Monday, January 16, 2006

My Goodness this is a good movie



Stranger Than Paradise

Bad Moon on the Rise

"I hear hurricanes ablowing.
I know the end is coming soon.
I fear rivers over flowing.
I hear the voice of rage and ruin."
John Fogerty

I've been thinking about the cost of Katrina. And I've been trying to do so in a constructive way. It's too easy to keep harping on what a bad job FEMA and the Bush Administration have done, are doing, etc. I certainly think the public needs to keep pressure on the government to step up the rebuilding effort and provide help to the many people who are still suffering the after-effects of the disaster.

But I've been thinking about the next hurricane. Or flood, or other natural disaster. Without being too much of a pessimist, it seems clear to me that we've allowed global warming to get to the point where it's not a question of If we will have more Katrina-style disasters, it's a question of When.

It would be nice if this nation got proactive and started doing something -- anything, really -- to reduce global warming. But I don't expect that to happen while GWB is in office. So things are going to be that much worse if and when some adults take over the leadership of this country.

So let's figure this: we will have more devastating hurricanes. We will have other extreme weather, like droughts or floods. We may start seeing some significant rising of sea levels in the next 10 years. Our major cities and population centers on the coasts are going to be significantly challenged to deal with these types of events.

Like all good liberals, I think the solution is a tax.

As soon as it is politically feasible (and I know that means not before 08 at the least), we should put a reasonable tax on gasoline... 5 cents, a dime, a quarter a gallon? The spike in fuel prices last summer gave ample evidence that most American WILL pay more for gas. I would think we'd want to consider exemptions or some kind of waiver for farmers and/or truck drivers. Not that hard to do really, give 'em a special swipe card they can use with their credit card.

Some of that money should go creating more mass transit. But most of it should go to a fund expressly created to deal with Katrina-like catastrophes. Sure, such a fund might probably won't be a silver bullet; it probably won't be able to cover all costs. But it would ease the burden that Katrina spending is currently putting on our deficit.

I also would put a surcharge on purchases of gas-guzzlers. I believe California already does this. Set a miles-per-gallon target and anything that's above it, charge an extra 10 percent. Yes, it would hurt Hummer sales. So what? Those things are a menace.

All of the above is probably completely unoriginal. I wouldn't be surprised if such proposals had already been tried in Congress. But I hope someone starts thinking seriously about what we will do for the next Katrina, and the next. And the next.

Because I think it's a very safe bet they are coming.