1ClassyLady 68F
3114 posts
6/2/2017 7:17 pm
Paul Krugman: Trump Is Prepared to Destroy the Planet out of Sheer Spite

Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement has drawn near-universal opprobrium from leaders across the globe. In perhaps the most forceful rebuke of the United States thus far, French president Emmanuel Macron addressed the world in English Thursday, urging American scientists to come to France where their talents can better serve humanity. For the New York Times' Paul Krugman, Trump's withdrawal from a climate pact signed by 195 countries is even more blinkered, malicious and cynical than it might first appear.

In his Friday column, Krugman debunks the president's claim that the Agreement is a hindrance to the U.S. economy. The country's energy future is not in the coal industry, which has been in steep decline for decades and is now beyond revival, but in nonpolluting sources like wind turbines and solar panels. The transition would take time and likely require the construction of a massive power grid to transport electricity across the country, as well as dynamic pricing to incentivize customers to consume less energy, he argues, but its effect on our day-to-day existence would be virtually nil.

"What would life in an economy that made such an energy transition be like?" Krugman asks. "Almost indistinguishable from life in the economy we have now."

In fact, there's every reason to believe that adopting clean energy would save the country money by dramatically reducing the health costs associated with air pollution, to say nothing of potentially preserving human life on Earth. Environmentalists unanimously urged the president to honor the Paris Agreement, however toothless its regulations have proven; even major corporations like ExxonMobil, Shell and Wal-Mart wanted him to stick with it.

So what compelled Trump to act so recklessly?

The answer, incredibly, appears to be "sheer spite"—aimed at Barack Obama, who helped broker the accord, and the entire liberal establishment that supports it.

"If all this sounds too petty and vindictive to be the basis for momentous policy decisions, consider the character of the man in the White House," Krugman concludes. "Need I say more?"


對於美國總統川普宣布退出巴黎氣候協定,諾貝爾經濟學獎得主克魯曼(Paul Krugman)表示,川普此舉是「無所為而為」,純粹是出自於逢歐巴馬政策必反的惡意,而不是基於經濟考量。

  克魯曼1日在紐約時報專欄撰文表示,川普執意要澆熄全世界對抑制氣候變遷的希望,而這麼做根本與維護美國國家利益無關,因為若依照巴黎協定行事,美國經濟仍會表現良好。他認為,川普的行動也與民族主義無涉,主要是出自於惡意。

  克魯曼說,儘管能源專家對細節的看法可能有所不同,但大致都同意「低排碳經濟」會是主要靠電力運行的經濟,包括倚重電動車、電熱能等,同時罕用內燃式引擎。而且,大部分電力將取自於非汙染來源,例如風力、太陽能發電,或許一部分的核能發電。

  當然,有時風不吹或沒陽光而民眾仍需用電,但有眾多方式可解決這個問題,例如可把電力輸送到需要之處的智慧電網;各種形式的儲電設備(電池或水力抽蓄儲能系統);動態定價機制,鼓勵消費者在電力較吃緊時減少用量,在供應較充裕時可多用些;以及一些突波容量(surge capacity),或許來自於相對而言碳排量較低的天然氣發電機,以協助彌補供電缺口。

  克魯曼認為,在這種「低排碳經濟」下過日子,與目前的生活型態相比,其實幾乎感受不到什麼差別。民眾仍會駕車、住宅內冬天有暖氣可禦寒、夏天有冷氣可消暑。也許到處會看到風力渦輪發電機和太陽能板,但多數人會變得視若無睹,就像現在看到傳統電廠的煙囪一樣習以為常。

  在「低排碳經濟」下,能源會變得比較昂貴嗎?克魯曼認為或許會,但不會貴很多,因為太陽能和風力發電技術一日千里,已大幅壓低成本。同理,能源儲存成本也可望遞減。

  同時,改用低排碳能源另會帶來許多益處,最明顯的是空氣汙染對人體健康的影響將大大地降低,健保費用可望隨之減少。

  重點是,如今依循巴黎協定勾勒的願景來因應氣候暖化問題,不再像昔日那般顯得是艱難的工程學和經濟學問題,現在幾乎各種所需的技術已到位,也有把握其餘技術將水到渠成,過渡到低排碳經濟看來是相當容易的事。儘管分階段淘汰化石燃料需要時間循序漸進地推動,但只要方向明確就無妨。

  那麼,為什麼還有許多人一心一意要攔阻緩和氣候變遷的行動,甚至破壞全球在過渡到新能源議題上好不容易已凝聚共識的進展?

  克魯曼認為,對氣候變遷的預測存疑,不是理由。所有長期的政策都會面臨某種程度的不確定性,即使不相信客觀的科學共識,光是對未來的不確定性就足以強化採取行動的論據,因為決策謬誤的代價不成比例:在緩和氣候變遷上做得太多,只不過浪費一些錢;做得太少,卻會毀了人類文明。

  若說此舉是為了煤礦工人,也說不通。克魯曼說,真正關心礦工福祉的人,理應積極捍衛他們的健保、殘障和退休金給付,並設法提供替代的就業機會,而不是假裝假如少盡一點環保責任,就會喚回隨業者採用露天和山頂採礦而流失的礦場工作。

  克魯曼指出,右翼反環保人士所要維護的對象之一,是煤礦工業的獲利,畢竟煤礦業2016年有97%的政治獻金是捐給共和黨人。

  據克魯曼觀察,從當代右派人士的論述,包括川普政府高階官員投書各大媒體的文章在內,都充斥著濃濃的敵意,駁斥「有些問題需要群策群力共同解決」的觀念。

  他發現,今天美國右派人士似乎不是針對特定議題唱反調,而是衝著自由派人士而來,「凡是自由派支持的,他們就反對;自由派痛恨的,就是好事」。共和黨基層的反智主義是另一因素,對他們而言,某個議題即使已有科學上的公論,仍不算數;若能破壞任何與前美國總統歐巴馬有關的政策,那就更好。

  克魯曼說,凡此種種,聽起來似乎很「卑鄙」、「報復心重」,不應作為重大政策決定的基礎,但若從白宮新主人的人格特質來看,就不難理解。




Honesty is the best policy.


1ClassyLady 68F
3276 posts
6/3/2017 2:21 pm

    Quoting beyondfantasy3:
    Trump is an imbecile on so many levels, his racist bigotry has him obsessed with going against anything and everything Obama did, because with Trump coming from a family with a father who was KKK, he can't stand the fact that a black man gained the president far and ahead of him. Nor can he accept of deal with that Obama was far more intelligent, skilled and knowledgeable about Constitutional Law, and a had a Dedicated Drive to Help the Average American.

    Trump is all about trying to privatize anything and everything in our system, and feed the wealthy and make the working poor suffer to pay the expense. He has absolutely no respect for our system of Taxation, but he loves profiting because our Tax dollars built such an amazing infrastructure.
    He is a pure hard core "low life", who will bleed anything for the sake of money, but what he does not realize; "Money CAN'T buy Dignity, no amount of wealth can replace character, and Integrity cannot be gained by belligerence, force or any of such things that are most important to Trump.

    He does not like that American does not kiss his arse, and he plays to the uneducated, the bigoted and the racist, because they demonstrate people that are easly to fleece.

    President Lyndon B. Johnson said it best:
    "If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."

    Trump seized on that, to endear the working poor and the dire poor and the hard core bigoted and race delusion people to pin themselves to his coattails.
Obama has much more knowledge about "Climate Change", "Global Warming". However, Trump has demonized Obama from the birther, to health care to climate change and to the tax reform (tax reduction for rich people). It is obvious that Trump is vindictive to Obama. I have no clue why Trump hates Obama so badly.

Trump will drag USA down to Syria and Nicaragua level. Among 197 countries in the world 147 countries has agreed "Paris Climate Agreement", but Syria and Nicaragua are the two countries that withdraw. There are other 48 countries waiting for approval. USA followed Syria and Nicaragua steps??? What is Trump's I.Q.?

Trump has a bully, narcissistic personality. He thinks everything he does is the best. But the real smart people know what Trump's intentions - Rob the poor to feed the top 1% rich people (the opposite of Robin Hood).



Honesty is the best policy.


beyondfantasy3 113M
4740 posts
6/3/2017 11:54 am

Trump is an imbecile on so many levels, his racist bigotry has him obsessed with going against anything and everything Obama did, because with Trump coming from a family with a father who was KKK, he can't stand the fact that a black man gained the president far and ahead of him. Nor can he accept of deal with that Obama was far more intelligent, skilled and knowledgeable about Constitutional Law, and a had a Dedicated Drive to Help the Average American.

Trump is all about trying to privatize anything and everything in our system, and feed the wealthy and make the working poor suffer to pay the expense. He has absolutely no respect for our system of Taxation, but he loves profiting because our Tax dollars built such an amazing infrastructure.
He is a pure hard core "low life", who will bleed anything for the sake of money, but what he does not realize; "Money CAN'T buy Dignity, no amount of wealth can replace character, and Integrity cannot be gained by belligerence, force or any of such things that are most important to Trump.

He does not like that American does not kiss his arse, and he plays to the uneducated, the bigoted and the racist, because they demonstrate people that are easly to fleece.

President Lyndon B. Johnson said it best:
"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."

Trump seized on that, to endear the working poor and the dire poor and the hard core bigoted and race delusion people to pin themselves to his coattails.


1ClassyLady 68F
3276 posts
6/3/2017 8:36 am

I firmly believe in "Global Warming", "Climate Change", "Green Environment" and "Save the Earth".

I dislike "Air Pollution", "Water Pollution", "Fossil (coal and oil) Energy", ...., etc. I prefer to use "Clean Energy", e.g. Natural Gas, Wind Turbine, Solar Panels, Geothermal Energy, .... that we can get them from the Sun, the Wind, and underground heat, ... which are we can get consistently even in the days without Sun, Wind, ... we still have Natural Gas and underground heat.

That is the part of reason that I am a Democrat.



Honesty is the best policy.


1ClassyLady 68F
3276 posts
6/3/2017 1:45 am

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk and Walt Disney CEO, Robert Iger quit the counselor jobs to White House.

GE (General Electric) CEO, Jeff Immelt tweeted "Disappointed with today’s decision on the Paris Agreement. Climate change is real. Industry must now lead and not depend on government."

Dean C. Garfield, President and CEO of ITIC (Information Technology Industry Council) said "This decision came without comment or advance notice and has injected a tremendous amount of uncertainty for a wide range of people, including employees within the tech sector."

Goldman Sachs CEO, Lloyd Blankfein criticized the United States' decision to withdraw from the Paris climate deal in his first message on Twitter since joining the platform six years ago.
"Today's decision is a setback for the environment and for the US's leadership position in the world," Blankfein said, adding the hashtag "ParisAgreement."

Leaders in the U.S. technology sector say President Trump's executive order banning immigrants from some Muslim-majority countries will sow confusion in their businesses and undercut the diversity that has been a linchpin of the industry's growth.

The CEOs of Google, Twitter, Facebook and Apple all issued statements condemning the ban and complaining that the order was pushed through so quickly it left great uncertainty about the status of some of their best employees.

"Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we would do," said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a message to his staff. "I've heard from many of you who are deeply concerned about the executive order issued yesterday restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. I share your concerns. It is not a policy we support."

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai wrote a memo to his employees that was highly critical of Trump's order. He warned that it could prevent at least 187 foreign-born Google employees from entering the United States and orders staff members who are traveling abroad to return to the United States immediately.

"It's painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues," Pichai wrote. "We're upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US."

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg also said he was concerned about the impact of the executive order, noting that his wife Priscilla's parents were refugees China and Vietnam, and his own great-grandparents had come to the United States from Germany, Austria and Poland:

"We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat. Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources, while millions of undocumented folks who don't pose a threat will live in fear of deportation.

"We should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help. That's who we are. Had we turned away refugees a few decades ago, Priscilla's family wouldn't be here today."



Honesty is the best policy.


1ClassyLady 68F
3276 posts
6/3/2017 12:57 am

 川普決定退出巴黎協定,包括石油、高科技乃至金融財務等全球的商界,第一個反應是立即與川普畫清界線,不少人對他的決定感到挫敗,有些更表明要自行尋找地球暖化的因應措施。

  美國最大的電動汽車及太陽能公司特斯拉(Tesla)創辦人馬斯克(Elon Musk)、娛樂界巨擘迪士尼公司執行長艾格(Robert Iger)雙雙表示,會退出白宮的商界顧問委員會以示抗議。

  他強調,氣候轉變是不爭的事實,退出巴黎協定,對美國以至全球都不是好事。

  其他高科技工業巨頭除了對川普的決定感到挫折外,也強調會繼續對抗全球暖化。

  通用電力(General Electric)執行長伊梅特(Jeff Immelt)在推特貼文,對川普決定表示失望,認為工業界應該起帶頭作用而不是依賴政府。

  ITI主席格菲德(Dean Garfield)在聲明中指,美國已從全球的領導地位退卻下來,然而儘管如此,高科技界仍然決定透過創新及解決問題的方式,應對全球氣候改變的威脅。

  高盛執行長貝蘭克梵(Lloyd Blankfein)同樣在推特貼文,抨擊美國正從環保乃至全球的領導地位退下來。不過他的聲明顯然是華爾街與川普政府內的「高盛幫」有所矛盾;例如出席宣布退出巴黎協定的國家經濟會議主席柯恩(Gary Cohn),正是出身高盛。

 在石油業方面,艾克森美孚(ExxonMobil)及雪佛龍(Chevron)等巨頭,重申支持巴黎協定,通用汽車也表示,白宮的決定,無阻該集團解決氣候轉變的決心。



Honesty is the best policy.