The tag line to this piece by the Washington Post Editorial Board is “Serious politicians should welcome, not duck, a debate on global warming”. Which is interesting, considering that Warmists have constantly stated that “the debate is over!!!!!!!!” And it has been those on the Skeptic side who have constantly called for actual debate on the subject of anthropogenic global warming/climate change, with members of the Cult of Climastrology typically refusing to debate. And the notion that newspapers should not allow debate from Skeptics in articles, opinion pieces, and even in the comments is growing. But, hey, those crazy Republicans, ya know?
Republicans are engaging in smog and mirrors on climate
“CLIMATE CHANGE can no longer be denied,†President Obama said in Everglades National Park on Wednesday. “It can’t be edited out. It can’t be omitted from the conversation.†No matter how much, Mr. Obama might have added, Republican presidential hopefuls would like to neglect the matter.
Nothing says “hey, believe what I say” like taking a giant fossil fueled day trip. Or this
We’ll skip the next paragraph, which whines specifically about Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Jeb Bush. Bush is a Believer, he just doesn’t want Government to Do Something, which leads to
The common element among GOP leaders is resistance to the notion that the government needs a significant policy against greenhouse-gas emissions. What would the national conversation be like if Mr. Obama got his way and they accepted the need to act with ambition?
Wait, Republicans against empowering the Central Government with massive new powers to tax, spend, and control the energy sector, the economy, The People, and private entities? The hell you say!
Ironically, it wouldn’t be kind to some of Mr. Obama’s policies, but that’s not his fault. Because of the GOP’s abdication, the Obama administration has cobbled together a climate plan from legal authorities it could exercise without Congress’s say-so. The result is an awkwardly designed and inefficient approach. A more reasonable Congress could shape a more efficient plan, with an eye toward sparing the economy gratuitous pain.
In “Free Will”, Rush has a line “if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice”. The choice made by Republicans is to not pass any legislation relating to Doing Something about Hotcoldwetdry, because it is a political issue, not a scientific one. And, hey, remember when Democrats “abdicated” when they had full control of Congress and the White House?
Economists have known for decades how to do this. First, the government should eliminate energy subsidies of all kinds — for fossil fuels as well as renewable energy. Then Congress should put a significant tax on carbon-dioxide emissions and set it to rise over time. The resulting market forces would decide how the economy would move to a greener state. Consumers and businesses would have more reason to consider wasting less electricity, buying efficient appliances and investing in products that require less carbon dioxide to make. Generators of electricity would have an incentive to use cleaner fuels and renewable sources of energy — when it makes economic sense, not when the Environmental Protection Agency decides they must. Companies that exploit giveaway subsidy policies would have to compete fairly.
First, they aren’t subsidies, and the WPEB should know this, but they have been captured by the CoC talking points. Second, why would Republicans be up for these Big Central Government solutions which interfere with the private market? Socialism/Marxism/Fascism is a Democrat thing.
The nation’s climate debate has been impoverished by the absence of responsible conservative voices. A revenue-neutral carbon tax is a reform Republicans should love. It could end irrational federal subsidies, lower the GOP’s most-hated taxes and harness market efficiency to provide some insurance for the planet at a minimal cost. Instead, the party’s would-be leaders appear to be looking for any way to avoid engaging seriously.
That’s some serious sleight of hand. A carbon tax is the antithesis of free markets. But, tell you what: let’s remove all tax breaks/subsidies on all energy production, and we will see which one wins. It won’t be the alternatives, which cannot survive without those tax breaks and subsidies, nor without massive government “loans”, which so often seem to never get repaid.
Say, when will the Washington Post give up its own use of fossil fuels to deliver its dead tree editions?
Mr. Teach,
Why do you refer only to the RSS database to support your contention that the Earth has stopped warming?
Liberals (Democrats) vacillate between warming contentions (all valid measurements dispute warming for over 15 years) & climate “change” (the Dems favorite buzz word). Whatever fits the bill.
Aside from the total liberal hoax about it all, I think those labelled “deniers” (which includes anyone of intelligence that’s bothered to look at the matter) refuse to accept (rightfully so) because it so bothers Democrats (Liberals). It really, really puts a bee in their bonnets. Which is nice.
Anyway, we all know that the ultimate agenda is increased taxation so that monies can be raised for other Democrat agendas. Also, further regulation (control) of the lives of civilians is a plus.
Our esteemed host asked:
Perhaps sooner than we think. The newspaper division is a drag on the Washington Post Company’s earnings, as even the most prominent newspapers in the country have proved to be vulnerable to the simple fact that they are 18th century technology; any article in the WaPo that you want to read, you can read for free over the internet. Dead trees editions of newspapers are both costly to produce and declining in interest.
Somehow, some way, the print newspaper companies in this county are going to have to figure out how to survive as digital-only publications.