"Cool It" puts more heat on the carbon tax debate

If you've seen Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, you need to see Bjorn Lomborg's Cool It, the controversial documentary on climate change that challenges "the most terrifying film you will ever see" (tagline from An Inconvenient Truth, 2006) and presents smart solutions to global warming without the threats of impending doom and gloom which have become inextricably linked with discussions of the future state of our planet.

Lomborg is the founder of the Copenhagen Consensus Centre, a Danish think-tank that uses economic science to inform governments and the public on the most cost effective solutions to some of the world's largest problems. Cool It it based on the book of the same name in which Lomborg explores and controversially dismisses some of the main premises and supporting science behind the climate change debate with the assistance of an expert panel of scientists and economists (including three Nobel Laureates).

One of the main and most controversial findings in Lomborg's documentary is the ineffectiveness of carbon tax and cap-and-trade policies, which the expert panel highlights through a cost/benefit analysis in comparison with other proposed climate change solutions. For the $250 billion the US is proposing to spend annually on carbon taxes and trading the estimated benefit over the next 100 years would be a 0.05 degree drop in global temperatures. Alternatively, Lomborg and his experts propose that America could use the $250 billion more effectively to combat not only climate change but a range of world issues, as follows:

$100B — clean energy research
$  1B — research on geoengineering proposals
$ 30B — adapting coastlines for rising sea levels
$  6B — adapting inland waterways for rising sea levels
$ 12B — adapting cities by reducing heat island effects
$ 33B — to promote global health
$ 32B — to reduce hunger
$ 10B — to provide clean water and sanitation
$ 22B — for education

Not surprisingly one of the most promising solutions to climate change is the research and development of clean energy alternatives. So whilst putting a tax on carbon and inflating the cost of living is definitely an incentive for many of us to reduce our carbon emissions, the question is how can we realistically do this without affordable and sustainable green alternatives? And the answer is we can't! The documentary explores alternatives such a solar, wind and wave energy which are currently being researched but notably will require some substantial cash injections and government support if they are to ever become viable. 

Another interesting option Lomborg puts forward to lessen the impact of climate change are various types of 'adaptation'. For example, the urban 'heat island effect' which is becoming increasingly prevalent as our cities grow and the natural environment diminishes can be effectively combated with a simple coat of paint: "Hashem Akbari, a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who specializes in cost-effective methods of combating the effects of climate change in urban areas, has shown that by painting roofs white, covering asphalt roadways with concrete-colored surfaces and planting shade trees, local temperatures could be reduced by as much as 5 degrees Fahrenheit". This essentially means that with a one time outlay of $12 billion we could reduce temperatures more than global warming would increase them over the next 90 years. Lomborg does note that whilst 'adaptations' aren't long term solutions they will buy us time to get green energy up and running.

As both Gore and Lomborg state, climate change is real phenomenon and it is one which we as humans have created and subsequently need to be held responsible for. Whilst the proposed solutions are many and varied, I think at least one thing is clear, for any real change to occur the public needs access to more information. As the old adage goes "knowledge is power" and this knowledge could potentially give us the power to change the world, for the better. So if you have the opportunity, watch An Inconvenient Truth, watch Cool It, read the proposed carbon tax legislation, get informed, ask questions and demand answers. This planet belongs to all of us and we all need the knowledge of how to take care of it not only for ourselves but for the future generations.