9. Carbon Capping
If we have any hope of averting the most dangerous consequences of climate change, we need to drastically reduce our carbon emissions by up to 80% of 1990 levels by the middle of the century. But putting a cap on carbon will exert a price on consumers, as fuel and electricity will likely become more expensive until alternative energy becomes fully competitive. Opponents of capping say that it will amount to a regressive tax, borne most heavily by the least well off. But Peter Barnes and the Tomales Bay Institute have an answer for that. They argue that, rather than being given away to industry, the permit to emit greenhouse gas should be sold by the government to companies that burn carbon — and that the proceeds should be kicked back to ordinary Americans in the form of a tax refund. That policy could be both environmentally effective and politically viable.
10. Geo-engineering
It used to be considered the stuff of science fiction, but a growing number of experts are voicing qualified support for a radical solution to climate change. It’s called geo-engineering, and it involves purposefully attempting to cool the climate through planetary-scale actions like blocking sunlight by stationing mirrors in space. Other fixes include seeding the seas with iron to help plankton absorb more greenhouse gases, and injecting sulfur into the upper atmosphere to create sunlight-deflecting clouds. These are clearly last resorts, and scientists have no idea whether the cure could be worse than the disease, but the very fact that experts now support researching into geo-engineering shows just how desperate the climate crisis has become.
via:: Time Magazine
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