Photo Credit Thomas Hawk
I see Grist reporting that the US’ first Cap and Trade program went live. Power plant owners in 10 Northeastern states had to submit sealed bids in order to emit greenhouse gases yesterday.
Then the New York Times has a story about an alliance of 7 Western States and 4 Canadian provinces who have come together under the name Western Climate Initiative to also put a Cap and Trade system in place.
While the WCI draft plan doesn’t come into effect until 2012, the Northeastern states is now live! It only requires a 10 percent reduction in emissions by 2019 and that only in emissions generated by power plants but it is better than nothing and it sets a precedent.
And, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said
We’re sending a strong message to our federal governments that states and provinces are moving forward in the absence of federal action, and we’re setting the stage for national programs that are just as aggressive.
More aggressive, I hope – looks like politics has seriously diminished the “Terminator’s” definition of aggressive!
You know what would be great? To see someone like Schwarzenegger do something really innovative… like “Every new home built in California must have a way of storing at least 24 hours worth of that home’s electricity needs. In case of an emergency, if you’re not needing to use the energy, the state will buy it from you.” “Also, every new home MUST generate at least 50% of it’s energy needs from solar, wind, and/or geothermal power.”
I understand that it’s not up to Schwarzenegger to make these changes happen, but he can call for them, and push the issue. It would inspire inventors and scientists and private businesses to come up with creative solutions to meet the challenges put forth by elected officials.