Brantford’s blog entry, Dealing with Climate Change…Ineffectively, offered some unique insights on “Cash for Clunkers,” a federal program that seeks to reduce CO₂ emission.

The following paragraph is my first impression regarding similar programs. As people become more environmentally conscious, there is an increasing pressure on the government to set up more public initiatives that aim at environmental sustainability.  As a result, programs like “Cash for Clunkers” are created and implemented to satisfy this new popular demand.

However, two points that Brantford brought up changed my opinion. The first is the effectiveness of such a program. As he quoted from Economist Jeffrey Sachs, the net reduction cost of CO₂, according to Sachs’ rough calculation, is approximately $141 per ton. Looking from an economic perspective, this seems rather inefficient as cars are smashed up five years before their natural demise. In general, subsidized programs are not the best way to counter climate change. Then, Brantford in his final discussion talked about another very interesting point that the main intention of the program was actually to stimulate automotive sales while putting safer and cleaner cars on the road, a purpose that “Cash for Clunkers” definitely succeeded in fulfilling.