----- Original Message ----- From: Trei, Peter <ptrei@rsasecurity.com>
While by default I hold libertarian positions, doing so sometimes requires uncomfortable contortions.
Who, for example, should the inhabitants of Tuvalu sue for rising sea levels?
Maybe that problem is solved elsewhere. To the extent that rising CO2 levels lead to that problem, that could be solved by getting rid of the politicians who pass anti-hemp (burning hemp products merely re-cycles CO2 that was taken out of the atmosphere weeks/months ago, not millions of years ago) laws and the cops (term used generically) who enforce them. Naturally, with a functioning AP system, of course! And if you've been following science issues over the last few years, it is now shown that dumping iron ions (at nanomolar levels) in the south Pacific ocean greatly assists the growing of biota which sequester CO2 from the atmosphere. Sure, as easy as this may end up being, that's going to require SOME effort and thus some cost, but perhaps it's a cost that would be happily borne by the fossil-fuel users (being a tiny fraction of the cost of the fuel itself) if they want to avoid some of their number being occasionally and randomly bumped off by some Tuvalu-financed (Not to mention Venice!) death-squads. I think you'll find that what may start out by looking like "uncomfortable contortions" look less and less uncomfortable as we abandon unstated assumptions and dearly (or even subconsciously) held beliefs.
[This is just an example, ok? Lets NOT fork into a debate over the reality (or lack thereof) of global warming.]