With the Copenhagen meetings over and uncertainty (at best…) about the out come we have to ask – who benefits?
A very interesting article in the Wall Street Journal “Copenhagen’s delay is coal-power heyday” gives us a pretty good answer. The quick overview is – the firms who would have seen more regulation – coal burning firms – those who generate CO2 would have seen prices of there production rise - and so would have been unhappy. And at the same time firms (renewable, nuclear) who generate with out producing CO2 would have – relatively – seen their cost of production fall and would have been happy – better off.
It did not happen. Coal – for now – won….
Given that it is near Christmas I would like to spend a moment on one of our favorite stories – A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens…
The story was written in 1843. (That is over 150 yrs ago…..)
Near the beginning of the story – the clerk – Bob Cratchit – is told that he has to stay late at the office on Christmas Eve to finish some work – it is London – it is December 24th and it is cold!
Cratchit asked his boss (and the stories main character) Ebenezer Scrooge – if he might – in effect keep the heat on a little longer – as Scrooge will be leaving at normal closing time – but poor Bob (with the very sick son at home…Tiny Tim) must stay.
Please can we keep the heat on just a little longer……….?
Scrooge – complains – but in the end relents!
Cratchit get to keep the heat on, he gets…..?
A lump of Coal!
It was 1843 – he gets a lump of coal!
It is now 2009. How do we keep warm?
The same way. By burning lumps of coal.
This is the tragedy of our current situation – a world that can send men to the moon, can extend life by decades, can proscess information in milliseconds….still burns coal to stay warm. It is hard to believe…..
We have to do better.
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