>We are already halfway to the goal of reducing carbon emission by 17% from 2005 levels outlined in the congressional cap and trade bill? According to the Huffington Post we are – huffingtonpost.com. It just goes to show you how weak the emissions goals in the bill really are. We didn’t even do anything! I suppose the banks, mortgage lenders and investment firms should be thanked for getting us halfway to those goals in less than two years. Maybe to combat global warming we shouldn’t pass financial regulation legislation and let corporate America do it to us again and again until are emissions are zero because we don’t have an economy.
In all seriousness, 2009 emissions are expected to be 9% lower than in 2005. In fact, Joe Romm, a former Department of Energy official, believes that our carbon emissions have peaked and will never again reach 2005 levels (which were the highest on record). This is due largely to the recession but also to the restructuring of the energy economy with the stimulus package. Natural gas has become a viable alternative to coal because new technologies have vastly increased the potential domestic reserves and production capacity, lowering the price. Prices paid by utility companies for natural gas have been cut in half in the past year while prices paid for coal have risen by 7%. This is all good news but clearly more has to be done. We are eventually going to have to move away from fossil fuels all together. And, if we are already halfway to the carbon emissions goals set out by congress, why not make them more stringent? If we are really serious about global climate change we need to act like it.