Chances dim for climate-change legislation

[Chuckiechan]

Chances dim for climate-change legislation - May. 30, 2008

Thank God for some sanity...

Quote:

"In the long run, you want people who burn carbon to pay more," says John Rowe, the CEO of Exelon, the nation's biggest generator of nuclear power. Still, even Rowe worries that the economy could be shocked if the cost of emitting carbon dioxide rises too quickly. "We don't think the economy can stand $30 to $40 carbon in the early years," he says. Political support for climate action could also erode if consumers revolt. In Europe, where permits to emit carbon have been trading since 2005, it now costs nearly $40 to emit a ton of carbon.
The Environmental Defense Fund circulated the letter supporting the bill, which was also signed by U.S. Cap members NRDC and the National Wildlife Federation. The letter was put together in a hurry, a backer said, and not all of the 30 or so companies in U.S. Cap were asked to sign it. The climate action coalition was announced with great fanfare in January of last year.
Rogers, Duke Energy's CEO, says he supports climate action but warns that Lieberman-Warner would have a "draconian effect" on his customers and others in the 25 states that now burn 80% of the coal in the United States. It's unfair, he argues, to place the burden of solving the climate-change problem on coal-burning states, which were urged by regulators to build coal plants in the 1970s and 1980s to achieve energy independence.
"I believe in cap and trade. I believe we ought to put a price on carbon," Rogers says. But senators who want to auction permits, and then use the money for a variety of projects - ranging from deficit reduction to water projects to job training - threaten to turn the climate-change bill into the "ultimate in earmarking."

In a perverse sort of justice, the blue states pay the most!

No wonder we are losing our competitive edge.

[Disley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckiechan

Chances dim for climate-change legislation - May. 30, 2008

Thank God for some sanity...

In a perverse sort of justice, the blue states pay the most!

No wonder we are losing our competitive edge.

I don't see any justice perverse or otherwise.
You'll find much of the competitive edge went offshore with the jobs, in the last few years.
One thing we all do well at is selling education to overseas students, who can then return home and use their knowledge to excel in projects we won't back here.
UNSW: The University of New South Wales - Sydney Australia - News - Solar success builds China links

Quote:

Mr Yang Weize, the secretary of the Wuxi Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, was accompanied on a visit to the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering last week by billionaire UNSW alumnus Dr Shi Zhengrong, the founder of solar cell manufacturing giant Suntech Power.