WashingtonBay
03-31-2009, 02:05 PM
Democrats Unveil Ambitious Global Warming Bill
By JOHN M. BRODER (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/john_m_broder/index.html?inline=nyt-per)
Published: March 31, 2009
WASHINGTON — The debate on global warming (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) and energy policy accelerated on Tuesday as two senior House Democrats unveiled a far-reaching bill to cap heat-trapping gases and quicken the country’s move away from dependence on coal (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/coal/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) and oil.
The latest on President Obama, the new administration and other news from Washington and around the nation.
But the bill leaves critical questions unanswered and has no Republican support. It is thus the beginning, not the end, of the debate in Congress on how to deal with two of President Obama (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?inline=nyt-per)’s top priorities, climate change and energy.
The draft measure, written by Representatives Henry A. Waxman (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/w/henry_a_waxman/index.html?inline=nyt-per) of California and Edward J. Markey (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/edward_j_markey/index.html?inline=nyt-per) of Massachusetts, sets a slightly more ambitious goal for capping greenhouse gases than Mr. Obama’s proposal. The bill requires that emissions be reduced 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, while Mr. Obama’s plan (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/washington/27web-energy.html?scp=1&sq=drilling%20down%20budget%20broder&st=cse)calls for a 14 percent reduction by 2020. Both would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases by roughly 80 percent by 2050.
The Waxman-Markey bill, known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act (http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_111/20090331/acesa_discussiondraft.pdf), emerges at a time when many Americans, and their representatives in Congress, are wary of wide-ranging environmental legislation that could raise energy costs and potentially cripple industry. The bill also comes as the Environmental Protection Agency (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/e/environmental_protection_agency/index.html?inline=nyt-org) is about to exert regulatory authority over greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/clean_air_act/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier). The bill would pre-empt that effort and create a new cap-and-trade scheme to control carbon emissions.
The bill would require every region of the country to produce a quarter of its electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar and geothermal (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/geothermal_power/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) by 2025. A number of lawmakers around the country, particularly in the Southeast, call that goal unrealistic because the natural resources and technology to meet it do not yet exist.
More: Democrats Unveil Ambitious Global Warming Bill - NYTimes.com (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/us/politics/01energycnd.html?_r=1&hp)
Cripple American industry, when it's already struggling, increase taxes on everyone who uses anything, and put tariffs on the poorest countries and limit their development. All based on a crisis that may not even exist, certainly hasn't been proven. :coffee:
By JOHN M. BRODER (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/john_m_broder/index.html?inline=nyt-per)
Published: March 31, 2009
WASHINGTON — The debate on global warming (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) and energy policy accelerated on Tuesday as two senior House Democrats unveiled a far-reaching bill to cap heat-trapping gases and quicken the country’s move away from dependence on coal (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/coal/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) and oil.
The latest on President Obama, the new administration and other news from Washington and around the nation.
But the bill leaves critical questions unanswered and has no Republican support. It is thus the beginning, not the end, of the debate in Congress on how to deal with two of President Obama (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?inline=nyt-per)’s top priorities, climate change and energy.
The draft measure, written by Representatives Henry A. Waxman (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/w/henry_a_waxman/index.html?inline=nyt-per) of California and Edward J. Markey (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/edward_j_markey/index.html?inline=nyt-per) of Massachusetts, sets a slightly more ambitious goal for capping greenhouse gases than Mr. Obama’s proposal. The bill requires that emissions be reduced 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, while Mr. Obama’s plan (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/washington/27web-energy.html?scp=1&sq=drilling%20down%20budget%20broder&st=cse)calls for a 14 percent reduction by 2020. Both would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases by roughly 80 percent by 2050.
The Waxman-Markey bill, known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act (http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_111/20090331/acesa_discussiondraft.pdf), emerges at a time when many Americans, and their representatives in Congress, are wary of wide-ranging environmental legislation that could raise energy costs and potentially cripple industry. The bill also comes as the Environmental Protection Agency (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/e/environmental_protection_agency/index.html?inline=nyt-org) is about to exert regulatory authority over greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/clean_air_act/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier). The bill would pre-empt that effort and create a new cap-and-trade scheme to control carbon emissions.
The bill would require every region of the country to produce a quarter of its electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar and geothermal (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/geothermal_power/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) by 2025. A number of lawmakers around the country, particularly in the Southeast, call that goal unrealistic because the natural resources and technology to meet it do not yet exist.
More: Democrats Unveil Ambitious Global Warming Bill - NYTimes.com (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/us/politics/01energycnd.html?_r=1&hp)
Cripple American industry, when it's already struggling, increase taxes on everyone who uses anything, and put tariffs on the poorest countries and limit their development. All based on a crisis that may not even exist, certainly hasn't been proven. :coffee: