I don't take global warming seriously.
But, I'm not closed minded either.
William Nordhaus at Yale is the economic expert on global warming. He estimates that the Stern plan to curb global warming (under discussion by the UN) would cost $27T to save $13T, and that Al Gore's plan would cost $34T to save $12T (yes, the T stands for trillion).
Both of these are startlingly bad ideas. Losing $15-20T isn't something to be proud of.
Bad enough for me to label them as the worst ideas in human history since ... oh say ... the cultural revolution and perhaps even the final solution. (FWIW: a forensic economist would eyeball these numbers and say that this cost is in the range of a minimum of 20 times that of the holocaust).
So ... remember here ... I am aping the recommendations of a true believer in global warming who has crunched the numbers the way only an economist can.
What does Nordhaus recommend? A carbon tax starting at $34 per carbon ton.
How much is that, exactly? The math is below the fold - but I get a bit less than 9 cents per gallon.
So, the most cost effective way to combat global warming is with a carbon tax that would add far less to the price of gas than the already extent state and federal taxes.
So ... um ... why on earth are the powers-that-be so focused on much bigger impositions in our daily life?
Could it be that they're just controllers and moralists ... the latest incarnation of hair-shirted monks from the Dark Ages?
Hat tip to Newmark's Door, which got me started on this.
Here's a rough approximation.
Gas is mostly octane, which is 8 carbon atoms and 18 hydrogen.
Carbon atoms weigh about 12 times as much as hydrogen atoms, so an octane molecule is about 96 out of 114 parts carbon.
This implies that 2,375 pounds of gas is required to make 1 carbon ton.
But, how many gallons is that?
A gallon is a little less than 4 liters, and a liter of gas weights 703 grams. Do the math, and a gallon of gas weighs 2.65 Kg.
The 2,375 pounds of gas in a carbon ton works out to be 1078 Kg, and if a gallon weighs 2.65 Kg, then we are talking about 406 gallons of gas.
The $34 per ton carbon tax then works out to between 8 and 9 cents a gallon.
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