Posted: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 10:00 pm
John McCain made a splash with his Portland speech Monday about global warming and what to do about it. But he didn't talk about what his proposal would cost.
The Republican senator wants the United States to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases by 60 percent by 2050. Some environmentalists were miffed that he didn't promise more, noting that both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama had
promised goals of even greater reductions by mid-century.
When you promise that something will be achieved more than 40 years from now, you don't have to worry about the costs. None of us - even those who will still be around then - think about what living will cost then, or if it will be affordable at all.
It's a fun sport to set goals for others, and actually you have to wonder at the politicians restraint. They might easily promise that if only they will get elected, they will pledge the country to reduce emissions 100 percent by some date safe in the distant future.
McCain promised a cap and trade system in which pollution standards are set, and producers who can more than meet them can sell the difference to those that can't or won't. The idea is to encourage and reward innovation. Great, but again, nobody is talking price, and what each of us would have to pay - especially if we refuse to pursue energy sources that have no greenhouse gas emissions at all, such as dams and nuclear plants.
McCain and the others would have more credibility if they said: This year we will reduce emissions to this standard, and we can estimate the price at such and so per month for transportation, and so much for power and heat.
Then, if we manage to afford that, we can go to next year with slightly higher standards and slightly greater expense, and so on year after year. That would be a real plan, not the ambitious but hazy long-range goals being talked about now. (hh)