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Akron man interrupts armed burglar
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The330:
Akron Zoo’s $500,000 Conservation Carousel opens to public Saturday
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Orphans in Fondwa
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Busing, sports fees and class size on table if Copley-Fairlawn schools levy fails
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Links to Browns coverage: July 30, 2010
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Key MAC Games Of 2010 Season
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LeBron still has at least one fan in Cleveland
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10 Hurdles Standing Between Ohio State and Another National Championship
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Important Dates for Upcoming High School Football Season
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Arizona Immigration Law Blocked, Drug Cartels Rejoice
Blog of Mass Destruction:
"Muslims Hate Jews, Christians &…Dogs"
Akron Law Café:
Key Portions of Arizona Immigration Law Struck Down by Federal Court
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Sunday – or Anyday Drives
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Brangelina to Buy in Santorini?
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Ohio alt-rock stars weigh in on Lebron….John Mayer too..
HRLite House:
From the White House – New Federal Approach to Hiring
If it passes, expect to see more green jobs, higher utility bills, sale of carbon permits
By H. Josef Hebert
Associated Press
Published on Sunday, Jun 28, 2009
WASHINGTON: Congress has taken its first step toward an energy revolution, with the prospect of profound change for every household, business, industry and farm in the decades ahead.
It was late Friday when the House passed legislation that would, for the first time, require limits on pollution blamed for global warming — mainly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels. Now the Senate has the chance to change the way Americans produce and use energy.
What would the country look like a decade from now if the House-passed bill — or, more likely, a watered-down version — were to become the law of the land?
''It will open the door to a clean energy economy and a better future for America,'' President Barack Obama said Saturday.
But what does that mean to the average person?
Energy touches every corner of the economy and in countless ways can alter people's lives.
Such a law would impact how much people pay to heat, cool and light their homes (it would cost more); what automobiles they buy and drive (smaller, fuel efficient and hybrid electric); and where they will work (more ''green'' jobs, meaning more environmentally friendly ones).
Critics of the House bill brand it a ''jobs killer.'' Yet it would seem more likely to shift jobs. Old, energy-intensive industries and businesses might scale back or disappear. Those green jobs would emerge, propelled by the push for nonpolluting energy sources.
That could mean making or installing solar panels, repairing wind turbines, producing energy-efficient light bulbs, working for an environmental engineering firm or waste recycler, making equipment that harnesses carbon from coal burning and churning out energy-saving washing machines or air conditioners.
Assembly-line workers at factories that made gas-guzzling cars might see their future in producing the next generation of batteries or wind turbine blades — an emerging shift, though on a relatively small scale today. On Wall Street, commodity brokers would trade carbon pollution credits alongside oil futures.
Farmers would see the cost of fertilizer and electricity go up. More windmills would dot their pastures. And a new source of income could come from selling pollution credits by planting trees or changing farming methods to absorb more carbon dioxide.
Energy would cost more because it would become more expensive to produce. For the first time, there would be a price on the greenhouse gas pollution created when coal, natural gas or oil are burned.
Energy companies would have to pay for technologies that can capture the carbon emissions, purchase pollution allowances or shift to cleaner energy sources.
It all costs.
Investors would see a new line item on companies' financial statements: the cost of carbon permits.
Some increases would be reflected in the prices of goods and services, economics say. It might mean shelling out more for a toy because plastic, a petroleum-based product, is more expensive, or paying more for a house because of new efficiency rules.
Not all the higher energy costs would show up in utility bills. Households, as well as businesses and factories — including those, for example, making plastic for toys — could use less energy, or at least use it more efficiently. The poorest of homes could get a government check as a rebate for high energy costs. That money would come from selling pollution allowances for industry.
WASHINGTON: Congress has taken its first step toward an energy revolution, with the prospect of profound change for every household, business, industry and farm in the decades ahead.
Get the full article here.
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