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One day after being applauded at a climate change summit in posh Beverly Hills, California officials faced a different kind of reception during a Sacramento public hearing on the state's monumental greenhouse gas reduction plan. A standing room only crowd of Latino farm workers, inner city residents, dozens of cities and air district officials, small businesses and major manufacturers gave the air resources board an earful about the plan.
By far the loudest complaints at the marathon Sacramento hearing were about the use of cap and trade to reduce some emissions, rather than tough, mandatory regulations applied to refineries, power plants and others. Under such trading programs, polluters' greenhouse gas emissions are capped at a certain amount, but the companies are allowed to pay for reductions elsewhere, possibly in other states and countries, and continue to spew out high levels of both greenhouse gases and traditional air pollution locally.
California's proposal would allow such market-based reductions by refineries and power plants. Residents of poor, highly polluted communities say that will leave them eating dust once again.
"No to cap and trade! There is a better way," said Ray Leone, who said he was raised in a migrant worker community in the state's smoggy Central Valley, and now heads a Fresno-based environmental policy institute. He said a similar pollution credit program had already allowed a sooty power plant to be shut down in wealthy Kern County, while allowing large new plant to built in a dirt-poor Fresno area.
"This is a terrible foreshadow of what will come with cap and trade," testified Leone. "It's really a terrible step."
Business groups, community activists blast California’s cap-and-trade plans | Grist
thats the point Maggie, buying the excess when the economy is bad already based on bad science to begin with puts people out of work. You would have these companies, you know the big bad evil companies that employ people, for that evil thing called money, just simply go out of business all for the sake of " saving the planet" which by the way doesn't need saving. Then turn around and wonder why these evil companies are laying off these poor people and putting them on the streets and not providing them with insurance. Amazing,....
By far the loudest complaints at the marathon Sacramento hearing were about the use of cap and trade to reduce some emissions, rather than tough, mandatory regulations applied to refineries, power plants and others. Under such trading programs, polluters' greenhouse gas emissions are capped at a certain amount, but the companies are allowed to pay for reductions elsewhere, possibly in other states and countries, and continue to spew out high levels of both greenhouse gases and traditional air pollution locally.
California's proposal would allow such market-based reductions by refineries and power plants. Residents of poor, highly polluted communities say that will leave them eating dust once again.
"No to cap and trade! There is a better way," said Ray Leone, who said he was raised in a migrant worker community in the state's smoggy Central Valley, and now heads a Fresno-based environmental policy institute. He said a similar pollution credit program had already allowed a sooty power plant to be shut down in wealthy Kern County, while allowing large new plant to built in a dirt-poor Fresno area.
"This is a terrible foreshadow of what will come with cap and trade," testified Leone. "It's really a terrible step."
Business groups, community activists blast California’s cap-and-trade plans | Grist
thats the point Maggie, buying the excess when the economy is bad already based on bad science to begin with puts people out of work. You would have these companies, you know the big bad evil companies that employ people, for that evil thing called money, just simply go out of business all for the sake of " saving the planet" which by the way doesn't need saving. Then turn around and wonder why these evil companies are laying off these poor people and putting them on the streets and not providing them with insurance. Amazing,....
