Global warming. The wrong argument.

I was flying home last night and sat next to a gentleman that talked to me the entire time. Normally, I’m not one to talk on flights but this was quite an interesting conversation. Topics ranged across the board from Abraham Lincoln to religion to global warming. And it is global warming on which I would like to discuss, well sort of.

First off I won’t tell you what each of us thought about global warming. It is irrelevant to this discussion. What I would like to talk about was something that we both agreed upon, and that was the important thing, we both agreed.

Global warming has been a constant discussion point in the news and politics over the last decade. It is either true or it isn’t, there is no middle ground. Both sides have their studies, both sides have their arguments, but they will never agree. These arguments have become so entertaining that Michael Crichton even wrote a book about it (State of Fear. I highly recommend it). But what is the point of the argument, there will always be conflicting sides to global warming discussion, but one thing I think we all agree on, as was the case with my co-flyer, we want to breath clean air and drink clean water.

Instead of arguing about whether global warming exists, we should work on solving a problem that we all agree needs to be fixed. I think it is just a bonus that it also solves the global warming problem (right or wrong).

Smog, Smog, everywhere. Let's all try to breath.

I live in a city where smog can get quite bad at different times of the year. The State government always says that they need to do something about it, but I haven't really seen anything that has taken place. One of the main contributors to the problem are automobiles. The State has worked quite a bit on public transportation, but with the increasing size of the population it doesn't keep pace. I think the State government could enact a couple other solutions that could help the problem.

1. No sales tax on vehicles that get over 40 mpg on the hwy. It will encourage people to buy fuel efficient vehicles, hopefully to commute in. There are plenty of option out there that meet those requirements.

2. Tax credit for alternative fueled vehicles. Such vehicles include E85, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), hybrid, and electric vehicles.

3. Bring electric vehicles here. There are many new car companies out there that are starting to build electric vehicles. Having a manufacturing plant here will help educate the population of their available options.

4. Reduction taxes on broadband internet. If more people have internet at home, more people can work from home. If people only had to go to the office four days a week that could reduce car emissions by 20%. But that would take a lot to get everyone there.

5. Reduce the public transportation fares on certain days. I would reduce fares on Wednesday of each week. It would encourage people to ride on those days and people see the benefits of public transportation.

Please let me know if you State or City have started any of these programs and how it has helped.