James Hansen's climate letter to Barack Obama - great!

The letter emphazises (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/01/letter-to-barack-obama):

- the "profound disconnect between actions that policy circles are considering and what the science demands for preservation of the planet" and
- what the top experts think should be done. I hadn't heard about these two ideas before:


A "CARBON TAX AND 100% DIVIDEND":

This "is a carbon tax (on oil, gas, and coal) at the well-head or port of entry. <..> The public will support the tax if it is returned to them, equal shares on a per capita basis (half shares for children up to a maximum of two child-shares per family), deposited monthly in bank accounts. <..>

The tax will spur innovation as entrepreneurs compete to develop and market low-carbon and no-carbon energies and products. <..> It will increase energy prices, but low and middle income people, especially, will find ways to reduce carbon emissions so as to come out ahead."


B "URGENT R&D ON 4TH GENERATION NUCLEAR POWER"

4th generation nuclear power (4th GNP) and coal-fired power plants with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) at present are the best candidates to provide large baseload nearly carbon-free power (in case renewable energies cannot do the entire job). Predictable criticism of 4th GNP (and CCS) is: "it cannot be ready before 2030." However, the time needed could be much abbreviated with a Presidential initiative and Congressional support. <..>

Existing nuclear reactors use less than 1% of the energy in uranium, leaving more than 99% in long-lived nuclear waste. 4th GNP can "burn" that waste, leaving a small volume of waste with a half-life of decades rather than thousands of years."

See also http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jan/02/obama-climate-change-james-hansen.

which means the link says 'not found'. Very interesting - I like one of the comments in the 2nd link, saying "unsustainable growth" should be referred to as "obviously doomed growth". That commenter is right - we need a change of view:

the editing period is over, so here's the second link:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jan/02/obama-climate-change-james-hansen

Anyway, implicitly, the letter also says how important Barack Obama is. Finally, the experts have someone who cares, to talk to.