A greener world and greener wallets…
Something to think about on St. Patrick’s day..
Conserve-atism, a greener world and greener wallets
The right wing universally craves to increase the supply. “Drill baby drill” is the mantra from Mitt down to Palin. Flood the market with more oil and it will become cheaper. However, in order for them to justify that strategy, they paint themselves into a corner regarding climate science forcing them to take idiotic anti-science positions lest they openly admit their greed and disregard for future generations including their own children and grandchildren. It’s easier to attack science instead.
At the other end of the political spectrum, there is a prevailing notion to increase gasoline taxes to coerce people to consume less fuel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but that is a regressive tax that hits the lowest income consumers the hardest and this would do serious harm to the economy as prices for nearly every product would increase while disposable incomes fell.
These two failing strategies point to the basis for one that will actually work and one the Government in its current form has the power to make happen. Conserve-atism. Reducing wasted consumption to build a glut in the supply to crash the price. win-win-win.
So how can the Government actually help reduce wasted consumption? This is where we need to be ingenious and creative, and I have a few ideas for a good start. They involve improving traffic flow and eliminating “churn” or waste.