China Gets Tough on Auto Emissions, Ceases Production of 500+ Car Models
I know there are people who doubt China’s sincerity when it comes to environmental issues. Why the huge investment in renewable energy? Why the abrupt elimination of more than 500 models of cars that have poor emissions profiles from their factories and roads?
If you’re looking for answers to this one, the only one you’re going to find here is this photo, taken from the article linked above in the New York Times, the caption for which reads: “Smog on a main thoroughfare in Harbin, China, in November. Officials are under intense pressure to rein in dangerous air pollution.”
Is there some reason for alarm here, i.e., that the POTUS is taking credit for airline safety?
Many people speculate as to the future of energy generation and consumption on a global basis, and here’s what seems most probable: a smooth downward curve–nothing radical or abrupt. 
Living with your parents can be amazing, especially if you get along very well and spend lots of quality time together every single day. However, once you’ve reached a certain age, it’s time you moved along and became more independent. 
It’s only natural to wonder how it’s possible that Trump’s approval rating isn’t dipping into the 20s, but is still holding in the low 30s. Some speculate that the answer lies in what got him elected in the first place, i.e., a willful disregard for the truth among his supporters, and thus a dogged unwillingness to abandon their beliefs, regardless of how facts may present themselves over time. 
We’ve all seen Donald Trump’s tweets that use the snap of cold weather in the Eastern U.S. to ridicule the idea of global warming, and we’ve seen how this is immediately attacked as “ignorant.” 
Here’s a wide-ranging discussion between frequent commenter MarcoPolo and me that I thought I’d publish as a blog post. It began when he responded to my assertion that we are experiencing the end of the American Empire: 
Critics of carbon markets, like California’s cap and trade, have a great deal substance to their arguments. But what happens when China, a country that burns more coal than the rest of the world combined, asserts that it will become world’s largest financial market devoted to cleaning up the air?
