Description
One
-Page Essay #
4: Solution to the Anthropogenic Warming
Problem
You have been appointed Minister of the Global Environment in administration of Zaphod
Beeblebrox
, Philosopher King of the World. Historical note: Zaphod [or one of his descendants (or
possibly one of his ancestors; there is ambiguity as a result of time travel)] subsequently
becomes
Emperor of the Universe as described in Douglas Adams’
Hitchhiker’s
Guide to the Galaxy
. Your portfolio
in the Beeblebrox administration is to solve the problem of Anthropogenic Global Warming. You can
redirect resources, establish or terminate entire industries, or impose any regulation or sanction. You
have unlimited abi
lity to tax or
to subsidize. You are term limited to a decade
. There is, however, an
unlimited liability clause in your contract. A decade after you leave office there will be a worldwide
referendum on your job performance. The electorate will choose among
three options: a) Lavish
pension allowing you to live in
opulence
; b) Dignified but austere obscurity (think witness protection); or
c) Termination with extreme prejudice. Plan wisely!
You will need to prioritize reform of the industries and technologies
that produce the most
greenhouse gasses. Do you want to limit coal burning to metallurgy? Switch electrical generation
entirely to natural gas? Solar? Wind? Nuclear? Carbon sequestration? How about cars? Should we
outlaw
or tax them? Make them all gas or plug-
in hybrids
, or pure electric
? Maybe it would be better to
switch
transp
ortation
to rail. What about a carbon tax or permits to produce or use fossil fuels? How do
you plan to enforce efficiencies in manufacturing, lighting, household appliances, etc.?
What about
population growth and living standards? You will need to look ahead in the text and put some numbers
with your recommendations to write a convincing plan.
Maybe the best course is to force everybody to eat granola and tofu, having 1.2 children
per
couple
, but otherwise living like monks or nuns for the environment’s sake. Alternatively,
you might
argue that rich societies deal with environmental challenges better
than poor ones. Let’s just suck up all
the resources and leave the problem to our descendants. That might be a rational choice, given that
civilization probably won’t crash during the next twenty years
and the electorate’s decision on your fate
is irrevocable (you hope)
.
Prepare your plan in the Churchillian 500 words as usual, remember
ing that Zaphod has even more
severe ADD than Sir Winston did
