VOTING to extend California’s cap-and-trade programme an extra decade to 2030 was a tough decision for Devon Mathis, a Republican assemblyman who represents a large swathe of the state’s fertile Central Valley. Though once embraced by Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, cap-and-trade schemes have come to be seen by Republicans as exemplifying government overreach. On the other hand, agricultural business owners in Mr Mathis’s district flooded him with letters in support of cap-and-trade, which they thought would be better than the state’s alternative plans for reducing CO{-2} emissions. Mr Mathis was so torn about the choice he sought out his pastor to pray about it. On July 17th when the vote was held, he opted to support the extension.
Cap-and-trade programmes work by setting a limit (or cap) on how much CO{-2} individual companies can emit. Businesses that pollute less than the cap can sell (or trade) their excess...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/2ucNmT6
EmoticonEmoticon