big test

What is “Cap and Trade”? I am trying to figure that out by reading “The First Big Test”. This article concerns our environment and why our presidential candidates have neglected to talk about mandatory reductions in carbon emissions. The article says to think of cap and trade as a carbon diet. Utilities and oil refiners have to be put on a diet. Their carbon emissions are measured each year. They then get some pollution allowances which permit them to put out so much carbon. The amount of carbon the utilities and oil refiners are allowed to emit is reduced year by year. This is a hard and expensive process. There is a bill on Capitol Hill which is co-sponsored by Senator Joseph Lieberman and Senator John Warner which is a cap and trade proposal. This bill is a popular one but it may not pass because of where the majority of power plants are located. Most of the coal plants are located in 25 states. If only these states have to pay for the right to pollute this will drive up the cost of electricity in those states. Those states would then shift to using natural gas…and the coal companies do not like this. It is one big vicious cycle.