The other day Matthew Yglesias pointed to the Treehugger for a good summary of a new report finding Contraception Five Times Less Expensive Than Low-Carbon Technology in Combating Climate Change:
The report concludes that when taken purely as a method of reducing carbon emissions, family planning is far more cost-effective than the current leading low-carbon technologies.
Between 2010 and 2050 each $7 spent on basic family planning can reduce emissions more than a ton; to achieve that same level of reduction using low-carbon tech would on average cost $32 per ton.
For more specific comparison, wind power would cost $24/ton, solar $51/ton, carbon capture and storage $57-83/ton.
In total, expanding access to basic family planning throughout the globe would save 34 gigatons of carbon emissions over the next 40 years, the report concluded.
An unrelated, but still telling, item from the Values Voter summit last weekend suggests how this news will be received on then Right:
GLOBAL WARMING HYSTERIA: THE NEW FACE OF THE “PRO-DEATH” AGENDA
Dr. Calvin Beisner, National Spokesman, Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation
• Why did the President’s science advisor support coerced abortions to protect the planet?
• Why are top abortion funders underwriting efforts to co-opt evangelicals on global warming?
• If “people are the problem,” what’s the final solution?Cap and trade is about more than saving the planet. It’s the biggest tax hike in American history. It threatens to concentrate massive amounts of power into the hands of central government and international bureaucrats. And its ascendancy marks the rise of a new, more subtle challenge to the culture of life.
Ultimately, climate change hysteria rests on an unbiblical view of God, mankind, and the environment. Come and hear how the Cornwall Alliance is pushing back–producing ground-breaking studies on Biblical environmentalism, educating pastors and churches across the country, and activating thousands of Christians to rally against the hype through the WeGetIt.org Campaign. Learn why policies to fight alleged man-made global warming will instead cause hundreds of millions of premature deaths throughout this century, and how human liberty, responsibility, and flourishing are the key to a healthier environment.
Point of information: The report specifically states that what is being looked at is non-coercive methods of reducing population. Still the environmental establishment is steering clear of it:
“I don’t know how to say ‘No comment’ emphatically enough,” said David Hamilton of the Sierra Club. “I don’t want to rain on anybody’s parade, but the primary solutions to climate change have to deal with what we do with the people who are here.”