On Feb 10, 2013, at 3:39 AM, Patrick Bond wrote:
Americans prefer carbon regulation over market measures: survey
07 Feb 2013 01:18 PM
WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters Point Carbon) - Sixty-four percent of
Americans prefer direct regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from
stationary sources and vehicles over implementing a carbon tax or
cap-and-trade system, a new poll by Duke University showed.
They are quite wrong. Regulation means regulators chosen by the
bankster-owned state, but it "sounds" progressive. People don't
understand Cap'n Trade, and they rightly would be even more opposed if
they did. But they also don't understand taxation except that they've
been trained to hate Taxes. In a market economy, such as we have now
and for some time into the future, taxes--positive and negative--are
the only effective way to channel resources away from ecologically
destructive uses and to direct them to ecologically constructive
alternatives. That's what the price system (aka law of value) is
about. It's also what politics is really about. The coal can be kept
in the hole and the oil in the rock only by making it unprofitable to
extract them.
Shane Mage
This cosmos did none of gods or men make, but it
always was and is and shall be: an everlasting fire,
kindling in measures and going out in measures."
Herakleitos of Ephesos
The nationwide survey conducted last month by the university’s
Nicholas Institute of Environmental Studies found that while the
majority of Americans believe that climate change is occurring, they
don’t think market mechanisms are the best way to reduce emissions.
“Support rises when asked about more familiar concepts of
regulation, such as performance standards, but respondents appear to
have little or no knowledge about the possible use of a cap-and-
trade system to address climate change,” said Sarah Adair co-author
and associate in research at the institute.
The show of public support for direct regulation of carbon emissions
may be a boost for the White House as it moves to carry out
President Barack Obama’s inaugural pledge to combat climate change.
Climate analysts guess that the EPA could soon announce a move to
use its authority under the federal Clean Air Act to regulate heat-
trapping greenhouse gases.
By April the agency is expected to complete carbon emission
standards for building new power plants that would effectively
prevent any new coal-fired facilities from being built.
Next would come a more controversial effort, setting standards for
existing coal-fired plants, which account for 40 percent of U.S.
greenhouse gases. The measure is sure to provoke industry lawsuits.
A more comprehensive plan to put a price on greenhouse gases fell
flat in Congress through a cap-and-trade system in 2010.
The survey showed that public acceptance of climate change as a
major issue has rebounded to its highest level since 2006, with 50
percent of respondents believing it is happening.
“Whether in response to extreme weather events like mega-storm Sandy
or the improved economy, public opinion has clearly rebounded from
its low point of a couple years ago,” said Frederick Mayer,
associate professor of public policy and political science.
Only 29 percent of respondents strongly or somewhat supported a
carbon tax. Just 34 percent favored paying a carbon tax in return
for a $500 tax rebate.
On cap-and-trade, the survey showed that many Americans have no
opinion about the emissions trading market with 36 “neither for nor
against.”
Although Democrats and Republicans polled were split when asked
about the severity of the climate change problem, it showed that
“the preference for a regulatory or clean energy approach is shared
across party lines.”
s
_______________________________________________
pen-l mailing list
[email protected]
https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
