Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Biden’s Climate Ambitions Are Too Costly for Voters
Wall Street Journal ^ | October 14, 2021 | Bjorn Lomborg

Posted on 10/14/2021 6:57:42 AM PDT by karpov

Politicians across the world routinely promise unprecedented reductions of carbon emissions but make little mention of the cost, often covering with vivid projections of green jobs. Yet the economic damage these policies would do is much greater than what most voters would tolerate, while the climate benefits are smaller than many would imagine.

The annual cost of the promises to which President Obama signed on under the Paris climate agreement would have hit roughly $50 billion in 2030, or about $140 per person. Many studies show Americans are willing to pay a couple of hundred dollars a year to remedy climate change, but this data is highly skewed by a small minority willing to spend thousands of dollars. A recent Washington Post survey found that a majority of Americans would vote against a $24 annual climate tax on their electricity bills. Even if they’d hand over $140, it’d buy them little. If Mr. Obama’s agreement were sustained through 2100, it would reduce global temperatures by a minuscule 0.06 degree Fahrenheit.

President Biden is pushing much stronger climate policies with much higher price tags. Before his election, he promised to spend $2 trillion over four years on climate policies—equivalent to $1,500 per person per year. And Mr. Biden’s current promise—100% carbon emission reduction by 2050—will be even more phenomenally expensive.

A new study in Nature finds that a 95% reduction in American carbon emissions by 2050 will annually cost 11.9% of U.S. gross domestic product. To put that in perspective: Total expenditure on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid came to 11.6% of GDP in 2019. The annual cost of trying to hit Mr. Biden’s target will rise to $4.4 trillion by 2050. That’s more than everything the federal government is projected to take in this year in tax revenue.

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: climatechange; co2; globalwarming
full article
1 posted on 10/14/2021 6:57:42 AM PDT by karpov
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: karpov

I will take mean tweets and $1.76 a gallon gas over this idiocy.


2 posted on 10/14/2021 6:59:36 AM PDT by MNJohnnie (They would have abandon leftism to achieve sanity. Freeper Olog-hai)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: karpov

Risk assessment was part of my job before I retired a few months ago. Too many people see it as only two metrics:

1. Risk of the bad thing happening.
2. Cost of bad thing happening and cost to rectify the situation afterward.

They ignore the third metric:

3. Cost of mitigating the risk.

This is why all buildings are not hardened for meteor strikes or close proximity nuclear blast - or why a solar flare or EMP would take out the power grid (not to mention your car). The third metric is simply too expensive, regardless of metric two being really bad. And that is because metric one plays into it heavily.

This is why bolts on many sub-assemblies on airplanes have a hole in the bolt head and a wire running through it - prevents loosening and loss of the bolt, while cars don’t bother with this. The likelihood of it happening is low, but the cost if it DOES happen is very high, and the cost of mitigation is reasonable.


3 posted on 10/14/2021 7:11:09 AM PDT by cuban leaf (We killed our economy and damaged our culture. In 2021 we will pine for the salad days of 2020.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: karpov

voters finally waking up.


4 posted on 10/14/2021 7:37:34 AM PDT by Milagros (Y)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: cuban leaf
Risk assessment was part of my job before I retired a few months ago.

Wow... you must really be driven crazy by all the news in the past 2 years.

As a global society, we seem to have lost ALL ability to properly evaluate and categorize risk.

5 posted on 10/14/2021 7:46:05 AM PDT by SomeCallMeTim ( The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would hire them!it)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: cuban leaf
or why a solar flare or EMP would take out the power grid (not to mention your car).

Myth.

6 posted on 10/14/2021 7:47:15 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: karpov

But, but, but; AOC doesn’t think cost matters!!!!

Aren’t you a disciple? Don’t you believe?

HAVE YOU REFUSED THE KOOLAID?

Heretic! Burn him, burn him!!!!


7 posted on 10/14/2021 7:53:19 AM PDT by bobbo666 (Baizuo)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SomeCallMeTim

I’ve actively combatted global warming since 2006 on internet forums. But I’m pretty much done with the whole thing.

And yes, if I was not a follower of Christ, I’d be going nuts. But everything happening is to be expected. It’s just annoying to see it happen in my lifetime. But I know how the movie ends and live my life accordingly.

And living in the sticks on 32 acres with plenty of water and food is a big help. The Lord sent me here in 2011. If I still lived in Seattle this would be much harder.


8 posted on 10/14/2021 8:18:16 AM PDT by cuban leaf (We killed our economy and damaged our culture. In 2021 we will pine for the salad days of 2020.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: central_va

My father’s last assignment before he retired was electronics on AWACS. He walked me through the EMP hardening those things went through.


9 posted on 10/14/2021 8:19:15 AM PDT by cuban leaf (We killed our economy and damaged our culture. In 2021 we will pine for the salad days of 2020.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: cuban leaf
The only cars affected will be those running at the time of the pulse. Of those a VERY large percentage will simply shut off. A simple restart is all that is needed. The other may be slightly compromised.

The only scary thing will be the affect of an EMP pulse on aircraft flying during the EMP pulse. They could be in trouble.

10 posted on 10/14/2021 8:22:53 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: central_va

Your post caused me to reread my original post. I thought I had said it “might” kill your car. But I didn’t.

We are in agreement. https://theprepared.com/blog/cars-and-emps/


11 posted on 10/14/2021 8:47:11 AM PDT by cuban leaf (We killed our economy and damaged our culture. In 2021 we will pine for the salad days of 2020.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Milagros

Doesn’t matter if they pass what they want before getting punted out.


12 posted on 10/14/2021 8:48:54 AM PDT by pas
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: cuban leaf

.........”Everything happening is to be expected. It’s just annoying to see it happen in my lifetime”........

Well I think that’s why we’re seeing more and more people determining just where they’re going to settle themselves, or hunker down now. ..... But I can relate to your thinking it’s happening in our lifetime.

Of course God can slow it down as He has in the past....but He seems to do that over much shorter periods of time.


13 posted on 10/14/2021 9:28:53 AM PDT by caww ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: karpov

You could confiscate all income worldwide and direct it towards “climate”, but it would not change the global temperature by one degree or the sea levels by one inch. It’s a phony issue.


14 posted on 10/14/2021 12:08:40 PM PDT by JimRed (TERM LIMITS, NOW! Militia to the border! TRUTH is the new HATE SPEECH.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: JimRed

However the fact it’s become a World Wide endeavor shows how world leaders can manipulate the masses and each other.......at the minimum make it appear so.


15 posted on 10/14/2021 12:10:43 PM PDT by caww ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson