The Carbon Hustle

-- by Micheal

I know I've been a little preoccupied lately, so I've not followed the Carbon story very closely. There's been firewood to get split and stacked for winter, and the last of the tomatoes to get in before frost. For whichever reason, I've not been following the Carbon Causes Global Warming story as closely as others have been. This might actually be a good thing, though. Sometimes it helps to come in half way through the show. Doing so avoids clouds of back story confusion. I'll give you an example.

Years ago, I annoyed my mother in law by walking up behind her while she was watching one of her favorite Soaps. Not knowing any better, I proceeded to identify the characters (by type). "Oh, she's the floosie, she's the perpetual victim, he's the shallow-minded cheater," etc. She argued that I only saw 10 minutes of the show. How could I possibly know anything? She's been watching it for years, knowing all the characters' back stories, etc.

Was I wrong, I asked? She didn't want to admit it, but had to confess that my assessments were right. All her years of watching had only clouded her judgement. "Poor little Jessica" was abused as a child, or never really recovered from so-and-so's suicide, blah blah blah. Whatever. She was mean-spirited busybody. I could see that in a matter of minutes. All that back story stuff was just a distraction.

I feel the same with this Carbon story. I look up from my firewood stacking and it seems everyone around me (mostly Democratic candidates) are hawking the idea that Carbon emissions are the 11th plague which is going to ruin the world. What strikes me odd, is what people are pushing as the solution: Sell Carbon Credits.

Any time spending money is a proposed solution to a problem, I'm instantly suspicious. At bit of looking into it doesn't help. Big carbon producers can "buy" a lesser polluter's cleanness? How in blazes does this help? The greater polluter didn't pollute less. He just paid money. The pollution remained the same. Talk about vaporware. Now the lack of carbon has become a commodity that can be bought and sold.  Factories buying the nothing which another factory did not make? Factories "selling" their nothings as if they were a commodity? Doesn't this strike anyone as bizarre? This sounds exactly like farm subsidies, which I've been told is a bad thing.

The other thing that strikes me a little odd, is that everyone is harping on Carbon. Why? A little online research tells me that 72% of greenhouse gas emissions are carbondioxide (mostly from power plants), with 18% being methane -- almost all of that from the agricultural sector. (i.e. Cows) Since methane is 20 to 60 times as powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbondioxide, that means that methane outweighs carbon something like 7 to 1. Why are we fussing over carbon so much? Why isn't everyone bellyaching about Methane Credits? Why is there no Democratic candidate pounding the podium for burpless cows?

Why? Because there's no money in cow bellies. You can't negotiate with a cow to burp less so you can drive your SUV the same as you always have. No. The money is in the hands of wealthy industrialists. They generate carbon. So? go after the money. 

This whole Carbon emissions thing is starting to smell like one giant hustle. An elaborate scam to transfer money from wealthy industrialists to less wealthy ones. The world (warmer or not) goes on unaffected. Maybe my many years of listening to politicians and demagogues has made me cynical. But as soon as they start talking about spending money (usually MY money) to solve their problem d'jour, I instantly don't believe them. It smells like a hustle to me.