GOPideas... ideas done right

The current climate change bill is a complex array of taxes, fees, rules, regulations, set asides and other complex administrivia with one goal: decreasing the amount of carbon emitted. Congressional Republicans were right in opposing the bill, but lacked specific recommendations for how to achieve carbon reduction. As discussed previously, questioning the existence of climate change should not serve as an excuse to disengage from the debate over how to decrease carbon emissions. Thus, Republicans should promote cost-effective solutions to reducing carbon emissions that protect and enhance industry, not destroy it. Here are 10 ideas:

• National broadband infrastructure: The recent stimulus plan had $7.2 billion to enhance broadband access around the country. Republicans should push the administration to use additional discretionary funds to add to this figure. The end goal is to provide more Americans with a.) the ability to start home-based businesses and b.) telecommute to their current job. Both of these goals would reduce the need for car travel, thus decreasing the amount of gasoline burned.  This analysis provides additional benefits.

• X-prize for states and localities to reduce carbon emissions by residents: Modeled after the X-Prize for a new health paradigm, have the federal government promise a cash prize to states, localities or utilities that decrease their energy use the most within a specific timeframe. The goal is to spur innovation in energy management an inspire government officials and utility executives to find ways to reduce demand for carbon burning fuels. Thus, instead of bailing out localities, make local governments use innovation to earn a bailout.

• Promote a flexible workweek: Encourage companies to start earlier and close later, allowing traffic bottlenecks to be eased because employees would be commuting at different times. Government could lead in this regard by changing the hours of operation of federal, state and local offices from banker's hours to customer-centered hours. By opening government offices at 7am and closing them at 9pm, government can have a positive effect on congestion because people will be seeking services over a 14-hour time frame instead of the current eight. Some estimates argue that U.S. driving-related CO2 emissions could be cut by 71% if the worst 120 traffic bottlenecks were eliminated. These benefits are in addition to saving lives and improving productivity.

• Promote telecommuting: Although Cisco has a demonstrable self-interest in promoting telecommuting, they did find that having their own staff telecommute saved approximately 47,000 tons of carbon emissions per year. An increase in telecommuting would also decrease congestion, decrease the need for public transportation, decrease the need for maintenance of roads and increase the technical literacy of the population.

• Support local sustainability: Michelle Obama has taken criticism for planting a vegetable garden on White House grounds, but even Matthew Simmons, an oil industry investment banker, agrees that local agriculture is important to America's future. Republicans should expand his arguments: save transportation costs by encouraging local agriculture --- but also by encouraging local manufacturing. The EPA is going to find the time to determine the carbon impact of renewable fuels to determine their efficacy, so they should be able to find the time to determine whether increased energy costs will force factories to close --- and require similar goods to be imported, thus increasing the overall carbon footprint.

• Plant a tree tax credit: As the EPA points out there are a number of methods to sequester carbon, with planting trees being one of them. Instead of spending additional billions to prop up clean coal, use the power of the tax code to promote planting trees by a.) setting aside land that is not forest and then b.) allow taxpayers the opportunity to plant one tree per year as a checkoff on their income tax form (like the Presidential campaign fund checkoff).

• Plant a tree tax credit, part 2: If the Obama administration is serious about assisting farmers, provide them the opportunity to get tax credits for setting aside acreage as orchard. (Note: developing forests in previously unforested lands has the greatest carbon sequestration potential of any natural change in environment.)

• Tax subsidies for micropower: There is currently a patchwork of regulations, subsidies, promotions and incentives for renewable power. Although a great database exists for consumers to learn about these, instead of giving away and then taxing carbon permits, make partners out of consumers and increase (and simplify) federal subsidies for solar, wind, geothermal and energy efficiency.

• Promote compressed natural gas (CNG) for fleet vehicles: Natural gas has lower CO2 emissions (along with lower emissions of other pollutants) than oil --- and newly discovered techniques for unlocking shale gas allows for significantly more natural gas to be accessed within the United States. This would allow for additional economic growth, decreasing dependence on foreign oil --- and if the use is limited to fleet vehicles --- limited disruption to consumers. If you are interested in advocating for this idea, join the Pickens Plan.

• Paperless government: In addition to the plan to digitize health records, allow citizens to opt-in to receiving any government paperwork in digital form. This would serve to reduce the need for paper (saving trees to sequester carbon), the transportation costs in moving paper and provide citizens an additional option to make government more effective for them.

Some of the above ideas are common sense, some are revolutionary and some even validate government involvement. However, all can have an impact on reducing carbon and all are more business-friendly than a direct or hidden (cap-and-trade) tax on the energy required to power the U.S. economy. 

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