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“Fairness” is a relative, not an absolute, concept.  If this was not the case, lawyers would be out of a job.  Apparently, this truism can also apply to senators.

With Copenhagen fast approaching, climate change legislation will again be the topic of the day.  Cap-and-trade language, as currently proposed in both the House and the Senate, allocates free CO2 allowances to electrical distributors based on a 50/50 formula; that is, 50% on total emissions and 50% on total energy sales. Under this formula, utilities that are more coal dependent will need to purchase more allowances than they would if the allowances were allocated based only on emissions, and those higher costs will be passed on to their customers.

Fourteen Democratic senators, from coal-dependent, Midwestern states, have written a letter to Senate Democratic leaders requesting that the 50/50 formula be changed to base the allowances solely on emissions.

The effect of using the 50/50 formula is that those states that have historically relied more heavily on coal-fired electrical generation, such as Iowa, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Colorado, will pay significantly more for future power, during the transition period to cleaner energy, than under a 100% emissions formula.  The fourteen senators argue that  legislation must equitably distribute transition assistance across individuals, states and regions.  Put another way, they are saying that in this transition period, we should not penalize one group or geographic area, so the 100% emission formula is the "fair" thing to do.

There are, of course, those who disagree.  They argue that the purpose of the legislation is to create financial incentives to switch to lower-carbon fuel sources, so causing higher costs to higher polluting states, is, in fact, “fair” and appropriate.  It is, in their view, not proper to let one group be bailed out for relying so heavily on coal-fired energy in the past.

So who's right?  Like most arguments that address fairness, it all depends on where you stand.

If you believe that cleaner energy is something that had to happen last week and that we must mandate an immediate change, then it would be “fair” to force the higher expense of cleaner energy on one group. If you believe that it will take some time to wean ourselves away from using coal as the primary form of electrical generation (which we have used for more than 125 years), then it would be “fair” to attempt to make the transition less painful as proposed by the senators.

Which view should prevail?  That's for you to decide, but let me add two pragmatic considerations to the mix.

First, despite the best efforts of all concerned, coal will be with us for a long time. It will likely get cleaner but, due to cost and increases in demand for electricity, it will be a significant part of the mix, along with increasing use of solar, wind, geothermal and hydro. In fact, the U.S. Energy Administration expects coal to account for 47% of U.S. electricity in 2030, which is a 2% decrease from the present.

Second, in this age when a Senate majority requires 60 votes, can 14 votes be ignored?
 

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There is an under-reported fact that may very well save the world from those who fear global warming.  It will do it without government mandates and it will do it following tried and true capitalistic principles.  The fact?  Electric cars are faster than gas-powered vehicles.

 
A while back I posted about Lamborghini’s foray into hybrid cars.  It seemed odd to me that a gas-guzzling race car would want to “go green” by using an electric engine. Then Ferrari did the same thing.  What I didn’t focus on was that these manufacturers were just being true to their sport—they wanted to go faster. The green advantages were just a fortunate by-product.

Now we have Tesla Motors, which has already sold 700 all electric vehicles. A few facts about their cars:
 

• For $128,000 you get a car that goes 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds;
• For $101,000 you get a car that goes 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds;
• The federal government has provided Tesla with a loan for $465 million to produce an all  electric sedan to sell for $50,000.

These are all sorts of other facts about Tesla that are interesting . . . but none of them matter. Zero to 60 in 3.7 seconds. There are only two gas-powered production vehicles currently being built that can beat it and neither of them have a fixed gear box.

You see, we love speed.  That’s why NASCAR is the second most popular spectator sport .  Now that there’s a car that can go faster, particularly without putting gas in it,  people are going to want it.  And if the consumer, the capitalist and the environmentalist all want it, it will be built.  This time, no one is going to kill the electric car. 

There are a lot of details to work out. How do you store the energy? How far can they go on a charge? How do you get the price down? But the tipping point has been reached. Like the dinosaurs that wondered what that big explosion was, the internal combustion engine for cars is dead — it just doesn’t know it yet.

It’s conceivable that Tesla will go the way of DeLorean, but the concept has now been made feasible. When people start demanding the speed provided by the electric car in the body of a family sedan, Ford, Toyota and Honda will find a way to make it affordable. Most car manufacturers have already made major inroads into electric cars. Expect to see the first big wave of them sold to those “kooks” in California. Then Florida and Washington, D.C. (GM ought to call it the GoreMobile). Finally, Iowa. Once it hits Iowa, you can relegate the internal combustion engine to the Smithsonian.

So in the end, what does it mean for the environment? You already know the answer. Emissions from cars is the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.  In the United States alone, auto emissions account for 33% of carbon dioxide emissions as well as 70% of the carbon monoxide, 45% of the nitrogen oxide and 34% of the hydrocarbon emissions.  Driving a car is the largest source of pollution for most individuals. With the widespread use of the electric car, this source will be gone. It will be gone whether you are a Democrat or a Republican. It will be gone whether or not you believe in global warming.  It will be gone whether or not we have a “Copenhagen protocol."   It will be gone because electric cars are faster than regular cars and we love speed.
 

When the CD replaced the music album, I thought it was a fad.  It wasn’t, because CDs are more convenient, smaller and (arguably) produce better music. It took a worldwide change of mindset to change from albums to CDs, but the change was inevitable once the advantages became clear. And so it is with the electric car. It’s fast, so we want it. All that is left is to make it cheap. And there are whole countries that are willing to do that. 

RELATED POSTS:    Energy Use Is A Zero-Sum Game

                               Going Green: Lamborghini Revs It Up

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This one is too good to pass up.  Lamborghini is working on a hybrid car and is taking a number of other steps to reduce its CO2 footprint. 

When a sports car like Lamborghini decides to go green, you know that things have changed.  Just think, in the near future it might be mandatory for the head of any self-respecting environmental interest group, or even Al Gore, to drive one of these eco-friendly sedans.

My only real problem with it is what it will do to the racing industry.  It's just not going to be the same to sit in the stands as the Lamborghini comes whispering around the corner.  Maybe they'll design it so the electric engine doesn't kick in until 170 mph or so. 

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