Published: August 04, 2009 12:11 am      

PARSONS: Cap-and-trade program is needed

I have recently grown more and more frustrated by the lack of coverage in our local newspapers concerning cap-and-trade legislation of carbon dioxide. Several local politicians and editorial writers in both papers have once again shown their complete lack of understanding of what a cap-and-trade system would involve or have in a partisan way attempted to scare everyone with hyperbole about increased electricity rates or taxes.

First, exactly what is a cap-and-trade system to regulate carbon dioxide? This is a free market system that sets a national cap on emissions of carbon dioxide. Credits are then sold and traded to bring down the total amount of pollution released. Over time, the cap is lowered and this allows the market to choose the best ways to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. As a business, if you can innovatively reduce your pollution, you can sell your credits and actually make money.

The same scaremongers (mainly dirty fossil fuel companies and energy producers) continue to put out lies or half-truths regarding the cap-and-trade system. Twenty years ago, these same big corporations and their shills in Congress made the same arguments about the cap-and-trade system put in place to reduce sulfur dioxide and thus acid rain. Not only did it work and reduce the environmental impacts of acid rain, it did not raise utilities rates astronomically or create a poor business environment.

Secondly, why is regulating carbon dioxide so important? Global warming is a fact and the release of large amounts of carbon dioxide mainly due to burning of fossil fuels and deforestation are the major cause of this warming. Contrary to one local politician’s comments that “this shows that Democrats care more about polar bears than people,” global warming will affect all of us, including our economy.

If you read the science, done by the climate scientists, it is clear that global warming is already affecting many important ecological services. The latest report done by our own government (both agencies like U.S.D.A. and independent university research scientists) was released in May 2008 by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and carefully outlines impacts on our water resources, agriculture, land and forest resources, and biodiversity. Warming is already damaging many of our natural resources and will have greater impacts if we don’t wake up and act now.

There are many examples but here is just one to illustrate the point that global warming has and will have a huge impact on our natural environment and our economy. Over the last few decades, the western mountain pine beetle has devastated many forests in the Rocky Mountains. There is overwhelming scientific evidence this is due to warming temperatures. Warmer winter temperatures that do not kill the larvae during the winter months have lead to a doubling of tree deaths. If you are thinking well that doesn’t affect me here in Indiana, you better think again. The single biggest part of our economy is agriculture and the current report shows that agriculture will be affected severely by continued warming. This will affect agriculture in many ways including: water availability, direct impacts on the health and well being of plants, pasture, rangeland and livestock.

As a biologist, I know that polar bears and other biodiversity is important but this is more than just drowning polar bears in the arctic. This is about our survival and the future of our children and generations to come.

I would challenge the public to read the reports listed below and support the cap-and-trade legislation moving through Congress. The bottom line is don’t get your science from uneducated politicians, talk show hosts or someone who has some crazy conspiracy them. Read what the climate scientists say in their reports and it will be clear that we need to act in a sensible way to reverse the impacts related to carbon dioxide emissions and global climate change.

Recent reports on global warming:

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report, http://www.ipcc.ch

U.S. Climate Change Science Program Report, http://www.sap43.ucar.edu

If you want to know more about global warming, I would highly recommend these very recent books:

“Hot, Flat and Crowded” by Thomas L. Friedman

“Thin Ice” by Dr. Mark Bowen

“Censoring Science” by Dr. Mark Bowen

“The Weather Makers” by Dr. Tim Flannery

• Rick A. Parsons is an environmental science teacher at Kokomo High School.