Congress is unlikely to pass pass cap-and-trade legislation this year, or next, John Harwood reports for The New York Times. Harwood adds that world leaders are also unlikely to "strike a concrete deal to limit emissions in the name of curbing global warming" at next month's climate conference in Copenhagen.
"The Democrats’ challenge, then, is to make enough progress to avoid defeat in the near term and achieve their priorities in the long term," Harwood writes. While cap-and-trade advocates insist climate legislation will bring economic and environmental boosts, critics have latched on to rising joblessness to attack the plan as "cap and tax." "People really need to step back and get away from the quick-hit political slogans," Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said. "We’re looking at an enormous opportunity, and we need to grab it."
As the Senate hones in on health care legislation, prospects for an energy bill appear bleak even for next year, Harwood reports. "People who turn the switch on at home are going to be disadvantaged," Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., told Harwood. Some have argued that President Obama should skip the Copenhagen conference where the U.S. is likely to be criticized for not doing enough on global warming. Kerry disagrees, telling Harwood, "I don’t think it’s the right course. The president should go." (Read more)
Cap and trade is not likely to pass because it will hurt Americans, especially those in rural America. Electric co-ops, where a majority of rural Americans get their power, will be hit especially hard. They will have no choice but to pass these costs on to their consumers. Write your Senators and tell them you can not afford this legislation at http://tiny.cc/BQvMp.
ReplyDeleteI'm a Midwest tree-hugger. My husband and I use far less energy than Sen. Kerry, I'm sure, and we're still heating our house with wood heat and will continue to do so until we get too old to do so. We don't run out and buy the latest things, reuse, recycle and sometimes just do without. But we are against cap and trade in its current form because it gives third world countries yet another advantage over the U.S. They've already stolen most of our jobs; they will get the most of the rest of them if Cap and Trade passes in its current form.
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