Weather, Water, Energy 4-2-07

• A Swedish dissertation is arguing that peak oil might hit next year and certainly no later than 2018. Fill up your extra gallon cans with gas while you can.
• The Supreme Court ruled that Bushnev and his apparatchik were wrong in saying the EPA had no authority to regulate auto CO2 emissions. Imagine that.
• Now imagine that it's only CO2 that needs regulating. Because that's just imagination, and, as badly as we're doing with CO2, we're dealing with the other gases even worse.
• We can't decide how to regulate CO2, of course. The cap-and-trade system that everyone's been pushing is being seen for the problems it poses (like that "cheating" thing) while a carbon tax is gaining ground (think of the revenue we'd have for the deficit or other tax relief). It's being pushed by economists and businesspeople (the only one missing is Curly), but it provides a more controllable option and gives more certainty for business planning. I put it in the lead now. But I thought Georgetown could win.
• Normally we'd be pushing renewable alternatives, but it looks like the equipment availability for wind power is stretching a little thin, especially for other countries wanting our suppliers to help them.
• How about a little weather news? Warmer oceans, more poisonous fungi, more eating of said fungi by fish, more poisons in their systems. Want some sushi? (And don't count on a lot of really good wine to wash it down once the warming warms up.)
• How about a little water news? GA, FL, and AL (Alabama, not Alaska) have turned mediation of their water dispute over their use of the Chattahoochee to a Minnesota fed judge. The outcomes of these initial skirmishes will very likely set the precedents we'll be hearing about for the rest of our lives.
• Finally, helpful tips for global warming deniers and those who think real action should be forfeited for pretense at "adaptation." Warning, we're talking eating leaves, bugs, and, well, have you ever seen "Soylent Green"? Because the talk about "adapting," when push comes to shove, is basically a call for doing as little as possible as slowly as possible. This will show you why.