Sunday, July 12, 2009

Poverty Gap, Technology Divide ... Carbon Chasm?

Remember when people spoke of the "poverty gap" and the "technology divide"? Early purchasers of personal computers—at high prices, mind you—were able to get a head-start on everybody else because they were rich. How unfair! Same with cell phones. How unfair! And Internet connections. How unfair!

Will this not be true of the whole rigmarole of "carbon offsets"? If you're rich—which in the U.S. mostly means one demographic group—you'll have a distinct advantage over everyone else. But "cap and trade" or "carbon offsets" is meant to apply to all—because we're all in the same boat.

Only the rich will be able to buy their way out of self-privation for the greater good.

It's almost like we've rolled the clock back before 1517, when Luther objected to the sale of indulgences!

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