Using the Enron economics of carbon trading. ..

AL Gore, Goldman Sachs, and the Corporate Wall Streeters stand to make truly eye-watering sums that will be ransacked from our economies and our wallets over the next decades in the name of “carbon emissions reduction.”

The Copenhagen negotiators’ little-publicised decision was to save the Kyoto Protocol. This matters because it was at Kyoto that the mechanisms for establishing a global carbon market were established. Carbon trading could not exist without some form of agreement between all the world’s governments .

By keeping Kyoto alive, the sinister troughers of global corporatism have also kept their cash cow alive.

I’m glad to know that Baucus and Tester generally support a clean energy bill but I’d like to see them working a little harder to get this legislation passed in the Senate. A new report was just released on American wind energy potential which ranked Montana as having the 3rd-highest wind potential in the country and found that our national capacity is 3 times higher than previously thought (http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/02/better-wind-resource-maps/). This is just one of the many signs that Montana can sustain itself on more than just traditional fossil fuel sources, and that transitioning to clean energy would put us on a path toward economic rebirth. The clean energy bill also manages to slowly reduce carbon emissions without slamming citizens over the head with sudden changes—in fact, analyses have found that the bill will make a barely-noticeable difference in most people’s daily lives. I think it’s a strong bill worthy of Montana’s support, and especially given that such a large number of business groups are already calling for passage, I hope Baucus and Tester will make a serious effort to get the clean energy bill through the Senate as soon as possible.

noramarie, you’re right on with your statements. This legislation would be a net job gainer in Montana and around the country. The simple fact is this, we have to cut carbon emissions, period! This should be a no-brainer to everyone. We’re 30 years past peak oil levels and the longer we wait to pass this legislation, oil prices will continue to fluctuate to levels never before seen. fcb, I’m sorry you’ve been burned in the past and feel bitter about future possibilities, but you’ve got to look at the facts! Continuing down this path is self-destructive and will end up costing you more and more, and at such a fast pace, you won’t even know what hit you. Let’s think beyond today and look to preserve what our children will inherit. Great article Dan!

Tester knows it will be curtains for him politically if he pushes for cap and tax. Get used to it, there are a lot more brown days ahead.

Yudamni, If all elected officials were elected to protect their elected positions, we’d end up with nothing at all getting accomplished. Oh wait, that’s already happening! I’m not in favor of getting used to that. He knows what needs to happen, and if that means that he actually accomplished something before he left office, my hat’s off to him, he’ll be able to go home and sleep at night. His comments regarding this legislation pushing jobs overseas is rather far-fetched. Aren’t most manufacturing jobs already overseas?? The goal of such legislation is, by government sending proper market signals through action, to bring those jobs right back here to our own backyards, promoting job growth domestically. That, my friend, is the reality. Why fight the obvious?