Cap and trade bill contains a costly provision

2009-07-03

By Tom Kerlin

By a slim margin - 219 to 212 - the U.S. House of Representatives passed the so-called Cap and Trade Bill last week. The bill, that now heads to the U.S. Senate for its action, is designed to “cap” greenhouse emissions and restrict “trade” with those nations that fail to meet certain standards in controlling those emissions.

The bill, with 1,400 pages of proposed legislation language, is just the latest in our nation's attempt to fix a problem that no one knows for sure can be fixed, and even whether or not it is a problem.

Climate change is the new buzz word, since the old phrase “global warming” began to unravel through scientific research. Its supporters still point to the man-made element of climate change. The “Cap and Trade Bill” would apparently begin initiatives that the supporters claim would stop the man-made climate change and actually reverse the course of nature. Or so it goes

I've never bought into this hoopla. It falls right into the height of arrogance that presupposes we humans can control the weather on this planet. Certainly we can control the pollution of lakes, rivers and creeks. Sure we can stop the dumping of hazardous chemicals in landfill applications. And without a doubt we can control or eliminate the amount of pollutants that factories pump into the atmosphere through their smokestacks.

But to assume that we can actually affect the worldwide weather patterns through our puny actions is tantamount to thinking we can play God. All of our actions to control the so-called greenhouse emissions is entirely wiped out by one or two volcanic eruptions.

Look, I'm not some raving maniac who thinks that the actions of a few misguided individuals is ludicrous. Theft intentions are noble, if not somewhat misguided. All I'm saying is they would sacrifice our economy, our ability to produce goods and services in order to keep our way of life intact and take the chance of returning us to some third world type of existence all in the name of stopping some climate change phenomenon that is just probably part of a naturally recurring pattern.

In school I was taught that scientific truths take time to prove. Those who dissent with those who bring about new theories are listened to and theft information is viewed with some degree of authority. That hasn't been the case with this climate change movement.

Those who disagree with the tide of man-made climate change information are ridiculed and dismissed as easily as those who thought the world was flat and the Earth was the center of the Universe.

For years detractors of the man-made climate change argument have pursued the idea that even wrecking the economy is not too much for the supporters of the agenda.

Now, as far as I’m concerned, the proof is there. And it's right there in the Cap and Trade Bill.

As it is now written and being passed on to the Senate, there is a provision in the bill referred to as REEP- Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance. The REEP provision would establish another layer of governmental bureaucracy to “facilitate” the retrofitting of residential, commercial and government buildings to meet certain “green standards” that would be drawn up by the Environmental Protection Agency.

What that means is, if you own a house and this bill is passed and implemented as it is currently written, when you sell your home you will be required to bring that house up the green standards before closing.

That could mean putting on a new roof, changing all of the windows to a more energy efficient model, throwing out the old water heater and replacing it one more energy efficient, changing your heating and air conditioning system, installing more water-saving devices on all your plumbing fixtures, or changing the fixtures themselves.

Heck, the list could go on and on. Remember, under the bill the authority to decide what must be done to comply with the new law would be decided by the EPA and we all know how understanding and reasonable the people at the EPA are, don't we?

Think that because you have a fairly new house you won't be affected? Think again. New products are released every day. Just a couple of years ago the requirement to install Low-E windows in new homes was mandated. Before that simply having double, or triple, pane windows was considered sufficient. No more.

Roofing material is constantly being improved. And a new roof could cost upwards of $10,000 or more. Toilets today are required to use not more than 1.6 gallons to flush. There can be no doubt that technology is already available to reduce that figure. Will that become part of the new regulations?

It's funny, but all along I have thought that President Obama wanted to get the housing market back on track. Is this part of the Democratic plan to make houses more affordable and make the sale of existing homes more viable?

We have argued for years that nothing is too costly for those who would wreck our economy in the pursuit of fixing what they consider to be man-made global warming. Here's the proof. It has got to be stopped. And it is now up to the members of the U.S. Senate to regain control of Congress.

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