They bit the Bullet – That should be us

 

In an article on the HuffingtonPost the author of “Hot, Flat and Crowded” and New York Times journalist Tom Friedman was interviewed about Obamas future challenge in the Energy/Climate field. Friedman was asked to give a specific example on how to tackle this challenge:

“DB: You’ve said we’re in a unique moment, so maybe this is a ridiculous question, but is there any kind of historical model we can look to — any country that dealt with both the economy and the environment in crisis?

TF: The model I give in the book is little Denmark, because in 1973 Denmark was the other country that got hit with the Arab oil embargo. They got hit so hard they stopped sunday driving. You couldn’t drive in Denmark on sunday.

They said, “We’re never going to be in that situation again.” They instituted a gasoline tax. Gas costs $10 a gallon in Denmark today. And they instituted a CO₂ tax. You go to your electric bill in Denmark and you actually see “CO₂ tax.”

They bit the bullet, they designed a program that would both diminish on a steady basis their energy use per unit of GDP and they stimulated a huge green energy industry. There are only 5 million people in Denmark, yet they produce one out of every three wind turbines and they have the top two cellulosic enzyme companies in the world. That should be us. That should be us.”

Read the full interview here.

P.s. A gallon (3,75 L) of unleaded gas is 5,65 $ in todays prices.