Sen. Jay Rockefeller: Climate science is ‘unequivocally true’ | Grist
Opposing Republican efforts to forbid climate regulations, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said Tuesday that the science of human-made climate change is "unequivocally true." Rockefeller, a strong defender of his state's coal industry, spoke out on the Senate floor against an amendment submitted to a small business bill by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that would strip the Environmental Protection Agency of the ability to regulate greenhouse pollution.House committee votes to deny climate change [hoax] | Grist
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Unfortunately, Rockefeller himself is living in a land of economic fantasy. He supports legislation to establish a moratorium on climate action by the EPA until after the 2012 elections.
Only five Republican members of the Committee From Koch had not explicitly rejected climate science and attacked climate scientists before today, though they are now all in lockstep with their fealty to Koch Industries.Regional cap-and-trade saves jobs and money | Grist
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The Republicans were joined by three Koch-supported Democrats
RGGI is quietly demonstrating that carbon markets can work wonderfully. So it's too bad no one seems to be paying attention any longer.
Last week, RGGI's most recent auction netted $83 million, for a lifetime total of nearly $861 million. The vast majority of that money is channeled into energy efficiency and job creation with immediate and tangible results.
...even with carbon prices so low that they're virtually undetectable, the Northeast states -- and their residents and businesses -- are reaping important dividends in job growth and energy cost savings by investing in efficiency. That's a win no matter how you slice it.
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RGGI is nothing more than a new tax to fill budget gaps, provide jobs for political supporters and the creation of multiple slush funds.
" The RGGI raid: how cap-and-trade revenues went to fix state budgets "
http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=494460
"RGGI funds could help balance N.H. budget
Monday, January 10, 2011"
http://www.nhbr.com/businessnews/statenews/762072-257/rggi-funds-could-help-balance-n.h.-budget.html
"New Jersey makes $10 million in RGGI cap-and-trade auction"
http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2010/09/post_110.html
New Jersey should sever ties to energy initiative - NorthJersey.com
"RGGI forces energy producers that consume coal, oil or gas to purchase permits for every ton of carbon dioxide produced, then pass that cost to ratepayers. These permits are sold at auctions held over the Internet and open only to registered traders. Investors speculate on these permits with the hope of making a killing a few years down the road when the demand for permits increases and the supply decreases.
Reports indicate that these permits, now being sold for about $2, can sell for anywhere from $20 to $100 in the future. That’s a 1,000 percent to 10,000 percent return on investment. Not bad if you are connected into this bonanza, but pretty bad if you are an electricity consumer who will pick up the cost of these profits in your electricity bill.
In a bizarre twist, RGGI officials are telling citizens who are requesting documents on their operations through Open Public Records requests that RGGI is a non-profit organization and not subject to public transparency . It is dangerous when a taxing entity created by state legislation and potentially responsible for major economic impact intends to operate outside the spotlight of public scrutiny.
Considering the possibility of massive profits being reaped off the backs of ratepayers, this is a formula for disaster.
The RGGI cap-and-trade program was sold as a way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and fund so-called “green projects,” but is nothing more than a new tax. The legislation was misleading from the start, claiming the revenue was “dedicated” to the “Global Warming Solutions Fund.”
However, the Legislature does not have the authority to dedicate funds to anything without a constitutional amendment, so RGGI revenues were, and are, destined to be a destructive tax on electricity. This tax will not just impact small businesses and ratepayers; it is a regressive tax that will harm low-income households more than anyone else .
Most devastating to the RGGI promise of saving us from global warming is admission by RGGI officials and consultants that they made a miscalculation and that the RGGI program will have no impact on carbon dioxide emissions until, at best, 2030 . That’s 20 years of rising electricity rates, lost jobs and less freedom by a program that will have little or no tangible value .
New Jersey has received $65 million in revenue from the carbon permit auctions, the cost of which has already been passed on to ratepayers."
http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/op-ed/lonegan_021811.html
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