As long as we’re in a bi-partisan mood and George Bush is looking for ways to accommodate the electorate, I think it’s time for the Administration to do a 180-degree turn and embrace the Kyoto Protocols.
It’s one of the more disconcerting things about conservatives to see how they’re stonewalling on global warming. Nobody really knows what they’re talking about - they’re just all convinced that if Al Gore is campaigning on this issue then it must be wrong.
The science supporting global warming has become overwhelming - and the arguments against it are becoming more and more embarrassing. Last September I was at an environmental conference in Montana sponsored by the Foundation on Research in Economics and the Environment (FREE). One of the featured speakers was Richard Lindzen, of MIT, perhaps the leading public skeptic of global warming. Nothing personal but his performance was less than overwhelming. Lindzen put up a graph showing carbon dioxide content and temperatures going up at a nice, brisk 45-degree angle since 1960, shook his head, and said, “There’s nothing here that’s outside the normal range of fluctuation over the last few thousands years.” Then he adds, “And besides, if we really are experiencing global warming, it’s too late to do anything about it anyway.” Eyes were rolling all around the room - and these are people who are very inclined toward environmental issues.
That busines about “It’s too late to do anything about it” is something I really don’t like. A lot of liberals are taking this attitude, too. When you look at the physics of nuclear power, you realize it was made to solve the problem of global warming. The energy releases from the nucleus of the atom are a MILLION TIMES GREATER than the energy releases from the electrons in their orbits (which is where fossil fuels get their energy). The environmental footprint is a MILLION TIMES smaller. How could it NOT be the solution to our environmental and global warming problems?
The ridiculous thing is that Al Gore is no better - he’s doing his own stonewalling against nuclear. In “An Inconvenient Truth,” Gore summons Robert Socolow and the Carbon Mitigation Initiative to provide his solution to the problem. He cites Socolow’s “Seven Wedge” thesis - the seven things we have to do to slow down carbon emissions. However Gore only presents six wedges - he leaves nuclear out. I asked Socolow what happened and he said that Gore derived his wedge approach via the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is very anti-nuclear. They crossed it out of the equation.
I think the Bush Administration should embrace the Kyoto Protocols tomorrow and announce a program to spread responsible nuclear energy throughout the world. Ironically, the administration has already done this with its 2004 proposal for an Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative. We would provide nuclear fuel for other countries and then recycle it for them when they are finished. That way we’d forestall countries setting up their own enrichment programs and using them to build bombs. The administration already has all the pieces in place. It hasn’t put them together yet.
The last piece of the puzzle is solar energy. Nuclear is unmatchable for providing base-load electricity but solar voltaics are needed to provide for peak loads. Solar power is at its peak when it’s needed most - during hot summer days when everybody turns on the air conditioning. If the advocates of nuclear and solar could sign a peace treaty, they could work together to pass some kind of a carbon dioxide cap-and-trade system in Congress. This would make both solar and nuclear more than competitive with cheap-and-dirty coal.
Personally I can’t think of an issue more ripe for development. The administration just has to swallow a little pride and admit it has been wrong.
This entry was posted on Friday, November 17th, 2006 at 5:46 pm and is filed under Alternative Energy Technology, Climate Change, Hollywood, Politics/Government, Pop Culture . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
