Republican Elder Statesman Calls for Carbon Tax

[Old Rocks]

Stanford's George Shultz on energy: It's personal

-George Shultz leads a group preparing to propose a federal tax on carbon to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and oil consumption, a seemingly unlikely policy from a Republican Party statesman.

George Shultz was an economist in the Eisenhower administration, as well as secretary of the Treasury and Labor, and director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Nixon administration. Under President Ronald Reagan, he was secretary of state for almost seven years. Despite the reluctance of his fellow Republicans to embrace action on global warming, Shultz is confident that when the time is right conservatives will support a carbon tax, for a number of reasons...

...I've been worried about our energy problem for a long time. President Eisenhower said that if we imported more than 20 percent of the oil we use, we were asking for trouble with national security. By 1973, I'm secretary of the Treasury and we have the Arab oil embargo. They seek to deny us oil in order to change our policies. I thought then, you know, President Eisenhower knew something.

...If you speak out about something, you've got to walk the talk, you've got to do it yourself. The biggest consumer of oil is the automobile, so I've been interested in driving a car that is more efficient. My solar panels have long since paid for themselves by the savings in electricity costs. I have my electric car running on electricity from the sun, which costs me nothing and there is plenty of it here. So, I'm driving on sunshine. Take that, Ahmadinejad!

...We have to have a system where all forms of energy bear their full costs. For some, their costs are the costs of producing the energy, but many other forms of energy produce side effects, like pollution, that are a cost of society. The producers don't bear that cost, society does. There has to be a way to level the playing field and cause those forms of energy to bear their true costs. That means putting a price on carbon.

...Historically, Republicans have often protected the environment. President Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency. We dealt with the ozone layer under President Reagan and with acid rain under the first President Bush, both with bipartisan support. People making careers out of disagreeing with each other is a very recent phenomenon.

There are three major issues raised in the energy area. One is national security. We know that we don't want to be vulnerable to sources of supply that are uncertain or to send billions of dollars to regimes that are not our friends. Then there's the economy. Every spike in the price of oil has put our economy in a recession. We want to have more diverse energy resources so our economy won't be so vulnerable to the oil market.

Then there's the environment, which has many aspects. One of these is the air you breath, which Tom Steyer and I emphasized in the "No on 23" campaign. Another is that the globe is warming, which is not a matter of opinion, but a matter of fact. The arctic is melting. If you could bring together the constituencies concerned with national security, the economy and the environment – both local and global – that would be a potent coalition...

Much more at the Stanford News site, I encourage everyone, regardless of your political persuasions or ideological preferences to read this man's considerations and opinions: Stanford's George Shultz on energy: It's personal

Maybe he's invested with Al Gore...

Al Gore could become world's first carbon billionaire

Al Gore, the former US vice president, could become the world's first carbon billionaire after investing heavily in green energy companies.

Last year Mr Gore's venture capital firm loaned a small California firm $75m to develop energy-saving technology.

The company, Silver Spring Networks, produces hardware and software to make the electricity grid more efficient.

The deal appeared to pay off in a big way last week, when the Energy Department announced $3.4 billion in smart grid grants, the New York Times reports. Of the total, more than $560 million went to utilities with which Silver Spring has contracts

.


Al Gore could become world's first carbon billionaire - Telegraph

Al Gore has proven himself to be a savvy investor. Many companies are now investing in alternative energies, including the major oil companies. The affects we have seen in major agriculture losses to extreme weather events in the last three years are beginning to wake many people up. So the pressure to switch our energy generation to a non-fossil fuel base will increase over the coming years, and those wisely invested will be rewarded handsomely. That is how capitalism works, you know.

 

[Old Rocks]

Of course, the transition away from previously sequestered carbon emitting resources and technologies, as well as compensating for the public social costs of not applying true cost accounting to the subsidized profits earned by the exploitation of these resources and technologies over the last century and a half of market distortion, are the primary goals of the carbon tax in the first place.

The primary goal of carbon taxes is to provide more revenue to the government to grow social programs and dispense more swag to parasites.

You have already admitted that.

Now Pattycake, perhaps a remedial reading class is in order for you. Beginning at about the third grade.

 

[Mr. H.]

I'm not fond of agriculture for diverting 30% of our corn crop to ethanol production, and then exporting 20% of that ethanol. We've got grains coming out our ass. Feed the world, not the gas tank.

 

[Old Rocks]

H, I agree totally with you. The idea of using food for fuel is really a moral issue in a world that has many people with an inadaquete diet.

 

[Trakar]

I'm not fond of agriculture for diverting 30% of our corn crop to ethanol production, and then exporting 20% of that ethanol. We've got grains coming out our ass. Feed the world, not the gas tank.

I'm not against biofuels, I am against using food crops as the feedstock for the production of such.

 

[Trakar]

Of course, the transition away from previously sequestered carbon emitting resources and technologies, as well as compensating for the public social costs of not applying true cost accounting to the subsidized profits earned by the exploitation of these resources and technologies over the last century and a half of market distortion, are the primary goals of the carbon tax in the first place.

The primary goal of carbon taxes is to provide more revenue to the government to grow social programs and dispense more swag to parasites.

You have already admitted that.

Please cite and reference where you believe that I stated this, that is not now, nor ever been my understanding or goal with regard to carbon taxes, in fact, I would be in favor of keeping carbon tax monies out of the hands of government where short -term political idiocies could create a lot of mischief in the system. The Carbon Tax bank, I've often discussed should be created as a quasi-governmental organization that regulates and collects carbon taxes, distributes carbon tax offsets and invests surpluses in alternative energy research and development and public energy infrastructure. As the purpose of these taxes is to gradually transition our economy away from fossil fuel resources and technologies the taxes will collect its highest revenues in the first decade of their existence and should diminish drastically over future decades. Adding the elements of special project carbon bonds and utilizing a significant portion of early returns to purchase T-bonds, to provide an offset for revenue drops as carbon resources and technologies are replaced and thus no longer providing as much tax revenue. Personally, I'd be in favor of the focus going toward buying back T-Bonds sold to foriegn governments as a means of reducing our international debt, but with regards to what purpose the US government applies the money it makes off T-Bond sales to the Carbon Bank, that's up to congress.

 

[bobgnote]

Gimme a T, for transition.

I still don't know how CO2-neutral biomass is evaded, given all of hemp, switchgrass, algae, and ultrasound ethanol processing.

But hey, the cumulative deflection and lying ability of idiots, prison industry, more idiots, petroleum industry, still more idiots, mainstream media, lots more idiots, and government is awesome, to contemplate.

That Pat kid just isn't bright enough to shine up, is he.

 

[skookerasbil]

Gimme a T, for transition.

I still don't know how CO2-neutral biomass is evaded, given all of hemp, switchgrass, algae, and ultrasound ethanol processing.

But hey, the cumulative deflection and lying ability of idiots, prison industry, more idiots, petroleum industry, still more idiots, mainstream media, lots more idiots, and government is awesome, to contemplate.

That Pat kid just isn't bright enough to shine up, is he.

Media Fail: Chevy Volt Makes NO Money, Costs Taxpayers Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars Per Car | NewsBusters.org



laughing..............again.

 

[polarbear]

Gimme a T, for transition.

I still don't know how CO2-neutral biomass is evaded, given all of hemp, switchgrass, algae, and ultrasound ethanol processing.

But hey, the cumulative deflection and lying ability of idiots, prison industry, more idiots, petroleum industry, still more idiots, mainstream media, lots more idiots, and government is awesome, to contemplate.

That Pat kid just isn't bright enough to shine up, is he.

Media Fail: Chevy Volt Makes NO Money, Costs Taxpayers Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars Per Car | NewsBusters.org



laughing..............again.

Me too, laughing again:
German Government fears huge backlash from angry population over "green energy":
Energiewende: Warum Altmaier und Rösler an den Zielen zweifeln - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Zweifel an Energiewende Regierung fürchtet die Strompreis-Wut der Wähler

Die Sorge um steigende Strompreise ist politisch verständlich. Oder vielmehr die Sorge um die Reaktion der Wähler auf die steigenden Strompreise. Denn bei aller Sympathie für Atomausstieg und Ökostrom - wenn es ans eigene Geld geht, wiegt das grüne Gewissen bei vielen Bürgern nicht mehr so schwer. Und da die Energiewende eines der zentralen Projekte der Regierung von Kanzlerin Angela Merkel ist, könnte sich der Preisfrust bei der Bundestagswahl 2013 auch im Liebesentzug für die Verantwortlichen äußern

"StromPreis-Wut" = going ballistic over excessive hydro prices.
Seems there is a tolerance limit with my eco-friendly Germans back home in the "old country", now that they are paying the highest hydro bills in Europe (30% more than the French) and German politicians are being gripped by "Angst"...hahaha.
You should see how "eco-friendly" this fuck up is, I wish You could understand German:
So will Deutschland die Energiewende schaffen - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Finally they realize that neither solar nor wind power can give You a "power on demand" system. Now they have to flood huge areas to create "pump basins". Solar & Windpower is supposed to pump water up into these basins and then run regular Hydro electric Turbines to buffer demand.
The problem is that most of these areas that are suitable are the the last few forests and what`s left of the wild life habitat which has to be flooded.

By the way Rogers finally put up a new 3G tower which covers my area as well.

 

[Old Rocks]

U.S. Market Installs 506 MW in Q1 2012

Has not hurt the solar business here in the US.

Solar Industry Data | SEIA

The U.S. solar energy industry commenced 2012 with a strong first quarter. The industry installed 506 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in Q1 2012, representing a 85 percent increase in deployment over the first quarter of 2011. There was considerable demand across each of the three market segments as residential, commercial and utility scale installations all increased in Q1 2012 compared to Q1 2011.

 

[Old Rocks]

A growth of about 7 gw in wind in the US from 2010 to 2011. 40 gw to 47 gw. Looks like wind is also doing very well in the US.

Wind Powering America: U.S. Installed Wind Capacity

 

[Trakar]

A growth of about 7 gw in wind in the US from 2010 to 2011. 40 gw to 47 gw. Looks like wind is also doing very well in the US.

Wind Powering America: U.S. Installed Wind Capacity

The REN21 Renewables Global Status Report came out last month
REN21 - Renewables Global Status Report

...In the power sector, renewables accounted for almost
half of the estimated 208 gigawatts (GW) of electric
capacity added globally during 2011. Wind and solar
photovoltaics (PV) accounted for almost 40% and 30% of
new renewable capacity, respectively, followed by hydropower
(nearly 25%). By the end of 2011, total renewable
power capacity worldwide exceeded 1,360 GW, up 8%
over 2010; renewables comprised more than 25% of
total global power-generating capacity (estimated at
5,360 GW in 2011) and supplied an estimated 20.3% of
global electricity. Non-hydropower renewables exceeded
390 GW, a 24% capacity increase over 2010...

In the European Union, renewables accounted for
more than 71% of total electric capacity additions
in 2011, bringing renewable energy’s share of total
electric capacity to 31.1%. Solar PV alone represented
almost 47% of new capacity that came into operation...

In the United States, renewable energy made up an
estimated 39% of national electric capacity additions in
2011...

China ended 2011 with more renewable power capacity
than any other nation, with an estimated 282 GW;
one-quarter of this total (70 GW) was non-hydro. Of the
90 GW of electric capacity newly installed during the
year, renewables accounted for more than one-third...

 

[bobgnote]

Polarbear, do you have a comment, on German WWII technology, for fabricating liquid fuels, from coal?

Also, tell me who in Germany kept up with Henry Ford. Search: "Ford, Diesel, ethanol, plastic, hemp."

 

[Trakar]

And apparently, the more general body of GOP lawmakers is showing some sign of realizing how important climate change issues are becoming with the electorate. As proposals to extend the wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) gained “overwhelming” bipartisan support in the Senate Finance Committee (19-5), the Senate Committee also approved an extension of the 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which provides an incentive for the development of offshore and community wind projects.
Headline Story | equities.com

 

[whitehall]

Years ago they called him a lackey and now he is "an elder statesman". The left must be desperate. Nobody ever said Schultz was an expert on climate change. He is entitled to his opinion even if it approaches absurdity.

 

[Trakar]

Years ago they called him a lackey and now he is "an elder statesman". The left must be desperate. Nobody ever said Schultz was an expert on climate change. He is entitled to his opinion even if it approaches absurdity.

"Left?" No, his former experience and positions entitle George Shultz to be labelled "statesman" (the "elder" simply comes from being in his nineties) whether or not you agree with his policies or considerations. Likewise, he is entitled to the label of economist and businessman. In the article he speaks to issues of public policy and economics areas he is well qualified to discuss. If you have a reasoned response that rebuts Mr Shultz's statements, I'd be interested in reading it. As for your ad hom attempts to poison the well and pitch a noted and respected conservative under the bus because he doesn't share your extremist fringe fantasies, not so interested.