Posted on 09/13/2006 10:44:54 AM PDT by presidio9
At the 2004 Republican National Convention, Arnold Schwarzenegger brought a roar from the faithful with his admonition to the economic pessimists on the left, "Don't be economic girlie men!" But when it comes to the environment, it turns out that the Terminator has a distinctly softer, gentler side himself.
Last week the California governor signed into law a measure that would require a 25% cut in carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2020. Even assuming that global warming is the threat it's cracked up to be, and that human activity is an important contributor to the problem, such a cut wouldn't mean much. California, despite its reputation as the sixth largest economy in the world, accounts for only about 1% of global emissions.
But Mr. Schwarzenegger is up for reelection and he clearly suffers from anxiety about California's potent environmental lobby. And while the CO2 measure may be mostly symbolic, symbols count in politics. California's action, however short-lived, will encourage the environmental left in the seven Northeastern states that have been tinkering with similar ideas. It also may serve to co-opt a number of major corporations in a position to reap an immediate profit from the emissions trading system that would accompany the emission caps.
Ultimately the environmental left hopes to build enough support in enough states to force the federal government to adopt Al Gore's beloved Kyoto Protocol, which would require industrial nations to roll back CO2 emissions below 1990 levels.
Europe has signed on to the protocol and is testing a cap-and-trade system almost identical to California's. European politicians, realizing that they are about to make themselves even less competitive if other nations don't follow them over the environmental cliff, miss no opportunity to portray America as some sort of international renegade. Never
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
This is the first time I've ever seen a journalist get this right.
Kyoto Protocol is so 20th century. China will overtake the USA in carbon emissions within 3 years and India within 5 years. Need I remind you China and India have not signed onto KP (pun intended) either?
That's because he has a bunch of liberal girls running his office and calling the shots; Lesbian former NARAL and Democrat Party high official Susan Kennedy, Former Ted Kennedy staffer and fringe-kook enviro whacko Bonnie Reiss, and of course his wife and Kennedy family member, Maria Shriver.
The big tough guy let's the women push him around. A girlie man if there ever was one.
BUMP!
Hey, Arnie--It's not too late to veto piece of destructive legislation!
The Governor signing this is the right thing to do, but for the wrong reason.
The only effective way to meet these goals is to develop carbon recycling technologies and additional nuclear power plants.
Both of these technologies reduce dependence on foreign oil, which is the largest threat to National Security.
If we have to adopt the language of the Greenies to get weaned off Foreign Oil, then that's OK by me.
Oh, and mark my words, within 10 years China and India will surpass the U.S. in both carbon recycling and nuclear power. They aren't stupid and they both have governments that can get things done...
Big deal... France already does! So what??? France is closest in economic size to CA of any nation... So what?
France is an entire nation of girliemen, right?
"The lesser of two evils" is now officialy defined as the 2006 California governors race. Arnold has turned out to be a real turd but slightly better that Philth EatYerWheaties.
(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo! )
"France already does! So what???"
So what's your point? France has other threats to its national security to deal with, but at least they are not dependent on foreign oil. That's why they don't give a crap about the Middle East.
Right now China and India are in the same boat as we are, so they at least have some stake in the Middle East. 10 years from now they may not give a crap either, then watch how fast all these Islamic dictatorships go nuclear.
Just watch what happens when oil really starts to spike. Our economy can be brought to its knees by disrupting the supply of foreign oil. There is nothing more girlie than being at the mercy of forces outside your control.
Reagan would NEVER have gone for any part of this GANG-GREEN Kyoto crappola, yet you think CA, formerly the best part of America, should weigh it'self down with this GANG-GREEN goofiness we're being consigned to at the moment?
No! I'm not picken up what you're layin down!
Why wait? Our state government will bring it to its knees with Global Warming regulation, minimum wage hikes, and higher taxes making all businesses flee while they continue to promise more social programs and welcome welfare grabbers from other countries. We're doin' a find job destroying ourselves!
"Reagan would NEVER have gone for any part of this GANG-GREEN Kyoto crappola."
By your logic Reagan would have NEVER signed off on ever increasing budget deficits...Oh, wait, he did do that. Any idea why?
I think it was because he was smart enough to see an opportunity to get what he wanted for National Security, even if it meant giving GANG-LIB what they wanted (explosive growth in Federal Govt.) in exchange.
Now as to the current situation facing this country, it isn't Gorbachev's Big Red Machine that is the main threat, it's an attack on our economy by Terrorists. The Enemy is not stupid, they are looking at anyway to cripple us they can find, and our dependence on Foreign Oil is a major vulnerability.
Is Arnold playing that angle? No, I don't think he's bright enough. A bright mind doesn't think an idea like Arnold's "Hydrogen Highway" is going to get us anywhere.
But maybe, just maybe, someone can steer him toward investment in infrastructure to start harvesting our municipal waste and converting it into diesel fuel. And maybe modernizing and adding nuclear power generation in the State. And next generation Solar panels. That's what Reagan would be working on, and he'd be selling it to the libs based on their pet Kyoto project. Think of it as SDI for Energy independence.
As for China and India, it's not that they are smarter or better. They just don't have Big Industries calling the shots. The US will never have a serious Energy Policy until someone can get a plan past the lobbyists that will move us away from relying on Foreign Oil.
Even without terrorist attacks, worldwide energy demand is rising faster than production can possibly be increased, even if all the red tape in the world could be bypassed. We have got to start thinking past next week's tank of gas.
It doesn't matter what I lay down, or you pick up. The world 50 years from now is going to be long past today's energy economy, and the US will have all the best technology I've outlined above. It's just a matter of whether we have to go through an energy crisis along the way that concerns me.
California, on the other hand, could position itself to take advantage of the inevitable push for alternative energy by being a leader in research and development. That's the California that Reagan helmed as we moved into the Technology Boom. Look at our history: entertainment, agriculture, aerospace, winemaking, electronics, computer hardware, software. California has always lead the way.
California could lead the world toward the real Energy of the Future, but it ain't gonna happen unless you convince GANG-GREEN that there's something in it for them.
California probably has more offshore oil than we would know what to do with. We are crazy for not developing that resource.
"and the US will have all the best technology I've outlined above."
Reliable energy sources cannot be technologically created in violation of the laws of physics, thermodynamics and economics. Your equivalence between Reagan's SDI and all the pipe dreams you outlined above are a nonsequiter!
The "Red Tape" of GovernMental EnvironMentalism right here in our multi-level scheme of governance is far more of the cause of a threat to non-foreign energy supplies than stupid terrorists dreaming of a return to the dark ages of religious domination of everything!
Worse of a threat than that is the unabashed willingness of people like you to believe in never land myths and baseless beliefs that technology can overcome all the rules and laws that have governed all of it since the beginning of time. It's equivalent to believing in all the bogus Art Bell/George Nori hocus-pocus of reverse engineering of crashed space alien vehicles to make us invulnerable, etc., etc., etc... Phhhhhhhhhhhht!
"Your equivalence between Reagan's SDI and all the pipe dreams you outlined above are a nonsequiter [sic]."
Nuclear power is a pipe dream and violates the laws of thermodynamics. OK, if you say so.
Improving solar panels to the point where they make economic sense and produce far more energy during their service life than it takes to manufacture them is a pipe dream and violates the laws of thermodynamics. Hmmm, guess somebody needs to tell these guys they are wasting their time:
http://www.nanosolar.com/index.html
http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2004/042104/Material_grabs_more_sun_042104.html
http://pearl1.lanl.gov/external/Research/solar_gain.html
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/productstory?id=44013
I could post thousands more, but I don't think the Internet is stable enough thermodynamically to handle all that information.
Thanks for setting me straight on the myth that all us Conservatives have a sense of humor and a sense of optimism. ;^)
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