We've been critical of Governor Kaine on the Wise County plant, a certain endorsement, and several other issues. But the following statement, which I just received, is a strong one and deserves credit. Now, Governor Kaine, please do whatever you can to slash Virginia's greenhouse gas emissions and to stop Dominion Power's extremely un-Wise (get it?) coal-fired power plant. Thank you.
Virginians can be proud that our Senator, John Warner, is a lead sponsor of the Climate Security Act, which is under consideration by the U.S. Senate this week. Global warming is one of the most critical issues of our time, and it will have serious consequences for Virginia if it remains unchecked.The bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senators Warner, Lieberman and Boxer uses a market-based approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is a strong bill that will, over time and with complementary state and local actions, achieve the level of reductions that scientists say are needed to prevent the worst consequences of global warming.
Concerns have been raised about how the bill might affect the nation's economy and the coal industry which is so important to Virginia. I have confidence in provisions that have been recently added to the bill to address those legitimate concerns. I also recognize that similar legislation will be the subject of important deliberations in the House of Representatives where those issues will continue to be discussed and refined. I encourage that process.
But, failing to deal with global warming is not a sensible option. The debate over this bill gives Congress the opportunity to begin formation of a national policy on climate change for the first time. For this reason, it is my hope that the Senate will pass Senator Warner's bill and send a clear signal that America will have a national policy on this most urgent issue.
We can do better.
In all seriousness, though, I'm aware that Warner-Lieberman isn't perfect by any means, but Bush isn't going to sign it anyway so let's lay down a marker that Congress is ready to act on global warming. Then, after Obama's elected president and we increase our majorities in both Houses of Congress, let's strengthen this bill considerably and get it done.
In general, a system where you create something of value, and give it away using a formula, means that people with an interest in obtaining stuff for free will come to the government, either to Congress or to the Administrator of the EPA, and try to influence or lobby to get either their fair share or more than their fare share. It has the potential for corruption or at the very least the appearance of corruption.
If all the credits were auctioned off, then the only determination would be what exactly needs a credit to emit, and how many credits there would be in total. Each of the decisions can be political in nature and have some potential for influence, but it's not as bad as if some people get credits for free (you do have to decide what to do with the money, which is a generalized influence problem for government).
Even better would be a carbon tax. There, you don't have to try to predetermine what emission level you need. You have to figure out what tax to charge, which I trust the EPA or Congress to do more fairly based on studies of the cost of various emission reductions compared to the economic benefit of additional units of pollution.
The current plan has some credits allocated which don't make much sense to me:
For example, 1/3 of the emission credits given to states (5% of the total) are given by proportion of their current fossil fuel production. This rewards the states that are currently contributing the most to emissions (section 3303).
Many of the credits given to states are supposed to support increased environmentally friendly or "green" activities, such as mass transit or recycling. It's admirable, but while the law explains that the proceeds from sale of the credits can be used instead of the credits themselves, it's not clear why this policy is any better than auctioning off the credits and then providing the funding to the states directly. It hides the government expenditure in providing credits rather than making it more explicit.
Entities that figure out how to do carbon capture and storage in geologic repositories get bonus credits of about 4.5 times the amount of carbon captured. I don't see other technologies singled out for such a large bonus. This bonus unnecessarily encourages continued use of coal technology by providing additional credits for free. I don't like the government skewing this overall market-based approach to reducing emissions by selecting certain technologies for special treatment. If we want to reduce carbon emissions, then let the cap and trade system do its job and make carbon emission more expensive.
In addition to the complications with providing the credits for free, the funds received by the auctioning of permits is allocated to various projects such as zero or low carbon emission energy, cellulosic biomass (another ethanol program), more funding for coal sequestration (in addition to the bonuses already mentioned), an advanced technology vehicles technology program (doesn't include mass transit vehicles, if I read correctly), and a sustainable energy program. These may be good projects, but by choosing them in particular you're trying to outthink the market. I think that if cap and trade does its job, then the best technologies are going to find their way into the market naturally.
In short, the bill is complicated, and where there's complexity, there's lobbyists. I'd prefer a simpler bill or a carbon tax. I'd definitely prefer using the tax to offset other taxes or to provide a refundable energy dividend.
I do apologize for the earlier ranty comment and the excessive use of buzzwords. Thanks for calling me on it and I hope this adds to the debate.
MSP
How does one balance great statements such as "Global warming is one of the most critical issues of our time, and it will have serious consequences for Virginia if it remains unchecked." and "...failing to deal with global warming is not a sensible option." with steadfast determination to get the Wise County dirty coal plant built?
I'm all for giving Governor Kaine credit when it's due, but quite frankly, talk is cheap. When he takes actions as grand as his words I will gladly praise him. But a great press release isn't going to help our global warming problem. Stopping the Wise County coal plant will.
Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me)produces,directs and sometimes stars in an hour long program on FX called 30 Days and while some shows are silly many are very good. The one that aired Tuesday had Spurlock, who is from West VA, working for 30 days in a coal mine.
The show highlighted the beauty of West VA, the lure of $60,000 pay checks ( thanks to the unions) to mine coal, the black lung hazard, the environmental issues surrounding coal mining and much MORE. It was a wonderful show and I encourage you to watch it on line or when FX replays it, which I am sure it will.It puts into perspective our need for coal and the dangers of continuing to rely on it.