The Global Warming Debates Aren’t Over. (Part 5 in a 10-part series)
Nicolas Loris /
When it comes global warming, two debates are currently taking place. At the forefront is the political debate. Current legislation introduced by House Democrats Ed Markey and Henry Waxman includes a cap-and-trade plan to attempt to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. But the debate unfortunately (and like most political debates) has largely evolved into each party talking past each other.
In fact, even Democrats have been talking past each other, which forced Chairman Waxman to bypass subcommittee markup and moving to full committee to keep the bill moving forward—though this may have changed today. Regardless, A number of Democrats have concerns about job losses and the detrimental economic effects that will result from the Waxman-Markey bill. Recent Congressional Budget Office testimony that a 15 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, a target that the Waxman-Markey proposal would reach within a decade, was estimated to cost the average household $1,600 per year.
Instead of having a meaningful debate and carefully analyzing the legislation and its consequences, Waxman seems more concerned about keeping a strict timeline. House Speaker Pelosi recently said, “The committee is going to work its will on its own timetable. But it will fit in the timetable to move it so we can move on to health care.”
Then there’s the debate on the backburner, but it’s the reason we’re even considering legislation that would impose crushing energy taxes, millions of jobs lost and falling household income – all for little environmental benefit. That’s the scientific debate.