<Gail Tverberg's Talk: Expected Economic Impact of an Energy Downturn The Oil Drum The Scales are Balanced>
<DrumBeat: April 13, 2008 DrumBeat DrumBeat: April 15, 2008>

267 comments on DrumBeat: April 14, 2008

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

Show without comments | PDF version

shastatodd on April 14, 2008 - 11:41am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Welfare programs are not the answer for renewables. Lets end the subsidizes on non-renewable energy sources and level the playing field.

Todd

Comments can no longer be added to this story.
AlanfromBigEasy on April 14, 2008 - 11:52am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

A carbon tax (quite high) would work as well.

Alan

Comments can no longer be added to this story.
shastatodd on April 14, 2008 - 12:38pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Good point, a BIG carbon tax, rationing and heavily tiered electric rates are really the only fair way to get the mindless consumers to change their behavior in a way that does not penalize the least amongst us.

Todd

Comments can no longer be added to this story.
eric blair on April 14, 2008 - 4:35pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

An idea via global media.

The Air belongs to us all. We are send carbon trading credits. We can then sell the credits (or keep 'em). The money from the sale goes into the consumers pocket. If you have a low footpint - you make money.

Comments can no longer be added to this story.
MarkIX on April 15, 2008 - 11:17pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Call me cynical but it sounds like a licence to pollute. Since the government would decide the amount of "certificates" issued and over time this would certainly increase, it just sounds like another wealth transfer scheme. If you're talking some kind of science based quota scheme I have even less faith in the ability of governments to manage it, Canadian cod anyone?

Comments can no longer be added to this story.
FuturePundit on April 15, 2008 - 1:20am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

The free market is already busily imposing an increasing carbon tax of sorts. The Chinese want us to use less oil and so they bid up its price. We want the Chinese to use less oil and so we bid up its price. It is a regular war out there with all the oil users busily pushing up prices.

Comments can no longer be added to this story.
eric blair on April 15, 2008 - 8:27am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

The free market

Where is this mythical free market? I've heard that it is rare, so humans want to hunt it down, capture it, then torture it for information about where other free markets can be found!

Definition: A free market economy is an economy in which the allocation for resources is determined only by their supply and the demand for them. This is mainly a theoretical concept as every country, even capitalist ones, places some restrictions on the ownership and exchange of commodities.

The Chinese want us to use less oil and so they bid up its price.

Oh, that sounds like some kinda government policy. Ergo the theory you are mentioning is not 'free market'.

But if you ever see a free market in the wild (or being tortured) - can you make a video and post it on archive.org? Cuz I'm sure a whole lotta people would love to see an actual free market.

Comments can no longer be added to this story.
Daxtatter on April 15, 2008 - 12:00am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

You know what would be really interesting?

Annualy declining oil import quotas. Either that or just old-school WWII style rationing. BRING IT ON!

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

267 comments on DrumBeat: April 14, 2008

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

Show without comments | PDF version