Slump Slows Carbon Efforts

Ken Silverstein at "Energybiz Insider" notes that "The economic downturn is pulling under the sweeping attempt in this country to cap carbon emissions. Until an uptick occurs, the focus will be altered and now concentrate on making gradual adjustments to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The global liquidity crisis is not just grabbing headlines. It's also causing a shift to the new paradigm. With credit tight, utilities and other industries are trying to preserve their cash and reduce their debt. It's now more about survival and less about cutting carbon emissions."

Read the whole thing.

http://www.energycentral.com/site/newsletters/ebi.cfm?id=587

Silverstein has always drunk more of the "Global Warming" Kool-Aid than I have. Though I disagree with his perception of the dangers posed by AGW, his analysis is thoughtful and he does illluminate the following thoughts:

--Environmentalism is a luxury good (people consume more as they prosper)
--Combatting AGW poses significant costs (1.1% of world GDP is the estimate provided by commentators who favor it..the true figure is certainly much higher) that cannot be borne in the current interest rate environment
--It is inherently a hard sell to require people to pay more for energy today for some undefined benefit in the future. People seem to understand instinctively that combatting AGW iwll reduce their standard of living.