Cap-And-Trade & Coal's Assault

Cap and trade, huh. So what is that, again?

This is The Environment Report. I’m Lester Graham.
Congress is considering restricting the carbon emissions causing climate change with a cap-and-trade scheme. Cap-and-trade is nothing new. We’ve been using the market-based tool to reduce other pollution. Remember acid rain?
The government used ‘capped’ the pollutants causing acid rain. Frank O’Donnell is with Clean Air Watch. He says then came the ‘trade’ part:
“Sources can either reduce their emissions further or purchase the right to pollute from other companies that reduce their emissions more than they need to.”

O’Donnell says it was cheaper than anybody predicted… and it reduced acid rain… but didn’t eliminate it.
“And the reason is that the cap-and-trade target was essentially a politically-driven target. It was not one based fully on science.”
In fact, the U.S. EPA is now proposing futher limiting acid rain pollutants.
O’Donnell thinks a cap-and-trade scheme for carbon emmissions could be far more complicated and far more susceptible to political maneuvering.
But right now… it’s the only game in town to tackle climate change.
(((STING)))

This is The Environment Report.

A group of doctors, Physicians for Social Responsibilty, has issued a new report called Coal’s Assault on Human Health. It explains the health impacts of burning coal. But it goes beyond that.
Dr. Alan Lockwood is a Professor of Neuorlogy and Nuclear Medicine at the University at Buffalo and the prinicple author of the report. He says it was important to look at the possible health effects of climate change…
“Well, first of all it would change the temperature….
…element of the coal story.”

The Physicians for Social Responsibility report recommends no new coal burning power plants and futher cutting pollutants from exisiting plants…
“No one has….

There’s a huge campaign by the coal industry touting “clean coal.” But, coal is not clean… at least not yet. What does your group think about the idea of clean coal versus alternatives such as wind or solar?