America is much better in technology than governance. That’s the sentence that leapt out at me and remained prominent throughout my reading of economist Robert Repetto’s book America’s Climate Problem: The Way Forward. I sought the book for review because, although its focus is on the US, what happens there will crucially affect the rest of us, in terms of both the level of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and the likelihood of international agreement to limit them. The book doesn’t exactly inspire hope on either count, but it is constructive in the path it suggests for the US to follow and puts the ball squarely in the court of the policy makers.
It’s always good to read an economist who gets the full seriousness of climate change and Repetto certainly does that. In his opening outline of the problem he stands with the unequivocal statements of the National Academy of Science and uncompromisingly sets out the risks both globally and within the US, emphasising the scariness of reinforcing feedback mechanisms, some of which are already under way. America’s response must be to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80 per cent over the next forty years. Some measures are under way, he notes, but they are far from adequate to the task. Continue reading “America’s Climate Problem: The Way Forward”
Very last minute, this post. I’m about to fly out of NZ for the longest holiday I’ve had in a long time — celebrating an important milestone for she who must be obeyed (I’m not allowed to mention what age she was last birthday, but it was more than me…). We’ll be flying to Europe, walking in the Dolomites, cycling round the Rhone Valley, sojourning near the Worthersee, visiting friends in Bologna and touring SW France and Barcelona, then catching up with friends and relatives in the UK, with a final stopover in San Francisco on the way home. Back at the end of September with a lot of trees to plant to make up for the air miles. Bryan’s in charge in the interim, and will endeavour to keep things ticking over. I’m hoping that that at least a few of the people who have promised guest posts will keep their word (you know who you are!), plus I’d welcome offers of guest contributions. I’ll be popping in from time to time to see how things are getting on, and may muster a post or two when the novelty of a proper holiday begins to wear off. 😉 And you can’t escape email these days, even in little hotels under Mt Ventoux. Good luck to you all…
At best, and putting it kindly, there is incongruity in the Murdoch empire’s handling of climate change. Rupert Murdoch professed a few years back that he had become convinced of the seriousness of the issue, as his son James was, and wanted to contribute to its solutions. Yet Fox News endlessly churns out vitriolic denial and bitter attacks on scientists, Wall Street Journal editorials and op-eds are 
In a rational world the notion that Canadian tar sands oil is ‘ethical’ by comparison with oil from many other sources would be laughable. But I 
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