To: Brumar89 who wrote (52971 ) 5/31/2014 1:08:57 AM From: FJB 1 RecommendationRecommended By
Respond to Obama Is Blowing Smoke on New Emissions Rules By Megan McArdle http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-05-30/obama-is-blowing-smoke-on-new-emissions-rules emissions rules next week. Alas, I will be on vacation, so you are going to get my thoughts now.People familiar with the rule say that it will set a national limit on carbon pollution from coal plants, but that it will allow each state to come up with its own plan to cut emissions based on a menu of options that include adding wind and solar power, energy-efficiency technology and creating or joining state cap-and-trade programs. Cap-and-trade programs are effectively carbon taxes that place a limit on carbon pollution and create markets for buying and selling government-issued pollution permits.Flexibility is nice, but it’s still going to be a bit hard on power consumers in regions where the electricity mix is heavy on coal plants. Apparently, the idea is to force states to start up regional cap-and-trade programs, because a federal program now seems impossible. Does the president actually expect any of this to happen? Whenever the deadlines do kick in, the new president will be besieged with desperate legislators and governors pleading to keep electricity prices from rising in these hard economic times. I can imagine a steadfast Democratic president standing up for the environment against utility lobbyists, coal-mining districts and electricity users, telling them that we need to do what’s best for the planet, not some narrow economic interest. But I can also imagine a beautiful world where everyone rides around in carriages driven by unicorns, angels sing in the trees, and purple raspberry pie grows on bushes outside your backdoor.I’m just skeptical that this is the year, what with our fraught political and economic environment. This seems like another way for Obama to do something without actually doing anything that might make real voters angry. As we head into the final two years of his term, expect to see a lot more of that.
