As the US, Germany, and other nations pay people to scrap their polluting cars, what other clunkers are in the marketplace that might respond to an incentive? How about buildings? Consumers, businesses, and governments spend billions to fight air pollution.
The feds launched the “cash for clunkers” program recently that pays you to scrap your old polluting car if you buy a fuel-efficient one. This is a great idea that can be applied elsewhere to clean the environment and stimulate economic growth. But just how far could this idea go?
This last weekend, I rented Arctic Tale, a film produced by National Geographic, because I was in the mood for something fun and light (and I couldn’t resist the picture of the adorable polar bear cub on the front). Little did I know I was in for a depressing ride. In fact, I don’t think I’ve cried that hard in a long time.
Ten days after being elected, then President-elect Obama put a stake in the ground on climate change – – he announced at the Governors’ Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles that the US would adopt the world-leading policies of California for the United States. Reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) 80% by 2050 and, to make a substantial down-payment, cut them to 1990 levels by 2020. Of course the EU has agreed to deeper cuts in the near term (but they got started sooner), but no nation had committed to such a dramatic cut as California – – and now the U.S.