, and refuses to ask consumers to pay for measures that could protect their health. The article estimates that 400,000 people a year die in China from pollution-related illnesses. As its population ages and the long-term effects of pollution begin to kick in, the piper that China refuses to pay today will cost even more tomorrow in health care costs and subsequent productivity reductions.
In Beijing and Tianjin, I saw the face of pollution. But even I didn’t see the 400,000 dead in Zhongguo per year. I am lucky I was merely robbed of the sky for a month, not my life like that annual half-million. I was merely sent to the Emergency Room.
Next, the hope. (Hint: it’s a geogreen gas tax).
With oil prices continuing to break records, the time is rapidly approaching when it will become economically feasible to pursue alternative fuels. Despite the pain we feel at the pumps, the benefits of increasing our use of alternative fuels will be worth it in the long run. A few companies have already begun to see how “being green” makes them more resilient — both to the vagaries of the energy market and by attracting “green” consumers and investors. Another New York Times article [The Greener Guys; A Few Companies Take Special Steps to Curb Emissions,” by Jad Mouawad] discusses their strategies for reducing their carbon footprint.
We can speed up the economic feasibility of alternate fuels by implementing a geogreen gas tax. The economic effect for the common person could be minimal, and the benefits are enormous
- An America that relies on her ingenuity and innovation, not oil kleptocrats
- Easing the rise of New Core states such as India and China, and not forcing them to rely on the decaying regimes of the AfroIslamic Gap
- Creating a more beautiful, healthier world.
We can do it. By distributing the proceeds of the geogreen gas tax directly to the American people, it may even be popular to do so.
Increase the gas tax to $5/gallon. Shrink the gap!
