The beating heart of Democrats’ climate proposals is a program untested both on national and state levels.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1387027
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1387027
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50 years from now what’s left of the USA will be balls to the wall fighting climate change. The talk of the day will be “If only we had started earlier”.
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We’re living through a global pandemic exacerbated by non-masking anti-vaxxers; watching the rise and spread of the Texliban;
and have 40+% of the country with obvious brain damage, cheering on pedophile, prostituting, grifting politicians.
Why not gamble? If we don’t, the GQP certainly won’t…
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From the article:
[“As they work through these outstanding questions, the policy makers will be able to take some guidance from the CEPP’s regulatory-style relatives in the states, and from modeling. But it’s a program meant to be the thrust of transformative, once-in-a-generation climate policy — and they’ve only got one shot to get it right.”] emphasis added
Notwithstanding predictable GOP opposition to anything the Dems propose, the fact remains that present-day inaction means more draconian necessary action in the future…
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In his opening bid, Manchin is reportedly trying to more-than halve the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package, dragging it down to $1 or $1.5 trillion. A whole host of powerful companies is simultaneously launching a lobbying effort to shrink the package, seeking to weasel out of increased corporate taxes Democrats want to use to help pay for it.
The “simultaneous” part should be a clue that the latter effort is behind the former’s opening bid.
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They need to talk more about the jobs this will create. Be specific - types of jobs, compensation, and where they would be located. Talk about this over and over.
And use examples of jobs already created.
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“How do you literally track whether the utility itself is consuming the electricity it’s supposedly buying?” Bushnell asked. “Let’s not get bent out of shape too much — let’s worry about the total amount of clean megawatt hours in the country, and not worry too much about where they are located.”
Yes, but the idea of nationwide mandate that relies on more than tweaking the market requires political will that the Democratic party does not now have. This is the Obamacare version of energy reform rather than the National Health Insurance version. That said, as with Obamacare, (and unless you are Herbert Marcuse), some reform is better than none.
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Like many here I’m old but I’m also not willing to take a chance on the future. What is being called a gamble isn’t one at all but it will come at a price.
I would expect higher electrical bills. In fact I already am because for so long our public electrical system in Toronto was heavily subsidized by higher levels of government. This in turn led to coal and gas company subsidies; basically, corporate welfare. Our now old nuclear plants have been expensive to run, with shutdowns.
The way forward is with renewable sources and fusion. If interested, this article is very good at explaining it in an understandable way.
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OT, but seems everyone just wants to help the far right propaganda machine with this narrative…
Reminder…
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Where’s the investment in next generation nuclear? Am I missing something?
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It’s a political hot potato that will never get enough support from Democrats, so no surprise if it isn’t mentioned.
Maybe if the country had managed a national waste storage site, and maybe if Fukushima hadn’t happened, it could be different. But that’s a lot of “ifs.” As it is, we’re going to be spending billions of dollars to decommission coastal nuke plants threatened by sea level rise, like the ones in Florida.
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It’s irritating that the CEPP focuses it’s carrot and stick approach to the purchase of energy, rather than its production. If it’s so hard to track the source of energy purchased by any utility that is claiming their tax credit, then skip that entire foly and go directly to the source. 1kwh of clean energy produced earns $x in tax credits at its source of production, while 1kwh of energy from coal is subject to $x in carbon penalties. Carrots and sticks are tracked at the source of production, NOT at their destination at purchase. IOW, the carrots and sticks are meant for the producers of energy, and not the consumers of energy.
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Climate scientists: “See us now or see us later. Just having a bit of fun! There is no later!”
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OT, but this guy…
TL;DR - “Please flock to Ground Zero on 9/11 to yell epithets and cuss out the POTUS so we can get some good footage for Faux News.”
Please annoy this person with an endless stream of demands that Thiessen never be printed again:
Sally Buzbee
Executive Editor
WaPo
sally.buzbee@washpost.com
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Setting it up so they can pummel him with bullshit and threatened violence regardless of whether he attends or doesn’t (“how disrespectful!)”.
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Good point. The assholes telling him not to show up there will be same ones calling him a traitor for not going.
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Fusion has potential, and the measures we can take now are a great lead-in.
But we have got to leave (GOP/Trumpism) collective adolescence behind.
And what I would suggest is a way to report the latter without resorting to click-bait.
My metaphor was always the old print days and the weather:
(1) weather is kept up with on the back pages
(2) if there is alarm, then the front pages
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What is not mentioned is that by using subsidies at the federal level instead of regulations this bill will be much more progressive and its impact on people. Better to have federal mildly progressive taxation then regulatory standards that tends to harm people with lower incomes.
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Yeah, Biden should do something more respectful on 9/11. Like color comment on a washed-up boxing match.
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