Aug. 26, 2009
Experts Predict Cap and Trade Would Devastate West Virginia
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – A capacity crowd of similar thinkers filled the Marshall Student Center Alumni Lounge listening to a panel castigating the potential economic impact of the Waxman-Markey Bill. For those unfamiliar with it, the 1,000 plus pages of alleged environmental legislation would put a cost on CO2 emissions for manufacturers. The purpose is to prevent global warming, but , panel members presented statistics that depicted huge economic benefits to China and India while exporting more jobs from the United States.
Interestingly, the 1,427 pages of legislation sets energy efficiencies targets for households and businesses, prompting the alleged enforcement need for “a bureaucrat in every household” to an ardent audience observation that it would invade privacy and further disassemble our individual rights.
Dr. Margo Thorning, senior vice president and Chief Economist of the American Council for Capital Formation, projected that by 2030, WV’s gross state product would be lowered by $1.32 billion dollars, a loss of 5,611 jobs, gasoline up seventy cents a gallon, and , depending upon whom you rely, electricity costs shooting to infinity.
Del. Kevin Craig told an audience member that during discussion last session of a proposed CO2 reduction bill that it was dropped due to electricity increasing (at the low end) 53% up to four or five times current rates (or more).
Craig, vice chairman of the economic development committee, approached the discussion from not necessarily opposing the cleaner environment, but questions the road map of achieving the goals. “I don’t feel the science is set,” he said, explaining that assigning C02 the blame for most global warming when it amounts to about 0.0285% of the atmosphere does not seem applicable to him.
“The earth’s temperature is constantly changing,” Craig explained, due to the sun’s heat. Projections used in the controversial proposed legislation have the sun’s heat as a constant. He urged a “scientific debate” before rushing to adopting the bill which is hyped as the next “clean air act.”
One of the fallacies of the legislation is that it does not force trading partners in China or India to also reduce emissions. That means the cost of US manufactured products would go up and overseas trading partner costs remain the same.
Responding to an audience member who inquired about a “tariff” to encourage compliance of other nations, Dr. Thorning conjectured that trading partners could retaliate. “China holds a large chunk of United States debt that keeps us afloat,” she said, adding that any plans to impose a tariff could result in China threatening to dumb U.S. debt instruments.
Dean Cordle, executive vice president with A C & S Inc. in Nitro, WV, called the bill a veiled “multi generation energy tax that transcends all sectors of the economy,” predicting that it will “drain the wealth of West Virginia” and send it to California or Massachusetts. “Coal and manufacturing stand to lose,” Cordle said , adding that while it “weakens the economy of the United States, it strengthens the economies of China and India.”
Due to population growth, Cordle predicted that the world will need a “cornucopia” of energy sources, ranging from renewable, nuclear, and wind to coal and natural gas.
As for the losers, “West Virginia is squarely in the bulls eye of the climate change legislation.” What stunned the audience were details contained therein that would “regulate all light fixtures except the sun,” set environmental standards for all homes, efficiency codes for commercial buildings and establish another “czar,” to preside over the global climate change research and implementation of the complex bill.
Waxman-Markey narrowly passed the House. Predicts now are that there are not enough votes in the Senate to win passage. In fact, both Sen. Byrd and Rockefeller have called on the president to reconsider the initiatives.
But, now, it’s your turn to enter the political process. Don’t want higher utility bills? Want to keep your coal mining job? Believe you can heat you home anyway you want?
Get out a pencil or pen and paper and send , yes, a snail letter to your Senators. The panel indicated that despite the use of trees for paper , the e-mail spam situation often discounts issues send by cyberspace. If you don’t want to write, they recommend picking up the telephone.
To download a PDF with Dr. Thorning’s proposed alternative strategies for reducing Global Greenhouse Gas Growth, click here.
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Experts Predict Cap and Trade Would Devastate West Virginia
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – A capacity crowd of similar thinkers filled the Marshall Student Center Alumni Lounge listening to a panel castigating the potential economic impact of the Waxman-Markey Bill. For those unfamiliar with it, the 1,000 plus pages of alleged environmental legislation would put a cost on CO2 emissions for manufacturers. The purpose is to prevent global warming, but , panel members presented statistics that depicted huge economic benefits to China and India while exporting more jobs from the United States.
Interestingly, the 1,427 pages of legislation sets energy efficiencies targets for households and businesses, prompting the alleged enforcement need for “a bureaucrat in every household” to an ardent audience observation that it would invade privacy and further disassemble our individual rights.
Dr. Margo Thorning, senior vice president and Chief Economist of the American Council for Capital Formation, projected that by 2030, WV’s gross state product would be lowered by $1.32 billion dollars, a loss of 5,611 jobs, gasoline up seventy cents a gallon, and , depending upon whom you rely, electricity costs shooting to infinity.
Del. Kevin Craig told an audience member that during discussion last session of a proposed CO2 reduction bill that it was dropped due to electricity increasing (at the low end) 53% up to four or five times current rates (or more).
Craig, vice chairman of the economic development committee, approached the discussion from not necessarily opposing the cleaner environment, but questions the road map of achieving the goals. “I don’t feel the science is set,” he said, explaining that assigning C02 the blame for most global warming when it amounts to about 0.0285% of the atmosphere does not seem applicable to him.
“The earth’s temperature is constantly changing,” Craig explained, due to the sun’s heat. Projections used in the controversial proposed legislation have the sun’s heat as a constant. He urged a “scientific debate” before rushing to adopting the bill which is hyped as the next “clean air act.”
One of the fallacies of the legislation is that it does not force trading partners in China or India to also reduce emissions. That means the cost of US manufactured products would go up and overseas trading partner costs remain the same.
Responding to an audience member who inquired about a “tariff” to encourage compliance of other nations, Dr. Thorning conjectured that trading partners could retaliate. “China holds a large chunk of United States debt that keeps us afloat,” she said, adding that any plans to impose a tariff could result in China threatening to dumb U.S. debt instruments.
Dean Cordle, executive vice president with A C & S Inc. in Nitro, WV, called the bill a veiled “multi generation energy tax that transcends all sectors of the economy,” predicting that it will “drain the wealth of West Virginia” and send it to California or Massachusetts. “Coal and manufacturing stand to lose,” Cordle said , adding that while it “weakens the economy of the United States, it strengthens the economies of China and India.”
Due to population growth, Cordle predicted that the world will need a “cornucopia” of energy sources, ranging from renewable, nuclear, and wind to coal and natural gas.
As for the losers, “West Virginia is squarely in the bulls eye of the climate change legislation.” What stunned the audience were details contained therein that would “regulate all light fixtures except the sun,” set environmental standards for all homes, efficiency codes for commercial buildings and establish another “czar,” to preside over the global climate change research and implementation of the complex bill.
Waxman-Markey narrowly passed the House. Predicts now are that there are not enough votes in the Senate to win passage. In fact, both Sen. Byrd and Rockefeller have called on the president to reconsider the initiatives.
But, now, it’s your turn to enter the political process. Don’t want higher utility bills? Want to keep your coal mining job? Believe you can heat you home anyway you want?
Get out a pencil or pen and paper and send , yes, a snail letter to your Senators. The panel indicated that despite the use of trees for paper , the e-mail spam situation often discounts issues send by cyberspace. If you don’t want to write, they recommend picking up the telephone.
To download a PDF with Dr. Thorning’s proposed alternative strategies for reducing Global Greenhouse Gas Growth, click here.
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