Global Warming "action" was institutionalized in US government in 1990 by George Bush the 1st. $68 billion has been spent on 'climate' just in the past 4 yrs. 13 federal agencies remain tasked with climate "action."
11/12/12, "Grover Norquist Bombshell: Pairing A Carbon Tax With Income-Tax Cut Wouldn’t Violate GOP No-Tax-Hike Pledge," Think Progress, Joe Romm
Think Progress cites Grover Norquist approval as "bombshell" news in favor of CO2 tax. (Commenter urges caution on Norquist, end of this post):
11/12/12, "Norquist: Carbon-Tax Swap for Income-Tax Cut Wouldn't Violate No-Tax-Hike Pledge," National Journal, Coral Davenport
Think Progess, Romm: "Any tax in the $15 to $25 a ton of CO2 range (together with other policies already enacted, such as the fuel economy standards)
would almost certainly achieve a CO2 cut greater than 17% by 2020 (compared to 2005 levels).
That 17% cut was Obama’s pledge going into the Copenhagen climate talks.*** I think that any such
U.S. carbon tax would have a
transformational effect on global climate talks.
Indeed I imagine a significant fraction of the nations of the world would probably seriously consider adopting whatever carbon tax the United States adopts....
For those who want to become more knowledgeable about the ins and outs of a carbon tax, Brookings, AEI, the IMF, and Resources for the Future are sponsoring an all day forum on it Tuesday. You can watch it live here. Climate Progress will be covering it."
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***Romm denies current science, says CO2 tax would help US meet Obama Copenhagen pledge when already "US CO2 emissions are falling even faster than what President Obama pledged in the global Copenhagen Accord:”…
6/4/12, “Climate change stunner: USA leads world in CO2 cuts since 2006,” Vancouver Observer, Saxifrage
“Not only that, but as my top chart shows, US CO2 emissions are falling even faster than what President Obama pledged in the global Copenhagen Accord.”…
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Romm should celebrate the success of his efforts to lower US CO2. More on his stunning achievement:
8/16/12, “AP IMPACT: CO2 emissions in US drop to 20-year low,” AP, Kevin Begos
“In a surprising turnaround, the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere in the U.S. has fallen dramatically to its lowest level in 20 years, and government officials say the biggest reason is that cheap and plentiful natural gas has led many power plant operators to switch from dirtier-burning coal.
Many of the world’s leading climate scientists didn’t see the drop coming, in large part because it happened as a result of market forces rather than direct government action against carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere.
Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University, said the shift away from coal is reason for “cautious optimism” about potential ways to deal with climate change….
In a little-noticed technical report, the U.S. Energy Information Agency, a part of the Energy Department, said this month that energy related U.S. CO2 emissions for the first four months of this year fell to about 1992 levels. Energy emissions make up about 98 percent of the total. The Associated Press contacted environmental experts, scientists and utility companies and learned that
virtually everyone believes the shift could have major long-term implications for U.S. energy policy.”…
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4/21/12, "Why [CO2] Emissions Are Declining in the U.S. But Not in Europe," by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, newgeography.com
"As we note below in a new article for Yale360, a funny thing happened: U.S. emissions started going down in 2005 and are expected to decline further over the next decade."
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commenter to Think Progress warns against relying on Norquist for anything:
===========================
Mike Roddy says:
"You’re right, Merrelyn. Norquist is not a good person, and is the wrong man to negotiate with- especially since he does not have a real position of authority. Norquist’s calling card is to act as a
spokesman for far right plutocrats, which somehow got twisted
by the right wing press into being presented
as some kind of gravitas
.
His only legitimate claim to fame is the drowning in the bathtub line, but knowing Grover, he probably stole it from someone."...
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Thanks to Romm's call for action on CO2:
In Nov., 2012, Obama took 'climate action' by giving $6 billion US taxpayer dollars to the Sultan of Brunei who owns 5000+ cars and to the Pres. of Indonesia, a country so corrupt even the World Bank says crime adds 20% to costs. Below, one of the Sultan's cars:
7/24/12, "The Sultan's Cars," wheel to wheel blog.
Sultan of Brunei citation:
11/19/12, "White House Announces $6 Billion to Promote Clean Energy – in Asia," CNS News, Lucas
"The White House announced the federal government will spend $6 billion over four years for a “sustainable energy future” plan with Asian countries that involves loaning tax dollars to other countries to increase their purchasing power for U.S. technology, services and equipment.
“Recognizing that energy and the environment are among the most pressing issues confronting our region, President Obama, in partnership with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and President of the Republic of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, today proposed the U.S.-Asia Pacific Comprehensive Partnership for a Sustainable Energy Future,” the White House announced Tuesday as Obama visits Asian Pacific countries."...
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Dec. 11, 2011, "Indonesia’s Climate of Graft Snarls Investment," Jakarta Globe, Shirley Wibisono
"A World Bank analysis found corruption could add up to 20 percent to the existing costs of projects in Indonesia.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has won two elections on promises to tackle graft in one of the most corrupt countries in Asia, but critics say he has failed to make any genuine difference to the culture of graft and impunity.
A Gallup poll released in October found that 91 percent of Indonesians believe corruption in government is widespread, compared to 84 percent in 2006. ...“Here in Indonesia, it is a common practice for businessmen to bribe officials to get a project,” Adiningsih said....
“It’s common for corruption to happen at all stages in Indonesian infrastructure projects, whether it’s during the tender process or extortion along the way.”...
Investors consistently cite corruption as a major deterrent."...
.
