44°F Sunny 
What's happening in:
7/3/09
|
13 comments
editorial Climate Progress
The U.S. House last week narrowly passed a bill that, while not perfect, is a crucial step toward the United States belatedly taking steps to address climate change. The bill for the first time requires significant reductions in heat-trapping gases, notably carbon dioxide. It now heads to the Senate, where it can be improved, but must be passed.
The key provisions of the bill are: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent below by 2050; to ensure 20 percent of electricity nationally will come from renewable sources by 2020; and to establish a carbon trading program to enable companies to meet the reduction goals.
If much of this sounds familiar, it is because Maine, along with many other Northeastern states, has already taken these steps. In 2003, Maine adopted a climate action plan, which required a reduction of 10 percent below 1990 levels of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. According to the latest biennial report, Maine is on track to meet this target, although the Department of Environmental Protection is not equipped to measure reductions at this point.
Among the steps Maine has taken to reduce emissions are stricter limits on automobile exhaust, energy efficiency improvements in state buildings and the development of wind and other alternative energy.
On a larger scale, Maine in 1999 adopted a renewable energy standard, requiring 30 percent of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources. This was strengthened in 2007 to require that 10 percent of the state’s energy come from new renewable sources by 2017.
Maine is also a member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, in which 10 Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states are using a cap-and-trade system to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The group recently held its fourth carbon allowance auction, raising more than $100 million for energy efficiency investments in the states. Fifty-four entities submitted bids.
The climate change bill, which Reps. Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree voted for, builds on this work, while providing consistent national standards. National and international companies have long called for national climate change standards so they don’t have to deal with a patchwork of regulations, providing them with the predictability necessary for corporate decisions. Many companies, including Dow Chemical and Ford, backed the legislation passed by the House.
A major argument against the climate change bill is that it will cost America too much. An analysis by the Congressional Budget Office found that the average American household would pay an additional $175 a year for energy by 2020 under the bill.
Among the bill’s shortcomings are that is gives companies too many carbon allowances rather than auctioning them and it forbids considering the negative agricultural consequences of using corn to produce ethanol. Such provisions are the result of compromises needed to get lawmakers to support the overall bill.
As the Senate turns its attention to this bill, it must consider how Maine and other states have already taken steps to address climate change, steps that have created jobs, reduced energy use (saving companies and consumers money) and reduced pollution. They will see that this legislation is not a threat, but a necessity.
Not registered? Click here
|
E-mail this
|
Print this
|
Local News
PORTLAND, Maine — A 66-year-old man charged this week with having child porn on his computer is believed to be the …
BOSTON — A man from Maine who struck a match on a U.S. Airways flight to Boston's Logan International Airport is …
AUGUSTA, Maine — The National Weather Service and the National Weather Service on Wednesday issued a red flag warning …
Taxpayer funding for a four-year dental school at the University of New England moved forward on Wednesday as lawmakers …
AUGUSTA, Maine — The proponents of an Oxford County resort casino have reached a tentative deal with the …
Recent comments
I don't understand why the waterfront is being developed. It would make an AWESOME site for a whole bunch of low income …
Better, yet... Bring home the troops then write a treaty that states..."one more terrorist attack in or on the US in …
Once again Bangorian has crawled out from his hiding place under his bed to grace us all with his head-up-his-a$$ …
Steve63 - you are right, the initial economic impact will be the jobs created for this project. Once completed, the …
Crusader,
To address your question, we generally don't allow comments on pending court cases, such as the Bangor …
Meanwhile, the Chinese are stockpiling iron ore and crude oil in anticipation of the fall of the US. In another 10 years I'm going to have to writhe with those funny looking chinease letters if I want to put food on my table. Does anyone know if there are classes for learning chinease in the area?
They passed tax legislation in the guise of environmental legislation. If they want to make changes they would make the oil companies put the battery technology they have purchased to take out of circulation into production so that we can have electric cars that would truly make a difference.
My favorite part of the Global Warming BS that is the centerpiece of this unprecedented ENERGY TAX is that when you ask some Al Gore clone about the recent drops in world temps...
They respond that the cooling we've seen in recent years is indeed caused by "global warming"... but the little people like US are simply TOO STUPID to understand it.
Yeah right!
According to the BDN: "The key provisions of the bill are: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent below by 2050; to ensure 20 percent of electricity nationally will come from renewable sources by 2020; and to establish a carbon trading program to enable companies to meet the reduction goals."
If we could attain these goals we would insure that we had spent ourselves into energy poverty. The cost to convert to "renewables" and have a reliable 24/7 supply of electricity is enormous and well beyond the grasp of the taxpaying/ratepaying public. The public will find out to late that the Tax and Crap scheme is being funded 100% by Joe Taxpayer.
"As the Senate turns its attention to this bill, it must consider how Maine and other states have already taken steps to address climate change, steps that have created jobs, reduced energy use (saving companies and consumers money) and reduced pollution. They will see that this legislation is not a threat, but a necessity."
The truth is that for every job created two will be lost for a net gain of -1. To think that Maine government places CO2 into the category of pollution is just mind boggling and even worse, they believe they can control the climate (weather).
Let's hope that the Senate will at least read this legislation and publicly debate the merits before blindly signing a bill that will grow government and kill what was once a thriving economy.
mAineAc please elaborate on how the oil companies have controlled battery research and technology!
BDN - Now that you've printed a piece in favor of this unconstitutional tax increase, why don't you do some investigative reporting and ACTUALLY LOOK INTO THE BILL! What ever happened to the NEWS in Newspaper? Quit being a speaker for the liberal left and return to being the patriotic, middle of the road, newspaper you were when I was growing up in Maine in th 60s and 70s. Your reporters are an embarrassment, and your bias is blatant. Maybe you should change the name of your paper to the Biased Democrat News or Barak's Daily Nonesense.
mAineAc it goes beyond battery technology. If the technology wasn't suppressed big business would lose billions. They have the power to buy the technology and keep leaching of us to buy their fuel. Now with the global warming fiasco they make up a reason to tax us to death.
Shame on the BDN for such a stupid editorial. EJP is right about the bias of the BDN - it's discouraging to unfold this paper each day and see how completely the publisher's pie hole is attached to the jet fighter of Obama and his zombies. And how can anyone be stupid enough to believe that oil companies are buying up battery technology so that they can force us to buy their fuels?
perhaps it's already too late
"And how can anyone be stupid enough to believe that oil companies are buying up battery technology so that they can force us to buy their fuels?"
They aren't buying, they bought! They already bought out the rights to electric cars because they worked too well. How can anybody be stupid enough not to know that? I wish you people knew something besides "liberals are stupid". You are not helping, in fact all you're doing is continously making the problem worse by slowing down progress with right wing-nut propaganda. (No one has forgotten the past 8 years gentlemen)
Frankly I'm sick of the 30% neo-cons and 30% libtards. It's time for the 40% of us in the middle to kick your hinnies to the curb.
Joseph: Therein lies the confused circular logic of the liberal mind. They think & talk in endless circles then convince themsleves they have a problem. Since commonsensical thinkers are labelled as 'negative', the libs get their way. They dragged us into socialism, they bankrupted our country & now they think the U.S. alone can solve global warming by taxing us even more. Meanwhile, unemployment soars & their messiah keeps borrowing more money.
"...must consider how Maine and other states have already taken steps to address climate change, steps that have created jobs, reduced energy use..."
and BDN offers not a shred of evidence to support their contention of job creation and reduced energy use.
This Cap and Trade aka enery bll is a job killer and will be the death of Pa and WVa...the coal producing states......it is horrible legistation and the House was coerced into passing it by Pelosi and her coherts......John Boenher(senate minority leader) tried reading it line by line in the House before the vote and the Dems put the kabosh on the reading......I guess the Dems like to vote for bills without reading or fully understanding them......great representation we have in Washington......
What a terrible time to be an American.