I'm Sorry Already

Thomas L. Friedman, who gazes longingly at authoritarian governments since they have the power to force upon the public what he knows must be done, has another column on our government's weak response to global warming. This time he's even saying I Told You So, or at least threatening to.

He doesn't strike me, though, as being serious about dealing with the situation. His arguments are pretty simplistic--pretty much at the level of "we have to do something." Okay, but what? Senate watchers knew cap and trade was DOA, but let's assume we can do whatever we want. Is it that obvious what needs to be done?

On one side, you've got a serious environmental threat, though no one knows with any great precision how serious, and how quickly its effects will get worse. On the other side, you've got a whole spectrum of potential solutions. Most being discussed are likely expensive, yet will only slow down the problem, not stop it. The more extreme solutions are astonishingly expensive, and will cause extreme dislocation (which may include more than a few deaths). We've only got so many trillions to spend, and there are a lot of problems out there--why is Friedman so confident he knows how and where to spend it?

It's a tricky calculus and I don't blame people for asking if we're spending two trillion dollars for one trillion worth of cure. Having good intentions isn't enough--lording your good intentions over others is worse.