George Will  is his usually wonderful self with this piece that highlights the utter absurdity of the current cap and trade plan passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

While I do not fall into the “global warming is a conspiracy” camp, I am definitely not convinced that it is the great, looming catastrophe so many, typically on the left, feel it is.

I am not adverse to recycling and seeking viable and economical alternative energy resources so that we can reduce our “carbon footprint.”  After all, if there is any truth to the idea that global warming exists, then it would seem to be highly immoral to simply ignore it.  Yet, contrary to the hyperventilation in Washington , the evidence is ambiguous.

Consequently, palcing a crippling tax on an already struggling economy while the other large emitters of the world refuse to “get on board” with our plans on addressing the issue seems to me an act of near lunacy.

As Will makes clear, China will not risk harming its economic growth in order to deal with some potentially ephemeral problem fifty to a hundred years down the road. 

So we’re going to reduce our GDP, probably not dramatically influence the temperature, and further make ourselves uncompetitive with China ?  How does that make sense from any rational point of view?

There must be better ways of incentivizing the private sector to explore other energy options (and just as important, making them economically viable) than slapping together this hackneyed policy from the grandees on the Hill.

Perhaps, a grand, multi-national public-private partnership with seed money donated by the largest emitters that would funnel money through academic institutions around the world would be the first place to start.  Also, believe it or not, space exploration may be a place to go as well.

Solar energy may be better tapped outside our atmosphere and then distributed to earth than laying panels across miles and miles of desert.  Obviously, we’re not there yet, but that’s why we do things like go to space- so we can learn new lessons and then, implement them.

I’d rather spend money on exploring those types of possibilities than putting a damp squib on our waterlogged economy.