I’ve made my position on global warming clear:  man’s role in it is overrated, there’s really nothing to be afraid of, and most politicians just use it to justify more government interference with the market.

But what about John McCain’s position on global warming?  Few of his policies so exemplify McCain’s unnecessary pandering to moderates and the left than his position, stated as thus:

we need to deal with the central facts of rising temperatures, rising waters, and all the endless troubles that global warming will bring. We stand warned by serious and credible scientists across the world that time is short and the dangers are great. The most relevant question now is whether our own government is equal to the challenge.

To McCain, global warming is a Problem and Big Government needs to Fix it.  Notice all the capital letters?  It’s clearly important for Us to Fix, because if we can Break the Climate, clearly we must be Important enough to justify our self-hatred.

But what if we’re not destroying the planet?  Where does that leave the global warming doomsday sayers?  After all, according to Roy W. Spencer, a research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, we’ve only increased the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere by 9 molecules per 100,000 molecules.

If we’re not destroying the planet, then McCain has a real problem:  he wants government interference to solve this supposed Crisis.  That’ll win over the conservative base!

He says that he wants to use free market principles to solve global warming, but the essential principle behind the free market is that it’s, uh, free.  McCain doesn’t actually want that.  His policy could lead to emissions ceilings:

The McCain plan would aim to return emissions to 2005 levels by 2012, and to 1990 levels by 2020. Barack Obama supports similar reductions.

In theory, this would be achieved by imposing emission ceilings on electric power, transportation fuels, commercial business and industries.

Again - McCain, admittedly himself not a great economist, doesn’t seem to understand that a true free market is free from government caps.  And, sheesh - he’s calling for reductions at a Barack Obama level!  This is the Republican nominee?

Well, you might be asking, how does a free market, motivated by money, solve global warming?  My answer:  First, you’re assuming that global warming is a Problem to be Solved.  Second, if the market could Fix it, it would easily be properly motivated to.  It’s more profitable to have an earth that supports a 6 billion-person population than to turn it all to desert.

The wrench is thrown in when someone like McCain wants to mess with the economy.  Emissions caps would probably have minimal effects on the climate, and would subsequently have much more immediate consequences for the economy.  You think gas prices are high now?  Wait until liberals get a hold of oil refineries.

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