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Caltech Study: CO2 At Highest Level in 15 Million Years

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Love-Child of Cassandra and Sisyphus10/19/2009 11:10:57 pm PDT

If I may share with everyone where I am at these days, on topics like this (AGW) in our national dialogue…

I’m at a loss about where to begin… but ultimately it comes down to this: the process of governance, by which I mean how we order our lives wrt to authority of the group over the decisions of the group or individual, is breaking down in this country. This is probably not the first time in history, but during my adult life it is now as bad as I can remember.

Traditionally the idea is that in a representative government every representative knows that she must compromise, at least on something. The idea is to prioritize the goals for one’s constituents and then trade away those of a lower value for the sake of getting those of a higher value.

Today however there is a certain atmosphere that is best characterized as digging in one’s heels, a George Custers’s Last Stand approach, where the only option is everything or nothing.

Note how Sen. Graham has been mercilessly crucified for his willingness to negotiate with Sen Kerry on the issue of climate change legislation. The cries of RINO have never been louder (except when Sen McCain was working on the immigration bill that died.)

Laws that are to be passed in regards to controversial issues need to be argued, no doubt about that. Yet the goal ought to be that action for the greater good is possible. Now, instead of compromise, the rallying cry is secession.

I think the fact that such a well known blogger as Instapundit is now linking to openly secessionist sites has convinced me that the process of governance has hit a new low (of the past 40 years).

The Clinton impeachment hearings were vicious… yet the subject matter was not, in retrospect, that important (though I agree it was wrong of President Clinton to abuse his authority over a mere intern, as well as to lie about it.)

In the run up to, and immediately after, the 2003 war with Iraq there was quite a heated exchange of feelings. Yet did you notice how in the end President Bush did get authority and funding?

WRT climate change legislation - I do not believe that the US Congress is ready to actually pull the trigger on anything substantial, and so I conclude that both Rep. Markey and Sen. Kerry are doing this more for show than for reality. They are going to have to give away so many carbon credits to get the votes from Democratic senators from coal and oil producing states that in the end very little CO2 reduction is likely, at least from “capping” the production.

The development of new energy sources is more promising, and certain alternatives such as wind are already economically viable in particular situations.

It’s a long slog ahead.

/end of rant

// promise - no more rants, just Christmas music.