When those who create pollution have to own it, have to figure out what to do about it, and how to pay for it, they’ll pollute less.

If the dollar cost to them is $0, they have to be altruistic to think about someone other than themselves, someone other than the current generation.

One senses from Gingrich’s persona — perhaps incorrectly — that his is the only generation that matters, and of that large generation, he is the only individual that matters. And the rest of us be damned.

But maybe that isn’t what he means us to take from what he says. I’d welcome his clarification and correction.

If we all are forced to “own” the pollution our actions create, we are likely to behave very differently from those who can dissipate the effects among the world’s entire population and future population. Let others — mostly people poorer than we are — deal with the effects, like more extreme weather, or sea-level rise, or health issues, so that Americans can keep enjoying their SUV’s, cheap sooty electric plants, and car-dependent lifestyles.