When it comes to reducing carbon emissions, or addressing any environmental challenge, there is often a fight between efforts to force lifestyle changes and promote technology. Invariably, technology proves far better at reducing environmental impact and improving the use of scarce resources than forced lifestyle modification.

The fight between these two approaches is exemplified by two recent events.

First, the 43rd District Democrats debated endorsements last night and the Seattle Times, under the headline "Joe Mallahan admits to 43rd district Dems he drives six blocks to work, loses endorsement," recounted this moment in their debate about who to endorse for Mayor:

McGinn's most triumphant moment of the night may have come with a question about transit. The moderator asked candidates to talk about streetcars and buses, and also to say when each last rode a Metro bus. Mallahan recalled riding a bus over the summer from a Ballard bar to his home in Wallingford, but "I drive my Prius to work in Factoria," he said. Now that he's on leave, he admitted: 'I drive my Prius six blocks from my house over to Eastlake Avenue," where his campaign office located. McGinn has made a big deal throughout the campaign about being a bike commuter. He took the bus yesterday.

The Democrats decided not to endorse either candidate. It is hard to say what role this moment played in the decision, but when driving a Prius is considered disqualifying, it is emblematic of the commitment to lifestyle modification that drives the left's approach to reducing carbon emissions. That approach is also the centerpiece of the state's approach to climate change, driving spending on transit, light rail and imposing numerous new regulations.

On the other hand is a recent speech from Robert Shapiro, an economic adviser to President Clinton, Al Gore and John Kerry. Speaking to the National Economists Club in Washington D.C., (you can listen to the speech here), Shapiro makes the argument for putting technology at the center of our approach to reducing carbon emissions.

In his speech, he notes:

There is one clear and clean intersection between climate, energy independence and economic growth, and the innovation process lies the heart of it. ... If a critical issue for climate is innovation – as it is more generally for long-term growth and productivity gains – then the conditions which affect the pace of innovation become much more important.

He goes on to argue that protection of intellectual property rights is critical to this trend. 

Shapiro also offers a strong defense of globalization and the critical role it plays in developing new technologies that are a critical part of improving energy efficiency.

We can figure out things that before we never had the techniques or the person-power to tackle. And part of it is globalization, which gives almost any organization access to the entire global pool of human capital. Globalization also has helped drive very rapid economic development across a number of large developing nations. As the number of middle-class people in the world has rapidly expanded, the market for many innovations has expanded with it – something perhaps most obvious in health care. And as that potential market has expanded, so has the R&D to develop new products, processes, materials, and ways of financing and marketing, and new ways of organizing and running a firm, to meet that demand. With those increases in R&D – which also probably have been accelerated by the global trend towards deregulation, which the current crisis may well reverse – we should expect to see increases in innovations based on R&D.

The choice between an approach that emphasizes regulation designed to force lifestyle modification and one that emphasizes creativity and innovation is the key decision governing our efforts to reduce carbon emissions and use scarce resources wisely.

The choice should be simple: technology not only honors personal freedom and choice that are central to a free society, but improves overall well being and has been consistently more effective at reducing environmental impact.