Posted on 11/24/2007 2:18:58 PM PST by lowbridge
Gov. Spitzer's boast last week that power plants will soon have to pay for the right to emit carbon dioxide is just the latest sign of his unseemly obeisance to over-the-top environmentalism.
Spitzer told Congress how New York has joined 10 northeastern states in a Kyoto-style project called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), meant to combat global warming.
In 2009, these states will force power plants to buy CO2 "allowances," which will be traded on the open market.
Plants will have to get one credit for each ton of CO2 they emit. The supply of credits, to start, will be capped at 64 million - the average annual power-plant emissions in New York from 2002 to 2004. The figure will then drop slightly each year, for a 10 percent cut by 2019.
The plan's flaw is its goal: It's designed to boost electricity costs - and even force some plants to close.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
The backlash will be to blame the "Big Electricity", "Big Oil", "Big Coal", etc. The Rats will have hearings, grandstand, make BS speeches, and propose making electricity a government responsibility promising lower prices, less CO2, and less pollution while reducing reliance on the "Evil Nuclear Power". The Rat aligned lawyers will take all energy companies to court wasting time and forcing them to either spend more money to stay alive or go out of business.
The Dim voters will believe the Rats about who is to blame and we will have even more "enviro-mental" rulers in office.
I don't see an effective voter backlash on this for about 15 or 20 years. By then the damage to the economy from this issue combined with government provided health care, retirement, and maybe even home-loans, we will be in really deep.
Such is the messianic hubris that dispels all wisdom and caution.
There are more and more people wanting more and more power...and at some point people are going to have to wake up to the fact that the power must come from somewhere. Few politicians are willing to make that statement and those that do catch hell for it.
I agree that CO2 control is a socialist dream. CO2 emissions control through some form of taxation will allow government to have a large influence on the costs of goods and services. The UN climate panel arrogantly indicates that the cost of CO2 emissions control will not be substantial (less than 3% of GDP as though 3% of GDP is not substantial). Further the climate panel asserts that global temperature increases can be constrained by CO2 emissions controls.
The contrast between reality of CO2 emissions controls and current living are stark. People like to travel by plane, air condition their homes, drive to work and shopping, light their outdoors with Christmas lights, and so on. Modern living demands reliable power and increases in power over time. These CO2 emissions control schemes will restrict choices, reduce growth, move jobs to other countries, increase inflation, and generally lower standards of living without any benefits.
The global warming hysteria is a test of the broken windows theory of economics. The left seems to believe that if you smash every window in the country, economic growth and prosperity will ensue. The left only wants to see the visible jobs created, not the lost economic opportunities due to repairing all of the windows. The rats do not want any blame for the economic fallout. They will push goals into the future where the blame cannot be laid at their feet.
Who comes up with this stuff? If the plants close, the (energy) prices will rise. The likelihood of opening another nuclear plant in New York is slim to none — if Spitzer wants to choke Wall Street again (as if his crazy lawsuits didn’t do enough damage) then go ahead. Everyone will move to other states, the world will realize that in this global, electronic economy that you don’t need a physical presense in New York and this house of cards will begin to collapse. Way to Go, Spitz.
So who do they have to write the check too? Al Gore or the DNC?
This guy sure likes to throw his weight around.
Carbon Offsets: Eco-Extortion, Green Guilt, and the Selling of Indulgences
Also mentions Hillary Clinton's good buddies at Vermont's Native Energy....
thanks, bfl
Where did NY find this piece of crap?
Politicians
Unions
Environmentalists
Liberal Media
Homosexuals
Illegal Immigrants
Criminals
Terrorists
IV Drug Users
Mentally Retarded
Transvestites
Military
Private Property Owners
Unborn Children
Christians
Gun Owners
Smokers
Taxpayers
Idiots. The only hope of converting to a hydrogen economy is by reducing electricity costs. If prices go up, hydrogen becomes even less feasible.
Hydrogen is a means of storing electricity. But the only way for it to work is for it to cost less than oil.
Why power plants? Co2 provides the fizz to beer and soda, so why not force breweries and bottling plants to buy credits, too? Matter o' fact, why not pass a tax on the establishments that serve those items. Matter o' fact, why not also tax the consumer, too?
P.S., if Spitzer is reading this, it's sarcasm. Don't actually do this.
>The higher taxes are in NY, the less they will clamor for higher federal taxes.
No. you still are not thinking like a liberal.
They will insist that it is all the fault of those evil capitalist energy companies that wring profit from the backs of the working poor, and they will demand Federal assistance for NY energy consumers.
and they will get it. and you will pay for it.
My first reaction. I grew up in New York City. It's unpleasant enough as it is, especially in summer.
I hope the people of New York are pleased with themselves electing this meglomaniacal zero.
You can say that again. . . . Or, I’ll do it for you. . . OMG
Article doesn’t say who gets the money for these credits but let me guess ... This is just a convenient way to raise taxes.
“...He’s acting like Soros owns him.”
His actions are incredibly similar to a marionette manipulated by a remote source aren’t they, but that observation seemingly covers all the hard core of the Left whom go off on their tangents apparently without adequate briefing of the breadth and depth of their scripted proposals, and without concern for the consequences of such. As though such consequences are the responsibility of their remote manipulaters, as in someone else.
Que spooky music.
” think this is a good thing. The wealthy leftwingers in NY SHOULD provide the leadership in reducing American greenhouse gas emissions. Afterall, they’ve got the money, and the rich should pick up the tab for this.”
Please tell me you accidently left off the /sarcasm tag?
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