Comments on: Cost of cap-and-trade for U.S. households http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2009/12/18/cost-of-cap-and-trade-for-u-s-households/ Sun, 19 May 2013 08:24:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: LucidOne http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2009/12/18/cost-of-cap-and-trade-for-u-s-households/comment-page-1/#comment-28125 LucidOne Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:07:15 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/?p=6011#comment-28125 Cap & trade is a scam. It has not worked well in previous formulations, since polluters can just move around their pollution credits and evade making significant changes. It will also become a new market, and boon for Wall St, however the profits will be rolled into price increases for the average consumer. The average person will likely shoulder a disproportionate burden. Simultaneously, adherence to cap & trade in developing countries will be difficult and far from transparent. Its basically an excuse for a big payday. To be honest, the whole concept of climate change is wearing thin. We have to redirect our focus from CO2 emissions, to more dangerous, and proven, pollutants that go unregulated. We must also stop looking at climate change/ pollution as a global issue, we must start looking at it from a regional or local perspective. Cities, industrial centers, and transportation hubs are the main culprits, so why regulate pristine areas? When we stop looking at this as "climate change" and "apocalyptic", and start looking at it as addressing regional pollution, there would be much more support and progress. While the US is not innocent, we are far less of a polluter than China/SE Asia, with their permanent brown cloud. Climate change legislation would do little to stop particulate emissions, toxic chemical releases, and heavy metal and radioactive contamination. These are far more dangerous than one of the most common gases in our atmosphere. Cap & trade is a scam. It has not worked well in previous formulations, since polluters can just move around their pollution credits and evade making significant changes. It will also become a new market, and boon for Wall St, however the profits will be rolled into price increases for the average consumer. The average person will likely shoulder a disproportionate burden. Simultaneously, adherence to cap & trade in developing countries will be difficult and far from transparent. Its basically an excuse for a big payday.

To be honest, the whole concept of climate change is wearing thin. We have to redirect our focus from CO2 emissions, to more dangerous, and proven, pollutants that go unregulated. We must also stop looking at climate change/ pollution as a global issue, we must start looking at it from a regional or local perspective. Cities, industrial centers, and transportation hubs are the main culprits, so why regulate pristine areas?

When we stop looking at this as “climate change” and “apocalyptic”, and start looking at it as addressing regional pollution, there would be much more support and progress. While the US is not innocent, we are far less of a polluter than China/SE Asia, with their permanent brown cloud. Climate change legislation would do little to stop particulate emissions, toxic chemical releases, and heavy metal and radioactive contamination. These are far more dangerous than one of the most common gases in our atmosphere.

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