[Watchdogs] Strassel: Cap and Trade Returns from the Grave - WSJ.com

[Bob Ochoa]

Investment in nuclear on the wane, even with strong federal backing . .  
.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/business/energy-environment/ 
01nuke.html?hpw


On Friday, January 28, 2011, at 09:32 AM, Milton Hawkins wrote:

> Strassel: Cap and Trade Returns from the Grave - WSJ.com
>
> From the article:
>
> But Mr. Obama has no intention of letting go of his carbon-free world.  
> He instead went to plan B. Specifically, he called in his speech for  
> the nation to "join" him in a "new goal: by 2035, 80% of America's  
> electricity will come from clean energy sources." What the president  
> was in essence calling for—in happier, fuzzier, broader language—is  
> what policy wonks refer to as a "renewable portfolio standard." This  
> is a government mandate requiring that utilities produce annually a  
> specific amount of their electricity from renewable sources—wind,  
> solar, biofuels.
>
>

>
> It's also cap and trade by another name. Consider: The goal of cap and  
> trade is to impose crushing taxes on fossil fuels—oil, coal, natural  
> gas—thereby forcing utilities to switch to costly renewables. Under  
> Mr. Obama's new proposal, the government skips the tax part and  
> outright requires the use of costly renewables. The result is the  
> same: dramatically higher energy prices, from carbon-free sources. . .  
> .
>

>
> Many Republicans understand the situation. Michigan Rep. Fred Upton,  
> chair of House Energy and Commerce, put out a statement following the  
> speech that insisted "the answer is not to hyper-subsidize preferred  
> industries or to force consumers and job creators to purchase energy  
> they can't afford." Reached on the phone, Mr. Upton elaborated,  
> telling me the president's remarks "smell like cap and trade all over  
> again." He noted that 28 states already have their own renewable  
> standards and so "why have a federal mandate?"
>
>
>
> - Sent using Google Toolbar
>
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