A Real Czar Speaks
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
Grist has a good piece on Bill Ruckelshaus, the man who founded the EPA. Here’s the money quotation:
Instead of a cap-and-trade plan, Ruckelshaus favors a tax on carbon emissions. Such a move would still let the market decide where reductions should happen, but it would be much simpler for the government to administer, he said.
“It has the desired effect,” he said. “It moves consumption toward less carbon-intensive activities. It does everything a cap-and-trade system does, but it’s about ten times simpler. And about one-tenth as popular, which is why we don’t have it.”
“Presidential candidates, and others, have to promise they won’t raise taxes,” he said. “Cap-and-trade is a form of tax, but it’s not as overtly a tax as a straight tax on carbon.”
Ruckelshaus said a cap-and-trade program would carry too many “unintended consequences.” Those are inevitable in any large government program, he said, though he believes climate change compels the U.S. government to play a leading role.
The good news? Ruckelshaus is advising Team Obama.
The bad news? Climate change may be happening must faster than we thought (7m rise in sea level?!)
Bottom Line: Slowly the ship turns: Down with Cap and Trade, up with Carbon Tax! (and take swimming lessons!)
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