Carbon correctness = crippled economy

Inter Lake editorial

Congress is debating economy-killing cap-and-trade legislation, and it appears that Midwest Democrats may be the best hope for stopping it.

But even then, the federal Environmental Protection Agency appears poised to do just as much damage.

The House Energy and Environment Subcommittee heard testimony for several days on a bill that calls for a 20 percent reduction in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 2020 and an 83 percent reduction by mid-century. This would be accomplished by auctioning off credits to carbon producers, such as coal-fired plants, which would in turn pass on the cost to consumers.

There may be some bickering about just how much it would cost, but by most accounts it would be substantial. Recently a group of North Dakota utilities estimated it would result in a 40 percent increase in utility rates.

"Nobody in this country realizes that cap-and-trade is a tax - and it's a great big one," said Rep. John Dingell, a Democrat who is rightly concerned about the huge impact the legislation would have on his Michigan district that already is economically crippled.

But we're not so certain that "nobody" realizes it. There is a gang of Democratic senators who thankfully have concerns similar to Dingell's.

What few people do know about, however, is last Friday's "endangerment finding" from the Environmental Protection Agency - an official declaration that carbon dioxide is a dangerous pollutant. That's right, people are dangerously polluting the planet with every breath.

This finding has profound implications, because even if the EPA doesn't press ahead with oppressive anti-carbon regulations, it now is exposed to lawsuits that will force it do so. And it could easily become just as costly as cap-and-trade.

Healthy economies and technology, fueled by wealth, have been the drivers in reducing pollution and improving the quality of life throughout history. They present a far better hope for the future than a job-killing, economy-crippling bureaucracy forcing carbon correctness on the country.