AlexS

Cap-and-Trade and the Cheap Energy Illusion

OK, assuming there is an cost to the environment from releasing CO2, why then should the payment go to the federal government? What are they going to do to balance the situation? So far the proposals are 1) given everyone in the poor and lower middle class a tax refund. Or 2) hand out subsidies to politically favored companies. And if you make it more costly to manufacture and drill here, the companies will just go somewhere else where they'll be happy to have them. So all you've done is move manufacturing from the U.S. say, to China. No difference to global warming, even if you accept those premises. Oh, and any middlemen will get rich (like Al Gore) which may be a big part of the point

With Help from California, Solar Gets Fired Up

I like California. Nice beaches. They try out these nutty ideas before the rest of the country so we get to have a test case before we're all subjected to it. Remember the zero pollution vehicle stuff? Now it's renewable energy. The only problem is that they always set the goals so far away so that people forget them if they aren't achieved. This should read 20% renewables by Sept. 18, 2008, otherwise the utilities have to shut down. Come on. No guts, no glory.