Trump dumps Paris Accord

PARIS ACCORD, REDISTRIBUTION BY ANOTHER NAME

SLOWS ATTEMPT AT GLOBAL GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF ENERGY

 

 

The Paris accord was really an attempt by President Obama to enter into a treaty without the approval of the senate. It seems many Senators were ok with this, but it is the responsibility of the senate to ratify treaties. Of course, cowardly members of the U.S. Senate and the House would rather not vote on anything that could be used against them in an upcoming election. I must say it took a lot of courage by Trump to go against the environmentalists, the long list of business leaders living off government subsidies, members of his own family and the media.  The Paris accord really did not do much to reduce carbon emissions. It mandated that the U.S. cut its emissions by 25 to 28 % by 2025. That will be here before we know it. At the same time it has no restrictions on India and China until 2035 and then it is some vague hope of improvement. There is really no way to enforce the terms of this treaty. The United States would attempt to comply while many others would enjoy being paid by us and other developed countries to reduce emissions. Who knows were that that money would be spent. But of course the agreement had less to do with saving the planet than an attempt to control the production, use and price of energy. Many in the U.S. government long for the day when they can control the energy market. Their schemes plan was to raise the cost of electric and other forms of energy to make renewable energy competitive with fossil fuels. Even now, the most exciting thing about renewable energy is the subsidies provided by the federal government. I have little doubt that if they could raise the price of electric and other energy cost the next step would be to subsidize those who could no longer afford it. This most likely would be funded by a tax on energy paid by the more fortunate or self reliant. Another form of redistribution that could be a real vote getter. If everyone is for the Paris accord, call your senator and have them ratify the treaty.

 

Manufactures in the U.S and Europe are now having a very hard time complying with todays emission standards. Why do you think Volkswagen, GM and others were tampering with their computer systems to fake compliance? It is simply that they would have needed to junk large fleets of their cars because they could not figure out how to make them comply. Now they have had to pay tens of  billions in penalties all because bureaucrats pushed the limits without the engineering available to afford compliance. The 25 % increased reduction in emissions would have in reality made the manufacture of Pick ups and SUVS impossible or raised the price to unsustainable levels.

 

There comes of point of diminishing returns with the costs rising for compliance exceeding the real return on investment. In many areas we may have reached that point. In the U.S. there is much to be gained by conservation of energy. I am sure there are many who are now distraught by the end of the Paris accord for the U.S., but I wonder if we drove past their house at night would every light be on and 4 TVs  or computers operating along with the temperature adjusted to be as comfortable as possible. I would bet that the U.S. could cut energy use be 25% by conservation.  So, rather than send several trillion dollars to other countries, hoping they will cut emissions, why don't we enter into an energy conservation competition here at home. The electric co, now sends us a graph showing our energy use compared to our neighbors. For a limited time, why not reward citizens with cash rebates for cuts in electric use. This would be far less costly than sending the money oversees. would be fun, and would show examples of how much energy could be saved without an actual loss in our quality of life.