Cap And Trade by Any Other Name Still Stinks

Obama's attempt to get around Congress would kill coal power and make your electricity bill "skyrocket" and have no effect on climate change!

Obama has often said that if Congress doesn't give him his way he'll go around the legislative branch and find some other way to achieve his goals. Action on Cap and Trade is no different. After the 2010 election Obama said “Cap-and-trade was just one way of skinning the cat; it was not the only way. It was a means, not an end. And I’m going to be looking for other means to address this problem.”

While we were all distracted with the health care case in the Supreme Court he did just that.

As we marveled at the incompetence of the Solicitor General while he fumbled in presenting the case for ObamaCare before the High Court, The Environmental Protection Agency released a new rule that would limit the amount of carbon a power plant could emit per megawatt to levels that are well below what coal plants currently discharge into the atmosphere. For now, the rule applies only to new plants but the goal is ultimately to make it apply to existing plants.

What this means is that no new coal fired power plants could be built and eventually all coal plants would be forced to shut down if the rule is made retroactive in the future. It would be the death of coal power in a country whose very economic foundation was built on cheap coal power. It's also a way of making green energy alternatives seem more competitive by jacking up the cost of fossil fuels.

This may be one of the few campaign promises that Obama has kept. Readers may recall that during the 2008 campaign Obama said that his plan would "bankrupt" any new coal plants. In that same interview with the San Francisco Chronicle he also said that under his plan "electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket" as more expensive sources of energy are required to replace the power from coal and other sources. We've already seen rates skyrocket 32-54% where green alternatives have been mandated by government. That's just the beginning.

No Difference in Climate Change

Obama admitted in the SF Chronicle interview that to "take coal off the table" is "a [sic] ideological matter." It is not one that is founded on science. Lisa Jackson, EPA Administrator admitted in testimony before the U.S. Senate in 2009 that even if the U.S. were to proceed with some form of cap and trade it would have no effect on global climate change. As we are learning, there is no link between CO2 and global temperature anyway.

Obama would "bankrupt" coal plants while electricity rates "skyrocket" all for an ideology that would have no positive effect on climate change. No thanks!