cap and trade

Pseudo-scientific bullshit wins the day:

Bowing to political reality, Senator Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat and majority leader, said the Senate would not take up legislation intended to reduce carbon emissions blamed as a cause of climate change

“We know where we are,” Mr. Reid told reporters after reviewing the state of energy legislation with Senate Democrats and administration officials. “We know that we don’t have the votes.”

Yeah, why make the Republicans actually filibuster, when you can let them off the hook to go fundraising?

Adding her signature to a letter sent to the leader of the Senate:

“We believe the scale of this challenge dictates the need for a comprehensive solution that includes making polluters pay through a price on greenhouse gas emissions,” wrote Sens. Mark Begich of Alaska, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Roland Burris of Illinois, Al Franken of Minnesota, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Ted Kaufmann of Delaware, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Mark Udall of Colorado, Tom Udall of New Mexico and Mark Warner of Virginia.

And I believe you're right.

On June 26, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 219-212 in favor of HR 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES). Only eight Republicans - we'll call them the "Enlightened Eight" - voted "aye." These Republicans were Mary Bono-Mack (CA-45), Mike Castle (DE-AL), John McHugh (NY-23), Frank LoBiondo (NJ-2), Leonard Lance (NJ-7), Mark Kirk (IL-10), Dave Reichert (WA-8), and Christopher Smith (NJ-4).

Once upon a time, “cap-and-trade” wasn’t an object of conservative Republican opprobrium (e.g., as a “big government cap-and-tax scheme that will destroy our economy and end our way of life as we know it”). Actually, once up on a time, “cap-and-trade” was...wait for it...a conservative Republican idea! That’s right, let’s head to the “way back machine” and briefly review the Political History of Cap and Trade.

First, I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe in our big snowfall.

Being stuck at home, I have been doing a lot of perusing around the Internet on various issues. Something new (to me) I found was a different proposal to reducing CO2 emmissions vs. the Cap and Trade proposal and that is the Carbon Tax.

What I think I am reading from various sites like this one that speaks to this issue in what I see as not favoring one over the other, but I'm sure if it does one of you nice people will let me know.

I think the Carbon Tax proponents like that proposal because they feel that Cap and Trade will only shift CO2 emmissions from one area/manufacturing location etc. to another where the Carbon Tax affects all who emit CO2 (or at least most).

A couple weeks ago, I outlined the problems associated with carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gas emissions, and the global warming associated with them. In Part 2 of this series, I will discuss how politicians are approaching this issue, and likely policy solutions.

Scientists (and a few politicians) have recognized this as a problem for decades (it was first observed in 1824 but not widely accepted until the late 20th century.) International discussion on how to reduce greenhouse gas pollution began in 1992 and led to the Kyoto protocol. The US Senate failed to ratify the treaty; many claimed it placed too much burden on developed countries like the US and not enough on developing countries like China. Americans generally did not begin to take global warming seriously until the Hurricane Katrina disaster and the release of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth.

Like most of you on this blog, I would expect, I get a minor mountain of email every day, proffering petitions to sign urging action on timely causes that I support, or begging for more money to fight the good fight for yet another day.

I try hard to sign what I must and give what I can. It’s getting harder for any one email to really grab me. But here's one that's both clever and timely (and not asking for money), so I thought I'd share. Now's the time, given the global urgency of the upcoming Copenhagen climate talks, and given today’s hopeful joint statement on climate issued by President Obama and Chairman Hu of China.

Blue NC friends: I created this diary this past weekend for the Daily Kos Greenroots Adopt-a-Senator for ACES Project: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/8/18/768027/-Adopt-a-Senator-for-ACES...! . It can be found at Daily Kos here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/8/30/773862/-DK-Greenroots:-Adopt-a-S... . I thought I would share it here at BlueNC to encourage everyone to keep the pressure on Kay Hagan to support the American Clean Energy and Security bill (ACES).

Seriously. Today's your chance to combat climate change by contacting your Congressman, especially if your Congressman happens to be G.K. Butterfield, who sits on the House energy subcommittee. Here's the scoop from the NC Conservation Network.