With the federal government refusing to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, the burden of reducing greenhouse gasses has fallen to the states. Thankfully, global warming prevention at the regional level is alive and well.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is an effort by 9 Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the number one cause of these emissions nationwide, power plants. The initiative utilizes a cap-and-trade system, such as the one developed for Kyoto, which turns emissions into a commodity to be traded, allowing business and government flexibility in implementing emissions reductions, without compromising the overall level of emissions reduction throughout the region.
As envisioned by the RGGI Model Rule, announced for review in March, the initiative would reduce greenhouse emissions to 10% below current levels by 2019. According to a study conducted by the Conservation Law Foundation, costs to the power industry would rise, in a "worst case" scenario, by less than .02%. Consumers, on the other hand, would see a reduction in their energy bills of over $100 per year, or about 10% of the average household bill.
Support for the initiative is widespread. Besides the 9 member states, Pennsylvania, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and five Canadian provinces have all signed on as observers. In addition, according to the CLF, Oregon, California, and New Mexico have all announced plans to enact similar plans. Industry leaders are also backing the plan, with key Northeastern companies, including Bank of America, Staples, Keyspan, Pfizer, National Grid, and the Energy Consortium all expressing their support for the initiative.
With the federal government beholden to the interests of ExxonMobil and other oil industry giants, and muzzling pre-eminent scientists calling for efforts to combat global warming at NASA and NOAA, regional efforts provide a way to begin the urgent task of reducing greenhouse gasses, and hopefully reversing global warming.
Learn more at the RGGI Website: www.rggi.org
!Important! Do You Live In Massachussets? Mass. Governor Mitt Romney pulled out of the RGGI abruptly, and instead proposed revised laws to allow Mass. power plants to continue polluting. However, the RGGI has provisions to allow Massachussets back in easily, if the state acts before 2008. Contact your governor at http://www.mass.gov/... ageControl.ser?level=101
and tell him to support the RGGI!