August 24, 2005
9 CANARIES:
9 States in Plan to Cut Emissions by Power Plants (ANTHONY DePALMA, 8/24/05, NY Times)
Officials in New York and eight other Northeastern states have come to a preliminary agreement to freeze power plant emissions at their current levels and then reduce them by 10 percent by 2020, according to a confidential draft proposal.The cooperative action, the first of its kind in the nation, came after the Bush administration decided not to regulate the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Once a final agreement is reached, the legislatures of the nine states will have to enact it, which is considered likely.
Enforcement of emission controls could potentially result in higher energy prices in the nine states, which officials hope can be offset by subsidies and support for the development of new technology that would be paid for with the proceeds from the sale of emission allowances to the utility companies.
The regional initiative would set up a market-driven system to control emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, from more than 600 electric generators in the nine states. Environmentalists who support a federal law to control greenhouse gases believe that the model established by the Northeastern states will be followed by other states, resulting in pressure that could eventually lead to the enactment of a national law.
If the states do it on their own the only reason to have a national law is because you've made it a fetish. What will determine whether other states join will be the potential economic benefits these states realize from improved efficiency and innovation. If those don't materialize then there's no justification for a national law anyway. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 24, 2005 10:02 AM
The fact that it's New York state and the North East provides a big clue as to how economically productive this is likely to be. I suspect that it will work out at least as well as rent control. But you're certainly correct that this is why federalism is a good idea.
Posted by: Annoying Old Guy at August 24, 2005 10:20 AMYes, it's unlikely the nations more backwards states would be technological leaders.
Posted by: oj at August 24, 2005 10:26 AMBeing from the Northeast I'd say it is more likely that the Northeast is used to govt enforced rules like this. Watch the "enforcement of emission controls could potentially lead to higher energy prices" come true while "the hope that (higher energy prices) be offset by..." not occur.
Posted by: AWW at August 24, 2005 10:32 AMThe Constitution forbids states from entering "compacts" with each other absent Congressional approval.
They are going after the Tobacco Settlement on these grounds.
Posted by: Bruno at August 24, 2005 10:55 AMOJ,
That's an alarmingly good argument for federalism from someone who has said that "federalism is for losers."
http://www.brothersjudd.com/blog/archives/022256.html
Posted by: Brandon at August 24, 2005 12:11 PMFederalism lost.
Posted by: oj at August 24, 2005 12:18 PM(S)ubsidies and support for the development of new technology that would be paid for with the proceeds from the sale of emission allowances to the utility companies.
Just another stealth tax! But what's new?
Posted by: tgn at August 24, 2005 2:33 PMWhy does this sound like the Mafia Insurance Agency selling a bakery owner insurance that his bakery won't burn down?
Posted by: ray at August 24, 2005 5:21 PMWhat is amazing is that coal plants, which the environmentalists and the government bureaucracies have prevented from upgrading or building new plants, are still operating their ancient polluting plants because the environmentalists and bureaucracies have prevented them from upgrading or building new plants. I guess you could say those groups are responsible for pollution because they prevented the utilities form building new plants that would put out a fifth of the pollution of the old plants. Again, the environmentalists are responsible for excessive pollution, as always. Do they ever do anything that helps the environment?
Posted by: at August 25, 2005 3:48 AM