Climate scientists? Utter geniuses. Infallable. (At least as long as they’re predicting warming.)

Climate scientists? Utter geniuses. Infallable. (At least as long as they’re predicting warming.)

Not always.

http://www.statgrad.com/abou/commentary.php#new-car-costs

Sometimes it is smarter to use new and more efficient technology instead of making old products last (and pollute) as long as possible. Would you not want to shut down high-pollution coal plants that are already built in favor of renewable energy sources? Sure, if the improvements are very minor then make the older goods last longer. But in many cases, scrapping old cars or old technology in favor of new goods is a wise move and does in fact reduce emissions.

Not always.

http://www.statgrad.com/abou/commentary.php#new-car-costs

Sometimes it is smarter to use new and more efficient technology instead of making old products last (and pollute) as long as possible. Would you not want to shut down high-pollution coal plants that are already built in favor of renewable energy sources? Sure, if the improvements are very minor then make the older goods last longer. But in many cases, scrapping old cars or old technology in favor of new goods is a wise move and does in fact reduce emissions.

3. Obama’s CAFE standards are misguided because as we consume less gas the price goes down and people will once again demand larger cars. The better way to regulate this is to use taxes to keep prices high. If oil stayed at $150+ for the long term, all kinds of good things happen. People would voluntarily switch to fuel efficient cars. They would insulate their houses. And our tech geniuses would find all kinds of ways to exploit renewables. No policing, no bureaucracy, just good clean market forces.

I would argue the entire problem with fossil fuels is the price is so low that we waste it.

2. Miles driven is down the last 2 years mainly because of the recession. Many people in large cities, myself included, have seen a noticeable drop in highway traffic.

3. This is also the reason why the price of every fossil fuel is down. There is such a glut of natural gas right now, there is nowhere left to store it. I can cite this, but you have a search button too.

3. Obama’s CAFE standards are misguided because as we consume less gas the price goes down and people will once again demand larger cars. The better way to regulate this is to use taxes to keep prices high. If oil stayed at $150+ for the long term, all kinds of good things happen. People would voluntarily switch to fuel efficient cars. They would insulate their houses. And our tech geniuses would find all kinds of ways to exploit renewables. No policing, no bureaucracy, just good clean market forces.

I would argue the entire problem with fossil fuels is the price is so low that we waste it.

2. Miles driven is down the last 2 years mainly because of the recession. Many people in large cities, myself included, have seen a noticeable drop in highway traffic.

3. This is also the reason why the price of every fossil fuel is down. There is such a glut of natural gas right now, there is nowhere left to store it. I can cite this, but you have a search button too.