Summary: Congress is looking at a cap-and-
trade bill right now that aims to
cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The thing is, a poll just found
that most Americans don't know what
cap-and-trade means.
And... an exclusive interview
with the EPA's Administrator
Lisa Jackson. Lester talks with
her about the climate change bill
and how the U.S. looks to the rest
of the world regarding action on
global warming. More…
Cap –and- what ?
This is The Environment Report. I’m Lester Graham.
The centerpiece for the government’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions-- the gases contributing to global warming-- is a cap-and-trade program. But a poll by Rasmussen found 76-percent of Americans don’t know what cap-and-trade is… something we had no problem verifying on the street…
(((VOX POP))) Captain Who?
Here’s the simple version: CAP the total amount of greenhouse gases that can be spewed from smokestacks and tailpipes. So power companies with coal-burning power plants or --oil refineries will have to account for their greenhouse gases. The government will lower the cap over time. Now… if you reduce emissions faster… you can TRADE emission credits --for a price-- to another business that can’t lower emissions fast enough. So get with the plan… or pay up. Overall… it’ll make fossil fuels will be more expensive… clean energy will be encouraged.
So Democrats in the House… have agreed on a cap-and-trade plan. It’s not as strict as environmentalists want. And it wasn’t exactly what President Obama wanted… but during his weekly address… he seemed okay with it…
(((OBAMA)))
Republicans hate the plan… and some Democrats aren’t crazy about it either because they think it’ll cost the economy too much.
But… it looks like the House will approve… and there’s a chance it will squeak through the Senate.
(((STING)))
This is The Environment Report…
Politico .com is reporting the President is also planning to tie greenhouse gas reductions to better miles-per-gallon requirements for vehicles… now
… and all of this is happening before the EPA or Congress actually has anything on the books to restrict greenhouse gases.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson says everything is being put in place in a hurry… because the U.S. has fallen behind on reducing emissions that cause global warming.
“We are in a race here…
Lisa Jackson is the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
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