Comments on: Climate Management 101 — 4. Organizing or Not (Open Source?) http://www.ClimatePolicy.org/?p=53 An American Meteorological Society Project Thu, 09 Sep 2010 06:06:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.2 By: r baker http://www.ClimatePolicy.org/?p=53#comment-15793 r baker Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:24:24 +0000 http://www.ClimatePolicy.org/?p=53#comment-15793 The substantial conflicting conclusions on the "energy balance" of corn-based ethanol need to be clarified- and at least show that, probably, the more such ethanol that is produced, the less energy-efficient the process is. The substantial conflicting conclusions on the “energy balance” of corn-based ethanol need to be clarified- and at least show that, probably, the more such ethanol that is produced, the less energy-efficient the process is.

]]> By: Shannon http://www.ClimatePolicy.org/?p=53#comment-2872 Shannon Mon, 29 Oct 2007 21:06:28 +0000 http://www.ClimatePolicy.org/?p=53#comment-2872 A few thoughts: First of all, corn ethanol might also provide the illusion we are fixing the global warming problem while creating additional water quality problems. http://local-warming.blogspot.com/2007/10/biofuels-good-and-bad-for-chesapeake.html Second, you do not need to base the market cost on the true environmental cost of pollution if you have other substitutes, such as the cost of reducing a unit of pollution. With a cap-and-trade system, you would allocate a certain number of pollution in the form of permits and let the market derive the price. The price could decrease due to reduced demand if the the marginal cost increase of a renewable technology over a unit of the polluting technology were less than the cost of a permit. In both cases, the true environmental costs are not necessary. What is necessary is the practical reduction of greenhouse gases. A few thoughts:

First of all, corn ethanol might also provide the illusion we are fixing the global warming problem while creating additional water quality problems. http://local-warming.blogspot.com/2007/10/biofuels-good-and-bad-for-chesapeake.html

Second, you do not need to base the market cost on the true environmental cost of pollution if you have other substitutes, such as the cost of reducing a unit of pollution. With a cap-and-trade system, you would allocate a certain number of pollution in the form of permits and let the market derive the price. The price could decrease due to reduced demand if the the marginal cost increase of a renewable technology over a unit of the polluting technology were less than the cost of a permit. In both cases, the true environmental costs are not necessary. What is necessary is the practical reduction of greenhouse gases.

]]>