The American Spectator

The Public Policy

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The United States is well on the way to independence from foreign sources of oil; progress that has not only begun to alleviate the environmental threat posed from climate change, but has greatly improved our security as well. A cap and trade system has been implemented, spurring great innovation in the development of green technologies and alternative energy sources.

br> This is quite frankly impossible. As energy analyst Peter Kiernan recently explained, there is simply no way to achieve the sort of energy independence that McCain implies is possible. His speech envisioned a future that cannot exist.

McCAIN ALSO SAYS he will "propose to include the purchase of offsets from those outside the scope of the trading system."

But carbon offsets, which supposedly mitigate the effects of carbon emissions, are just another form of expensive symbolism. A report in the Washington Post concedes that those who purchase offsets "may be buying good feelings and little else" and that many "improvements bought by customers are only estimated, extrapolated, hoped-for or nil."

Apart from the expense, that's a pretty good summary of the effect McCain's plan is likely to have on the climate. McCain buys into the green movement's disaster rhetoric, yet, for many environmentalists, isn't stringent enough in what he requires.

As the New Republic's Brad Plumer explains, "McCain's actual goals for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions -- 60 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 -- fall well short of the cuts that many climate scientists deem necessary" to stop the most devastating aspects of climate change. The result is an all-around failure: a purely symbolic plan that costs a lot, does little, and pleases no one.

Still, you have to give McCain credit for living up to his reputation as a straight talker. When he said he didn't know much about global warming all those years ago, he was clearly being honest. Looks like he's still got a lot to learn.

topics:
Taxes, Trade, John McCain, Economics, Business, Environment, Global Warming, NATO, Energy, Oil