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by kjksf 1815 days ago
Undoing of those policies is very unlikely.

The people (i.e. voters) overwhelmingly support action to limit climate change. That's the reason those laws are politically viable in the first place.

Once enacted, trying to undo them after being in place for 4 years will not only be difficult procedurally but politically suicidal.

It won't happen unless the political party in question has so much electoral buffer that they can ignore what 70%+ voters think about the subject.

Furthermore, if you believe that the climate is changing for the worse then every year will be even more devastating than the one before.

Power cables and roads in Oregon melting due to extreme heat? Next year even more cables and roads will melt.

Every year the public support for climate action will grow and opposition to it will become even more politically suicidal.

2 comments

> The people (i.e. voters) overwhelmingly support action to limit climate change. That's the reason those laws are politically viable in the first place.

A poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs research found that 57 percent of Americans would vote for a $1 fee added to their monthly electricity bill to “combat climate change,” but only 28 percent would agree to pay an additional $10 per month.

The question began with $1, then $10, and rose after that in $10 increments, but a majority of those polled opposed every amount more than $1. By the time the figure reached $100 per month, just 16 percent said yes and 82 percent said no.

https://apnews.com/article/8e6baa6c2d3badeb4e91b6e6d078a5c0

I wouldn’t support a flat fee either since it wouldn’t incentivize less use of power or better energy sources. With that type of proposal you pay more, even if you’re trying to do good.

Here’s an example alternative proposal: a $10/gallon gas tax, with all proceeds distributed to everyone evenly. If you use less gas than average you win, if you use more than average you lose.

And what percent of the population do you think supports a $10/gallon gasoline tax? Just to bring things back into reality, we have "strong opposition to a 15 cent gas tax increase" https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2019/11/06/poll-shows-s...

2/3 of Americans oppose increasing gas taxes https://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/gas-tax-poll-090412

which leads to political realities such as "Democrats have turned solidly against gas taxes" in 2021 https://thehill.com/homenews/house/559063-democrats-have-tur...

Meanwhile, we have people fantasizing about banning things and massive gas tax increases, but the only way to make that politically popular is to ban only in the distant future and to avoid fuel tax increases.

Seriously, what's popular is more research and support for cheaper alternatives. There is a consensus around that, and only around that. Anyone outside that consensus is in a small minority.

>The people (i.e. voters) overwhelmingly support action to limit climate change. That's the reason those laws are politically viable in the first place.

In the abstract, sure, but if (hypothetically) 13 years from now people are staring down a 5 figure price increase will they still support it?

We are paying the price regardless. The trick is to get to the point where we can’t get out of paying what is due, because we’d try to weasel out of it even if climate change accelerated from doing so.

The only analogy I can think fitting is the condo building collapse in Miami where the condo board and residents were wringing their hands over $15 millions of dollars of work that needed to be done right up until catastrophic failure. While arguably unaffordable, it would’ve been cheaper than the deaths of 150+ people.

>The only analogy I can think fitting is the condo building collapse in Miami where the condo board and residents were wringing their hands over $15 millions of dollars of work that needed to be done right up until catastrophic failure. While arguably unaffordable, it would’ve been cheaper than the deaths of 150+ people.

While lamentable, I don't see why people will react any different re: climate policy. Of course people will say 'Yes I support policy to prevent condo collapse.' These same people will, as demonstrated, say 'No do not spend my money to prevent condo collapse.'

I'll take the bet they will. 45 °C is a point where the reasonable person is not wondering if climate change is real or worth doing something about any more.