Letter from the Newsroon – Cap & Trade Edition

Welcome to State of the State KS,

This week we focus on the impact of federal cap and trade legislation on Kansas. As an agricultural state, Kansas seems caught in the cross hairs of farming and climate regulation.

At its most simple, Cap and Trade is a system designed to limit pollution by assigning emissions credits.  If you emit more than your share, you can buy more credits on an market, similar to the New York Stock Exchange.  The Environmental Protection Agency has a great Cap and Trade 101 program on their website to learn more.

Things get complicated when it becomes clear that some industries are harder hit by this regulation and agriculture it at the top of the list.

We interviewed Sue Boldra, a Republican candidate in the 1st Congressional District, about why she can not support the current legislation in the US House and Senate committee.  Watch here Boldra talks Cap and Trade.

Then we interviewed two sides in the debate.  Bob Henry from the American Soybean Association says that the cost of food would rise at each step of the food chain under emissions regulations and worries about competing against nations without these regulations.  Watch here American Soy Association Weighs In Against Cap & Trade.

Joe Spease from the Sierra Club sees money for the agricultural sector through implementation of environmentally friendly farming and alternative energy.  He says that money from the stimulus bill will help build the infrastructure needed to make windmills on farmland profitable and that the plant offsets should reduce the cost on emissions credits for farmers.  Watch here Sierra Club Sees Green in Climate Bill.

It becomes clear that it is difficult to estimate the cost and benefits of cap and trade legislation until it is actually in place.  While alternative energy is on it’s way, some new sources have a few problems that remain.

We know from our recent interview with Dr. Keller from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a leading scientist in bio fuels, that researchers studying switch grass are still trying to address the problem of breaking down cellulose sources.  Watch here Dr. Martin Keller from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  Additionally, it seems hard to pin down the exact costs of emission regulations.In researching this topic, an article from New York Times was insightful The Vagaries of Estimating Cap-and-Trade’s Impact on Consumers.

Additionally, the idea of allowing organizations with larger emissions to continue to pollute at the same rate, simply with the ability to buy their way out of changing their practices also leads to criticism.  Read E.P.A. lawyers Challenge ‘Cap and Trade’ for Climate. Supporters counter that the cap and trade market simply helps organizations move into compliance in a more flexible timeline.

Despite these and other criticisms, this Congress has taken steps toward climate change they believe will have a major impact on a healthier environment.  We’ll have to wait to see if we have cleaner air when the political dust settles.

Enjoy the cap and trade edition,

Rebecca Zepick

No Comments

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.