Carbon Tax for California?

Carbon Control News reported this morning that,

A special California budget commission tasked with proposing new sources of revenue for the state is scheduled to discuss next week a broad new carbon tax that would likely be aimed at major energy and fuels providers, and which could potentially raise billions of dollars annually to help the state meet its growing budget shortfall.

Fortunately,

The proposal is already being attacked by major industry groups in the state, which argue are currently facing multiple carbon fees and taxes under the state’s sweeping climate change regulatory program currently being implemented under the 2006 state law, AB 32…

The coalition—the AB 32 Implementation Group—argues that the state is already implementing a number of greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations and programs under AB 32 that will… add up to $50,000 to the cost of a new home, … cost between $1,000 and $3,000 per car, and [add] a new $500-million-a-year water charge.”

Click here for the AB 32 memo to the Commission.

Take Action:

Californians should direct their concerns to Mark Iberle, Staff Director for the Commission on the 21st Century Economy. You can phone the Commission at (916) 322-2263.

Greens dump on eBay greenwashing

The New York Times reported this morning that,

In a new program centered on Earth Day, eBay is becoming the latest company to promote its green credentials…

Yes, said Alan Marks, senior vice president for global communications at eBay. Its business model encourages reselling old items rather than throwing them out, and buying used merchandise rather than making new stuff reduces carbon emissions that go along with production.

But the real greens weren’t fooled. Michael Brune of the Rainforest Action Network told the Times:

“A lot of the things sold on eBay are new merchandise, and last time I checked the Postal Service still used fossil fuels for all of their planes and their trucks, so it’s not sustainable,” he said, referring to how eBay sellers ship items. “It’s fair to say that buying used goods on eBay is better for the environment, but let’s not get carried away and say this is the greenest thing since recycled paper.”

EBay’s new green website is ebaygreenteam.com. It reads,

By giving used toasters and toys a longer life and keeping sweaters and cellphones out of landfills, they’re making a big difference for the planet.

Way to go Meg Whitman. Who wouldn’t want to help to sell America down the green river to keep sweaters and a cell phones out of landfills?

Obama moves to end nuclear energy?

The Obama administration is driving a stake into the heart of the U.S. nuclear power industry by cutting-off funding for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage program in President Obama’s budget proposal.

The Washington Post reported this morning that,

Yucca Mountain is not an option.

Yucca Mountain opponent Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) called Obama’s action,

“… our most significant victory to date in our battle to protect Nevada from becoming the country’s toxic wasteland.”

Now, nuclear power plants will have to continue to store spent fuel on-site in hopes of someday being able to reprocess spent fuel like the French do.

But will the anti-nuclear greens permit that to happen? When will the nuclear power industry realize that the greens are not its friends?

If we can’t store nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain, can we at least dump the greens there? According to EPA standards for Yucca Mountain, humanity would be safe from the greens for at least one million years.

Green utility CEO says Obama plan is wrong

The Charlotte Observer reported today that,

Duke Energy says Carolinas electricity rates would rise by at least 13 percent under President Obama’s plan to address climate change by auctioning off carbon credits…

… Duke CEO Jim Rogers, who supports the carbon cap, says Obama is wrong to insist that those allowances be initially auctioned to carbon emitters. Rogers calls an auction a “carbon tax” that would be passed on to consumers, with most of the burden placed on coal-dependent states such as the Carolinas.

“He’s going to create a market that’s going to dramatically drive up the costs for allowances,” Rogers said Monday. “It’s going to be a feeding frenzy.”

Allowances auctioned for $15 each would raise Carolinas rates 13 percent in 2012, when the system could go into effect, Duke estimates. A $30 auction price would raise Carolinas rates 27 percent, it says.

Obama’s proposed budget assumes allowances would go for $20 each.

Apparently as comic relief, the Charlotte Observer offered a response from the greens:

“He’s doing what the utilities are going to try to do – scare people,” said Stephen Smith of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

As you know, of course, only the greens are allowed to “scare people.”

Cap-and-trade a ‘permanent tax increase’

A new report from the George C. Marshall Institute says that cap-and-trade will operate as a permanent tax on American families.

Based on last year’s Lieberman-Warner bill that failed in the Senate, the study estimates that the average American household would pay as much as $1,437 more annually by 2015.

Check out my column “Obama’s Climate Rip-off” to see the implications of Obama’s budget proposal on just your electric bill.

Unions attack free trade through climate

Carbon Control News reported this morning that the United Steelworkers union is

is exploring a hybrid policy that would combine a cap-and-trade scheme for utilities and other domestic sectors, while narrowly applying an excise carbon tax on domestic and foreign manufacturers to avoid “leakage” of jobs and GHG emissions to countries with lax environmental policies…

The model envisioned by the USW would apply an excise tax on manufactured products, based on the GHGs emitted during production. In order to spur GHG reductions, the taxes would be levied on GHGs in excess of a predetermined cap that could be lowered periodically to meet the emissions-reduction targets President Obama has set forth; the taxes also could increase over time to provide further incentive for manufacturers to clean up their processes, according to sources. To ensure domestic and foreign manufacturers are treated the same, the tax would be levied on importers of foreign products and rebated on exported products, similar to the value added tax (VAT) applied to an array of products in many countries.

Democrat lawmakers supporting the idea, according to Carbon Control News, include Reps. John Larson (D-CT), Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Pete Stark (D-CA).

Just what we need during the most significant global economic calamity in 75 years — anti-trade policies.

Take action:

Contact your congressional representative as well as Reps. Larson, McDermott and Stark and tell them that global trade is the path to peace and prosperity while junk science-based tariffs can only lead to global economic stagnation and international ill-will.

Cavuto rips Greenpeace rep on being ‘right’

Check out this clip of Fox News’ Neal Cavuto interviewing a Greenpeacer today:

[Cavuto]… With the global warming argument you’re pushing companies and a commitment of government monies to address a crisis that might not be the crisis you say it is. And if we’re wrong on this, we have spent mightily and committed a lot of resources that are precious and few to something that might be no more than passing climate change and not the crisis you say that it is — manmade global warming…

[Greenpeacer] Well, again, it’s not what I say. It’s what the climate science says. And I know your job is to stir up debate and pose the opposite point of view…

[Cavuto]… I just want to know what the hell is going on. When it’s warm you’re right. When it’s cold you’re right. When it’s raining you’re right. When it’s blizzarding you’re right. When it’s, like… I don’t know… it just seems you’re always right…

Kudos to Cavuto for pushing back…

RFK Jr: Eternity in jail for coal CEO

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said at today’s Capitol Climate Action rally that Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship “should be in jail… for all of eternity.”

Kennedy also said that coal companies Massey Energy, Peabody Energy and Arch Coal are “criminal enterprises.”

It’s hard to believe that Kennedy is a lawyer… but then again, it’s hard to believe that Roland Freisler was one, too.

Kennedy also invoked the memory of his father’s 1968 campaign tour through Appalachia — the same route followed by John F. Kennedy during his successful 1960 West Virginia campaign.

But if Kennedy wants to oppose coal while honoring his father, perhaps he ought to adopt RFK’s pro-nuclear stance. According to a March 21, 1967 New York Times article, RFK proposed that the New York State Power Authority be permitted to develop nuclear power pants and that private investment in nuclear power be encouraged.

Natural gas jeered at D.C. rally

When Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) called for upgrading/retrofitting the U.S. Capitol’s power plant from coal to gas today at the Capitol Climate Action rally, she was jeered by protesters yelling out “no gas” and “solar.”

Rep. Norton apparently missed the march to the power plant rally which featured anti-gas chants such as “No coal, no gas, hey-hey, ho-ho.”

Mass. Gov. proposes global warming parking tax

The Boston Globe reported this morning that,

In the same month that Logan International Airport hiked its parking rates by $1, Governor Deval Patrick is asking for another $2 parking “carbon fee” as part of his transportation overhaul filed this week.

The carbon fee, described on page 137 of Patrick’s 141-page bill, would that mean a 20- or 30-minute trip to pick up a relative at Logan could cost $6 in parking alone, not including tunnel tolls, which could rise to as much as $7 if legislators fail to pass Patrick’s other proposal to raise the gas tax. Three hours in a Logan garage would cost $18; all-day parking in a garage would run $26…

“It makes me never want to park here,” said Pam Nagy of Sutton, who was hauling luggage into Logan on Friday.

Patrick’s transportation secretary, James A. Aloisi Jr., said he will be glad if people stop parking at the airport and use public transportation to get there, a sentiment that has led several environmental groups to endorse the parking fee.

“It should not be inexpensive to park at convenient facilities in the middle of Logan Airport,” Aloisi said. “We need people to understand that there are better ways to get to Logan.”

He wants the parking fee – which requires approval from the Legislature – to be used for improvements to airport-related transit projects, including a proposal to build a new tunnel under South Boston to speed up the Logan-bound Silver Line bus service, and the initial phases of a long-term plan to build a transit loop around the city. Based on Logan’s most recent parking figures, the new fee would probably raise about $5.4 million per year.

But many who travel to the airport come with bulky luggage or young children, making public transit a harder sell, if not an impossibility.

Ben Kaplan pulling a cart piled high with luggage and accompanied by his wife and two young sons, said taking public transit would be tough for his family. “We’d be more likely to take a cab,” he said…

Will Gov. Patrick be taking public transit or will he continue to be driven in his $51,000 taxpayer-provided, CO2-spewing SUV?

Girl Scouts: Badges Out, Green In

The Washington Post reported this morning that the Girls Scouts are trying to revive flagging interest in the group by de-emphasizing merit badges and emphasizing green activities:

… What’s in: books and blogs written in girls’ voices on topics such as environmental awareness and engineering; troops led by college students; videoconferencing with scouts in other countries…

The biggest change is last year’s debut of Journeys, a pilot curriculum that will mostly replace the system of earning badges on specific topics. Girls still will be able to earn badges if they want, but Journeys rarely mentions them, focusing instead on broader themes, including teamwork and healthy living. Rather than scouts earning a badge for cooking a single nutritious meal, for example, the books emphasize fruits and vegetables whenever food is mentioned…

Many lessons focus on changing the world in measurable, modern ways. Recycling is still an important part of lessons on helping the environment, but some troops also install solar panels and test water quality in rivers.

This is not surprising given its source: the Girl Scouts hired the global PR firm Ogilvy & Mather, which went green last year according to this April 28, 2008 report in The Australian:

Last week, public relations firm Ogilvy launched its new brand OgilvyEarth to better position itself in the growing green communications and brand management markets. It released results of a survey of more than 50 companies about their attitudes to green branding and the risk of green wash. More than three-quarters think having a positive environmental brand will be essential to their business case within 10 years.

While 90 per cent said they had never been accused of green washing themselves, 98 per cent said it existed in corporate Australia, and 74 per cent said it was intentional.

It’s a shame that the Girl Scouts want to throw out their heritage and reputation in the greenwash.

Also, should we buy Girl Scout Cookies to support Ogilvy & Mather and its program to green our daughters?

Take Action:

Send your thoughts to Connie Lindsey (cl5@ntrs.com), the Chair of the Girls Scouts National Board of Directors. You may want to cc Davia Temin (dtemin@teminandco.com), the Board’s First Vice President.

Tax green propaganda?

The Washington Post again editorialized today in favor of taxing us by the mile driven instead of by the gallon of gas purchased.

Appearing near the Post editorial is a letter from Gerry Rosenthal of Great Falls, Virgina:

Perhaps there should be a tax on every editorial you write. Then you would feel the pain of being charged just for doing your job. I drive to visit my clients regularly, to generate income. The last thing I need is to be penalized for getting out there to support my family.

Your focus is misguided. The auto manufacturers’ lack of ingenuity should be the target, not me.

A further thought. Many people get their copies of the Washington Post by home delivery, which inevitably involves somene driving a car. Leave it to the liberal media to advocate a tax that would hurt its own employees and business. No wonder newspapers are dying.