Carbon, renewables and resource scarcity

European governments took the lead, several years ago, in establishing penalties for releasing carbon dioxide into the air, and creating a scheme for "carbon trading." It was a way of tackling a perceived environmental threat that attempted to take into account the complexity of the issue.

Australia has followed suit, and implemented one of the most aggressive carbon taxes, at $26 a tonne. Living here, there has been no lack of opinions and whining about the impact that the tax will have on the Australian economy. Even though the tax has been in place for only a month, there have been scams, cheats and accusations. Recently, almost $50 billion in capital projects have been cancelled by the mining industry here, and some have blamed the tax. It's a much more convenient whipping boy, clearly, than the fact that the Chinese economy has stalled.

But the larger question is: does carbon trading actually enhance sustainability? And does it improve the lot of the massively expanding human population?

Carbon trading would be unnecessary were carbon-neutral processes for energy generation economically viable. But they are not. Various nations and corporations have invested in some of these processes--solar power, wind power, fuel cells--but they have primarily been used for high-tech photo opportunities. Solar power still costs four times what carbon-based power does. Someone has to pay the difference. Small amounts of uneconomical practice can be absorbed, but not large amounts. In addition to the cost issue, there are other, unsolved technical problems, such as the variability of the "renewable" sources, which play havoc with the reliable delivery of electricity. So far, there has been zero improvement to the sustainability of world energy production.

Many developing nations want, and deserve, the higher quality of life that results from affordable energy sources, particularly for electricity and transportation. Can they be given access to this, even given the risk of increased global atmospheric temperatures? In this Century Of Scarcity, one principle must remain inviolate: no amount of carbon policing must be allowed to interfere with the production and distribution of food.