Well, that wasn't unbiased at all. So essentially...

2009-12-23T12:44:52.463-08:00

Well, that wasn't unbiased at all.

So essentially what she's proposing is state intervention instead of market intervention? Emissions trading systems do have problems, yes, as she said, but is the state approach (taxes, penalties) more likely to get results? Taxes are fraught with problems, notably knowing where to put the tax band and also knowing the details of how polluters pollute. An ETS (emissions trading scheme) allows polluters (be they firms or nation states) to reduce emissions in the most economically efficient way without the need for top-down intervention.

Granted, the problems remain, like the cost of permits (free/auctioned) and "grandfathering" (the act of giving a heavy polluter more permits because of historic emissions), but I'm not at all convinced by that woman's attack of an ETS, especially when interspersed with such unnecessary sensationalism.

Comments on The Nilon Report: The Story of Cap & Trade - by Annie Leonard

Well, that wasn't unbiased at all. So essentially...