Climate Change

Heeding the President's call, a bipartisan climate change bill will be introduced this spring in congress. No details have been revealed, but pessimism already exists. Regardless, at least some Republicans will be involved here. The article mentions a large group in the House that is opposed.

The bill, from what is known, appears to target businesses. It will set credit systems based on emissions. As pointed out, no one industry really emits a disproportionate amount, so there are no easy targets. Personally, I like the system employed in the Northeastern states, one of Gov. Pataki's best moments in my opinion. There is a deal to cut utilities emissions by 10% over the course of 10 years, starting in 2009. I'm hoping this can be employed on a national scale, combined with higher CAFE standards, which increase gas mileage requirements. Also, the president pushes the hydrogen car idea. Hopefully, we'll increase funding to reasonable levels and get some uses of the technology, starting with public buses, taxis, police, and fire vehicles. This will all be possible, if not now, in the next 5-10 years, at my guess. I base this on a quote I heard, saying that if car companies knew they could sell 500,000 hydrogen cars a year, they would cost the same as regular cars do now. While I can't find the quote,