Cap and Trade

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Recommended: The impact of fossil fuels on our Planet

The population of man continues to dramatically rise around the world. This unabated growth has steadfastly encroached upon the environment, placing the environment under distress and placing increasingly larger demands on supplies of natural resources. The environment has been affected by the modernization of populations across the globe resulting in more and more pollution being introduced into the environment as result in increased usage of natural resources such as fossil fuels. Of major concern to present populations are the pollutants introduced into the earth’s atmosphere from continued use and dependency of fossil fuels. These airborne pollutants are usually referred to as green house gases (GHG). Carbon dioxide while not the only GHG is the most discharged GHG pollutant and is generally the GHG that garners the most media coverage. The major concern with GHG is the ability of GHG (like carbon dioxide, CO2) to absorb and trap heat while the pollutant is present in the atmosphere. It is believed by many the global temperature can be adversely affected if sufficient amounts of GHG emissions saturate the atmosphere. Most scientists agree the average temperature of the earth is rising. The earth has experienced many cycles of global warming and global cooling throughout its history. What is often debated is the amount of impact the pollutants from burning fossil fuels have on global warming. Most agree however, GHG should be regulated and reduced. One method touted as means for controlling GHG emissions is the cap-and-trade or carbon trading. A cap-and-trade program for GHG would be a system by which a limit (cap) is placed on the amount of GHG released into a given area. Emission credits would be created and issued. ... ... middle of paper ... ...emissions should be at the forefront of issues demanding attention. I don’t believe the issue should be forgotten, but believe unemployment and this county’s economy should be addressed before attempting to laden the American citizen with additional cost or taxes. Works Cited Carey, John. “Obama’s Cap-and-Trade Plan.” [Online] Available http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_11/b4123022554346.htm, March 5, 2009. Conniff, Richard. “The Political History of Cap and Trade.” [Online] Available http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Presence-of-Mind-Blue-Sky- Thinking.html, August 2009. Massey, Ray and Massey, Ann.” Agriculture and Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” Nielson, Leslie. “Emissions Control: your policy choices.” [Online] Available http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/bn/eco/EmissionsControl.htm, May 10, 2010.

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