Although it's unseasonably cold here in the Bay Area, we're not experiencing the hardships that other parts of the country are (well, discounting what's happening to our citrus growers). But the efforts of Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, described below, may augur a thaw in the general temperature of the national conversation about global warming:
- Feinstein introduced legislation Wednesday aiming to cut electricity sector emissions by 25 percent below levels projected to be reached by 2020. Her bill would install a "cap and trade" approach that would allow power companies to buy, sell and trade "credits" allowing them to emit a certain amount of pollution.
Her approach has support from several power companies including Pacific Gas and Electric.
Boxer has co-sponsored legislation imposing more stringent carbon emission reductions aiming to cut emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels in 2050. The bill she supports does not take a cap and trade approach, which is opposed by some environmentalists, and does not have the industry support of Feinstein's legislation.
Another interesting point about these efforts is that they may also anticipate some of the hurdles the new Congress will have to overcome. Senator Boxer is heading towards a more stringent implementation, while Senator Feinstein's proposal seems to garner more industry support out of the gate. At the time I'm writing this, I'm pretty agnostic towards either of the Senator's approaches.
But let's think about some possible pitfalls of each. Senator Feinstein's proposal is endorsed by our local utility (PG&E) and is obviously more industry friendly than Senator Boxer's. Now just cause PG&E likes something doesn't make it bad, but it does warrant going over it with a seriously fine-toothed comb, so I'll keep an eye out for some analysis of the proposal. Senator Boxer's plan doesn't sound all that draconian (in 50 years, let's do better than we were doing 17 years ago) but what exactly does her map for getting from here to there look like? Couldn't find any details on her website, so it's hard to say at the moment. Obviously having a good goal is important, but having a plan for achieving it that can be successfully implemented is even more important.
The real test of Senators Feinstein and Boxer's mettle will be measured by the bills they manage to bring to a vote. So, like much of what we're seeing from the 110th Congress, the signs are good, but we know what lives in the details.
