John Ryden is an Engineer with a background in Finance and Economics. Here he will discuss how energy production, energy use, and conservation affect us and the rest of the world with a focus on the economic implications.

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Voting Against Emissions Cap and Trade Means You Care About the Environment

2 comments

June 6, 1:53 PM

by John Ryden, Global Warming Examiner

Cap and Trade Systems have good intentions as a way to efficiently limit greenhouse gas emissions. The problem with these schemes is that they can raise costs without generating the expected reduction in emissions. One problem with most of these schemes is they allow additional credits to be generated.

For example, let’s say a utility company wants to burn more coal in this country. They buy a credit from a Chinese company by paying to install more energy efficient production equipment in a Chinese manufacturing plant. This reduces emissions from the plant, but does not reduce emissions. The electric utility in China is not constrained by the same limits on emissions, so it takes its surplus power and sells it to another manufacturer. The net result is that the U.S. utility company is emitting more emissions and the Chinese are emitting the same emissions for a net gain in emissions. Not only that, but our economy is now subsidizing Chinese companies. The manufacturing company in China benefits from a lower cost of production, and may use that to increase its level of production. Hardly what was intended!

Oh, but say you only allow trading for emission credits within this country or with other countries that also have limits on emissions. The utility company this time buys credits from a manufacturer in this country that reduces emissions by shutting down a manufacturing business. The product made in that plant is also made in China, which increases its production to supply products to our market. Again the net result is an increase in emissions, not the intended reduction. To make this even worse, the Chinese company may be less energy efficient than the U.S. manufacturer that shut down their plant to sell the credits.

Schemes where the government sells emission credits are basically a tax on energy production. Again you could be forcing business off-shore to less energy efficient producers. You not only increase emissions, but loose jobs and hurt your economy.

It is interesting that both presidential candidates indicated that they would support the bill that was killed in the Senate. It would be better if our presidential candidates and congress spent more time promoting more of the cleanest energy we can produce. This includes not only wind and solar, but nuclear, natural gas, and even oil. These all produce less greenhouse gas emissions than coal.

Topics: Global Warming , Carbon Dioxide , Greenhouse , cap and trade , environmentalist

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Renewable Energy needs a healthy economy

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December 1, 2:12 PM

The global recession and credit crisis is having a very profound and negative effect on the development of renewable energy sources. The recession has caused world demand for power to decrease. This has resulted in lower prices for energy. Oil... Read More

Barack Obama proposes large jobs creation program

2 comments

November 24, 4:47 PM

Barack Obama has asked Congress to create a jobs program to create 2.5 million new jobs by 2011. Obama supports infrastructure and green energy spending to create jobs.This is a program that could work. Putting people to work building roads and bridges... Read More
Topics: nuclear , electricity , Obama , Auto Industry

Not all U.S. auto companies are doing poorly

1 comment

November 20, 11:41 AM

The big 3 auto manufacturers have seen their auto sales slump 30 to 45% in recent months. Years of bad designs, questionable quality, high costs, and bad management / labor relations have finally caught up with them. Watching the CEOs of the big 3 and... Read More
Topics: Global Warming , electric car , Tesla

Auto industry needs to be revamped to produce next generation cars

2 comments

November 19, 10:49 AM

One key to Barack Obama’s plan for reducing oil consumption is the production of fuel efficient cars. This means cars that get 60 to 150 or more miles per gallon of gasoline. This can be done with plug-in electric hybrids. But is Detroit able to... Read More
Topics: GM , hybrid electric , Auto Industry

Restructuring the auto industry

1 comment

November 17, 5:15 PM

A healthy and robust auto industry in America is going to be needed to build new fuel efficient cars. This will be important to solving our global warming problem. Gasoline powered cars with fuel efficiency based on existing technology will have to be... Read More
Topics: Global Warming , GM , consumption tax , elections 2008 , Auto Industry

Pollution in Asia a growing threat to global environment

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November 13, 2:57 PM

With the Olympics over, China is back in business. That means the choking pollution is back from all the coal-fired power plants and industrial companies. The U.N. reported that a huge thick brown cloud of soot, particles and chemicals stretches from... Read More
Topics: Global Warming , Carbon Dioxide , China , International Energy Agency

Reviewing the World Energy Outlook 2008

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November 12, 12:14 PM

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has published its review of the world’s energy situation in their “World Energy Outlook 2008”. I am going to review some of the points made by the IEA.World Energy Outlook 2008“The world’s... Read More
Topics: Global Warming , Climate Change , Coal , Carbon Dioxide , China , oil , energy policy , International Energy Agency

Will Barack Obama resurrect the Auto Industry?

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November 9, 10:12 PM

An important part of Barack Obama’s energy policy is promoting the production of fuel efficient cars. The problem for him is that the American auto industry is suffering from the current recession to the point that all of them might run out of... Read More
Topics: Prius , Obama , Toyota , loan guarantee , Auto Industry , Honda

Barack Obama and John McCain on green energy and global warming

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November 2, 8:50 PM

Who will do more to develop renewable energy in our country and decrease our greenhouse gas emissions? Is it Barack Obama or John McCain?First up Barack Obama! He promises change! He will bring in a new green energy future that will create 5 million... Read More
Topics: Global Warming , Carbon Dioxide , Greenhouse , McCain , Congress , energy policy , Obama , offshore drilling , elections 2008