Why the argument that “I don’t believe in Global Warming therefore nothing should be done” an absolute stupid argument.

This is not about whether Global Warming exists. Frankly if you are so stupid to think that you know better than people how actually study this for a living, where the scientific community is actually at a 99.4% agreement on this, then there is no hope for you. Odds are you will kill yourself in some ridiculous manner as most stupid people do and therefore I am not too concerned with you on that point.

No, my issue is for the time you have left on this planet and the impact you actually are having. So, let’s assume Global Warming is off the table. The polar caps are not melting as we speak, islands are not slowly drowning and we haven’t had some of the worst hurricanes and tsunamis in the recorded history in the last decade. Poof, gone. No my problem is that the same things that would reverse global warming actually work on other things too.

Let’s start with the biggest contention right now, green energy. I actually heard a VP of a coal company say that if we pursued this road we might as well just go ahead and hand the keys to America to China. Biased? Of course. But is it true? Actually, the exact opposite.

If you were to look at countries that are advanced in the area of green technology the biggest is Japan. They instituted some government laws back in the 70s and 80s during their last oil scare that promoted massive business change. Now, hmmm…what country was everyone jealous of in the 80s and 90s? Oh, that’s right, Japan. Now the problem with Japan is nothing to do with government regulation but actually a quite steep population drop. Their growth rate is -.052%. One could argue this is also good for the planet, but it is actually bad for Japan. Especially when their average age is 42. Compared to us at 36.7 yrs old, you might be seeing why that is an issue. As the population trends downward, the average population age will creep closer to non-child bearing age. At that point, there is no turning back. So who will take care of the Japanese elderly, and frankly inherit all their wonderful technology?

China. Actually they already are well on that road. They are building the largest mass transit system conceived and to say its energy efficient would be an understatement. Their railway system has trains that make ours look like they are from turn of the last century. And they are smart too, not building them so they go through the heart of major cities so they can actually go a lot faster than ours. In fact, the trains are being bought from us, we have the tech, we just aren’t using it.

So why is this important? Simple. One of the biggest costs of any product is shipping. Now if it uses less fuel and it is faster to market, do you think the price will be more or less? And we have to compete with them. And this is just one example of truly hundreds. China is going bonkers for green tech and investing like crazy because they see that it is not only a money maker, but in the long run will lower production costs and give them an edge. So it begs the question what is that coal guy smoking, right?
Let’s look at another capitalist competition issue, health care. Debates off the table here too, that’s not the point. The point is cost, both explicit and hidden. Health care is damn expense here. It is in China too. So let’s assume that explicit costs of healthcare are off the table at this point. Yes, Germany, Japan, and all the other industrialize countries along with up and coming countries has universal healthcare and that gives them a HUGE advantage. Heck, even China is moving that way. But that isn’t my point. Let’s talk hidden costs.

Let’s look at one disease: Asthma. 30.8 million People as of 2008 in the US have been diagnosed with Asthma. The percent of children diagnosed has doubled since 1980. Now there is no definite cause for Asthma that we are sure of (if you get exposed to this germ, chemical, etc you get asthma kinda of thing) but what it primarily is simply an allergic reaction to something in the environment. Body goes nuts and tries to close the airpipe to prevent the allergen from coming in. But one thing is for sure, environmental factors are certainly playing a role. Why so certain? Simple. Look at where Asthma is growing. The more factories and such are in the area, the higher rate of Asthma in the community. Plus, when air quality gets really bad, there is a spike in ER visits by those with Asthma. Why do you think they mention that on the weather report in areas where air quality sucks (I’m looking at you LA). It’s to try and keep people inside who are at risk. I live Cleveland where the CDC has actually classified Asthma as an epidemic here. There is a direct correlation between air quality and the chance of developing Asthma.

Now Asthma can be expensive, but we are not looking at that. Lets look at the hidden costs. Asthma sucks. You can’t breathe. But there is other stuff too. You are more likely to catch colds, the flu, and other respiratory ailments. You are more likely to have them longer. And, here is the kicker; they stay in your system longer making you a carrier.

So, a person with mild Asthma who doesn’t even have to go to an ER for an attack can still have Asthma cause other problems. Flu comes around and bam! They have it. So they now miss 3 days of work. They come back feeling better, but in turn two weeks later people start to get the flu. 5 other people are out for 1-4 days. Now, they spread to their immediate family and 2 others have to stay home an additional day because their kids are sick. Now, that means production slowed, possibly temps were bought in so that additional expense (temps are pricey), which means that there will be pushing the shipment later. It will now be a rush and that incurs more cost. Now what does that mean to profits? Lower. What does that mean to cost to consumer, higher.

So, if you stop and think about it is Asthma only impacting those who have it? If only. There is a ripple effect. So let’s say we manage to lower Asthma rates by just 1 percent. The amount of money that would save just in explicit costs alone would be huge. You add in hidden costs and I think the word you are looking for is damn. Best way to do it? Improve air quality.

And that is only one of the many diseases and conditions those things like air quality and water quality impact. There is some concern with that water quality might be influencing the cancer rates in the US. And you can only imagine the kind of costs that disease has in presenteeism alone.
Now there are other benefits. Reduce oil consumption through green tech and efficiency and we lower dependency on foreign oil.

All the major booms in US history, factory, space, tech, housing, etc have all been spurred on by government help. Green tech can very easily be the next boom that helps the economy. Yes, there are always busts, but they have been in existence since Rome so I am not sure how you get around that in any economy.

There is room. The more we need places to put our trash the less room we have to play.

Oh, I can go on and on, but I think you get the point. So ask yourself this simple question: When you actually consider the hidden costs, what costs more, doing stuff that impacts the trend of global warming or not doing it? Even without taking into consideration the actual cost of global warming the answer is blatantly clear.